vows Archives - Hoang Viet

Uncategorized

Nov 16 2024

Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM | Politics News

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.

The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.

Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.

Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”

He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.

“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”

He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.

And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.

‘PM should have addressed the protesters’

Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.

He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.

He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.

Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.

“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”

He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”

Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.

“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”

On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.

“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”

Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’

Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.

But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.

The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.

The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.

To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Sep 16 2024

Lampard Inquiry: Sister of woman who took her own life vows to ‘get her voice heard’ | UK News

In a photo her sister treasures, Paula Parretti smiles brightly. It was taken soon after she had decided to colour half of her hair bright pink.

“She was an amazing auntie, like the fun aunt,” Sam Cook recalls.

“She’d always be there for my children. Laughing, joking, buying them the noisiest toys, all that fun stuff and she wanted to see them grow.”

But Paula died in January 2022. It was Sam who discovered her in her flat.

“I want to see her beautiful face as a memory. But I don’t. I see that last image,” Sam says.

Read more:
What is the Lampard Inquiry – and what is it investigating?
Deaths of thousands of mental health patients in Essex to be investigated
Number of mental health deaths in Essex significantly in excess of 2,000

Weeks earlier Paula had been discharged from hospital, despite being visibly distressed.

“They dropped her bags at my feet and said, ‘You’ve got to take her home, we need the bed’,” Sam recalls.

“I said, ‘Can you not see she’s having a panic attack?’ And they said, ‘Sorry, but we need the bed. There’s lots of people that need help’. So, I had to take her home and all she kept saying was Nobody listens. I’m never going to get any help. Nobody’s listening to me. There’s no point’.”

Sam is set to become one of the first relatives to speak on behalf of loved ones at a public inquiry into thousands of deaths of mental health patients in Essex.

The Lampard Inquiry began last week with its chair Baroness Lampard saying the number of deaths that will be looked at will be significantly in excess of the 2,000 that were being considered by a previous investigation.

The patients all died between 2000 and 2023.

Sam says her sister never felt listened to. During a previous stay at the Linden Centre, a mental health unit in Essex, she says Paula suffered broken ribs and bruising at the hands of staff. She says the NHS Trust admitted fault following that incident and paid some compensation.

Paul Scott, chief executive officer of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement to Sky News: “My thoughts are with Paula’s family at this difficult time and I am sorry for the distress caused during Paula’s care, and send my deepest condolences for their loss.”

Sam says she’s determined to keep fighting for change so other patients don’t suffer like her sister.

“I promised myself after she passed away that I’d get her voice heard… now I’m finally, finally giving her her voice,” she says.

Before her sister’s death, Sam had also lost a cousin and a friend who were both suffering with their mental health.

Since posting online about her loss, she’s been contacted by people concerned about mental health services around the country.

“It’s nationwide,” Sam says. “People are saying they’re having the same treatment. They’re begging for help.

“I think people think they won’t speak up. And if they do speak up, are they going to get believed? Or are people going to put it down to their mental health?

“I think it needs us families to really put it out there that these were people. Just because they have mental health problems, it doesn’t mean that they’re anything less than a person. They have family, they’re mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles. They’re loved.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 20 2024

Sir Keir Starmer vows to do ‘everything we can’ to protect jobs at Port Talbot | Politics News

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed his government will do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot.

The prime minister was visiting South Wales, the region where the site is based, to walk around Alltwalis wind farm with the new First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan.

The pair have been showcasing the government’s climate credentials in the region, which Sir Keir said would reap the benefits from GB Energy, the state-owned company the government has launched to help develop future offshore wind projects.

But the embrace of the green agenda has sparked concerns of job losses at Port Talbot, the country’s largest steelworks that is moving over to a greener form of steel production which requires fewer workers.

Asked about the redundancies, which could total 2,800, the prime minister said the government would do “everything we can” to help workers.

Politics latest: Fresh talks to be held over rail pay

Asked whether he risked giving “false hope” to workers in the town, he replied: “No. We’re working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it’s so important that we do everything we can to preserve those jobs.

“We were working on this when I was in opposition – we’ve turbocharged that since we’ve been in power.

“Of course it’s difficult, I think everybody understands that.

“We’ve been able to put some money down just in the last week or so, particularly with the supply chain side of it, but we will do everything we can to preserve those jobs.”

Last week the government announced £13.5m in support to help businesses affected by the Tata Steel redundancies.

The package is designed to support businesses that rely on Tata Steel as their main customer, while the money will also be used to help workers who have been made redundant by giving them access to training and qualifications in sectors where there are job vacancies.

Negotiations between the government and Tata Steel regarding the future of the Port Talbot plant – where the workforce currently accounts for 12% of the coastal town’s entire population – will continue separately.

Earlier this year, Tata confirmed it would press ahead with plans to close blast furnaces and replace them with electric arc furnaces under its plan to reduce emissions and costs.

It said the move will cut carbon emissions by about 85% and the UK’s overall CO2 output by about 1.5%. The Port Talbot site is the UK’s single largest emitter of CO2.

Read more:
Scottish government suspends meetings with Israel
Giving workers right to switch off could boost economy – No 10

Sir Keir’s visit to South Wales comes at the same time the government approved an increase in passengers from 6.5 million to 9 million at London City Airport – prompting criticism from environmental campaigners.

Labour has said there is “no conflict in terms of national policy” on air quality.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK while protecting our environmental obligations.

“In line with the recommendation of the independent inspectors, ministers have jointly approved a planning appeal submitted by London City Airport.”

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jun 8 2024

Michael Mosley: Wife of missing TV doctor vows family ‘will not lose hope’ after ‘unbearable’ days | World News

The wife of missing TV doctor Michael Mosley has vowed her family “will not lose hope” as she described the days since his disappearance as “the longest and most unbearable”.

The statement by Dr Clare Bailey Mosley came as the couple’s four children arrived on the Greek island of Symi and the focus of the extensive search for the broadcaster shifted to a snake-infested mountainous area after CCTV footage emerged of his last known movements.

As the rescue effort continued amid soaring temperatures, one emergency worker said it was “a race against time”.

Making her first public comments, Dr Bailey Mosley said: “It has been three days since Michael left the beach to go for a walk. The longest and most unbearable days for myself and my children.

“The search is ongoing and our family are so incredibly grateful to the people of Symi, the Greek authorities and the British Consulate who are working tirelessly to help find Michael.

“We will not lose hope.”

Symi’s mayor has said there is “no chance” the search, which has involved helicopters, drones and divers, will be called off until the 67-year-old is found.

But while Eleftherios Papakaloudoukas said he hoped the Briton would be found safe, he questioned how anyone could survive in the heat that topped 40C (104F) on the day he vanished.

He pointed out a search dog was only able to work for an hour on Saturday morning due to the temperature.

Read more about missing TV doctor:
What we know about his last known movements
Son reveals surreal parallels with case of missing dad

Mosley has not been seen since Wednesday after he left his wife and another couple and set out alone from Saint Nikolas Beach to walk back to their friends’ home in Symi town.

He was later caught on security camera in the small fishing village of Pedi, around 1.2km away, which appeared to show him heading up into rocky terrain.

His wife raised the alarm after he failed to return.

One rescuer said: “The path is not easy to follow, if he took a wrong turn, he would be lost.

“He could be anywhere, it is a race against time.”

The search for Mosley resumed early on Saturday, with teams scouring a 6.5km radius over a mountainous landscape, which search organisers described as “very dangerous”.

Mr Papakaloudoukas said the area the missing is believed to have ventured into is “only rocks” and “difficult to pass”, with “loads” of snakes.

He added: “He chose paths which are very difficult to walk in such temperatures and under any circumstances.”

Authorities have considered a number of possibilities for Mosley’s disappearance, including that he may have suffered a fall or been bitten by a snake, according to reports.

He did not have his mobile phone with him, hampering efforts to find him.

Mosley, his wife and the other couple are understood to arrived in Symi for a week’s holiday on Tuesday.

Mosley is a columnist and presenter who has made a number of films about healthy living.

Known for popularising the 5:2 diet, he fronted the Channel 4 show Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? and was part of the BBC series Trust Me, I’m A Doctor.

He has also appeared on numerous daytime television shows and hosts the health podcast, Just One Thing.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Apr 10 2024

Home Office accused of ‘celebrating failure’ as it vows to close 150 asylum hotels by May | Politics News

The Home Office has promised to close 150 migrant hotels by May after figures showed aid spending on asylum seekers in the UK rose to £4.3bn in 2023.

The department said the number of people staying in taxpayer-funded accommodation had dropped from 56,000 in September to fewer than 20,000 people currently as part of a drive to end the “damaging” practice.

Approximately £8m a day was spent housing thousands of asylum seekers in hotels last year, prompting the government to seek out alternative accommodation sites, including the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, and disused military bases at Scampton in Lincolnshire and Wethersfield in Essex.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who resigned over Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, announced last October that the government would be “exiting” 50 hotels by the end of January, with more to follow.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the process would continue “until the last hotel is closed”.

“We promised to end the use of asylum hotels and house asylum seekers at more appropriate, cheaper accommodation; we are doing that at a rapid pace,” he said.

Politics latest: Starmer’s wife ‘intimidated’ by protest at family home – as Labour suspends candidate

“These closures deliver on the government’s plan to cut the use of hotels in the asylum system and we will keep going until the last hotel is closed.”

But Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the announcement amounted to the Conservatives “celebrating failure”.

“So-called ‘asylum hotels’ didn’t exist before the Tories lost control of the asylum backlog, and Rishi Sunak promised to end them by the end of 2023,” he said. “Yet here we are with around 250 still in use come mid-April.”

The Home Office announcement followed findings from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) which said the amount of aid spent on hosting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK soared last year to £4.3 billion.

The ICAI said the figure was driven up by the Home Office paying out £2.5bn on hotel accommodation for the year, saying it had “continuing value for money concerns” over the department’s spending.

“Far from reducing as the costs of schemes for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees fell, the amount of aid spent within the UK was driven up further by the Home Office’s spending on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers,” the watchdog said.

Last month, a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) found that the government’s alternative plans for housing asylum seekers will actually cost the taxpayer £46m more than the hotels they seek to replace.

Read more:
Sex offender allowed to stay in UK – as more than half of appeals against asylum decisions successful
Rwanda scheme: PM Rishi Sunak refuses to name date for first deportation flight

The Home Office is expected to have spent at least £230m developing four major projects at the end of March – the Bibby Stockholm barge, the former RAF bases and ex-student accommodation in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

But the NAO found that only two of the sites have opened so far – the Bibby Stockholm and the Wethersfield site – and they were only housing around 900 people by the end of January.

Both have suffered a number of setbacks, including an outbreak of Legionella on the barge in the days after it took its first asylum seekers, while, according to the NAO, the set-up costs for Wethersfield have risen from £5m to £49m.

Next week, MPs are expected to vote on amendments to the Safety Of Rwanda Bill, which aims to declare Rwanda a safe country to deport asylum seekers to. It effectively aims to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that the policy of sending people who had arrived in the UK illegally to the African country is unlawful.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Nov 22 2023

Falkland Islands sovereignty not up for debate, UK warns after Argentina’s new president vows to ‘get them back’ | Politics News

There is “no doubt” the Falkland Islands are British, Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson has said, after Argentina’s new president vowed to “get them back”.

Javier Milei, who was elected in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, has said Buenos Aires had “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas by Argentines.

He said his government would “make every effort” to take the islands back “through diplomatic channels”.

But the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The UK has no doubt about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.”

The Falkland Islands were the subject of a bloody conflict in 1982 after Argentine forces invaded and briefly occupied the territory.

The war claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentine personnel.

Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said: “The UK government will continue to proactively defend the Falkland islanders’ right to self-determination.”

British ministers regularly cite the results of a 2013 referendum that saw close to 100% of voters on the islands, which has a population of about 3,500 people, opt to remain a UK Overseas Territory.

The No 10 official said Falklands rule was an “issue that was settled decisively some time ago”.

Read more:
A pope critic and Al Capone fan – meet Argentina’s new president
Falklands War: Remembering the friends who never made it to breakfast

New president pledges to recover islands ‘through diplomatic channels’

Mr Milei had reportedly said during a TV election debate: “What do I propose? Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is non-negotiable. The Malvinas are Argentine.

“Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution.

“We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels.”

In an interview with daily newspaper La Nacion, Mr Milei proposed the UK hand over the Falklands to his South American country in a similar way to how Hong Kong was given over to Chinese rule in 1997.

The populist politician, a self-described anarcho-capitalist who has been compared to former US president Donald Trump, conceded that the views of those living on the islands “cannot be ignored”.

‘Undeniable’ Falkland Islands are British

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it is “non-negotiable and undeniable” the Falkland Islands are British.

He tweeted: “99.8% of islanders voted to remain British and we will always defend their right to self-determination and the UK’s sovereignty.”

Rejecting any negotiation on the future of the Falklands, Mr Shapps highlighted how Royal Navy ship HMS Forth had been sent back to “protect the islands” in the southern hemisphere. It follows a nine-month stint by HMS Medway to patrol the remote location.

It comes after Mr Sunak criticised the EU for its “regrettable choice of words” in July after it appeared to have endorsed the name Argentina prefers.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 4 2023

Boris Johnson vows to create ‘Newtopia’ for amphibians threatening his swimming pool plans | Politics News

Boris Johnson has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to protect newts that have threatened his plans to build an outdoor swimming pool at his Oxfordshire country manor.

The former prime minister promised to build a “Newtopia”, consisting of “newt motels”, for the amphibians who have taken residence at the Grade II-listed Brightwell Manor he shares with his wife Carrie and their three young children.

Mr Johnson – who ironically once blamed “newt counting” for holding up “the productivity and the prosperity of this country” – applied to install the 11-metre by four-metre outdoor feature at his manor in June.

But the process may be delayed after the local countryside officer warned of the risk to great crested newts – which thrive in the village and are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

In his latest Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson wrote: “If it turns out that our garden is so honoured and so fortunate as to be the home of some newts – great crested, palmate, whatever – I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to protect them.

“If we have to build little newt motels to house them in their trips past the swimming pool, then we will. If we have to create whole newt-friendly bunds to stop them falling in, we will.

“We will excavate new ponds in which they can breed. We will make a Newtopia!”

Johnson’s proposed pool in ‘highest risk’ area

The South and Vale countryside officer last month filed a holding objection to Mr Johnson’s planned pool, arguing that the newts could be “impacted by the proposed development”.

In his report, which stated that planning permission should not “currently” be granted, local government ecologist Edward Church wrote: “There are known populations of great crested newts… in the east of the village.

“Mapping shows that there is a pond onsite and a moat immediately adjacent to the southern boundary, both well within 250 metres of the position of the proposed pool.

“The proposed development falls within the red zone of highest risk to GCN [great crested newts].”

Read more:
Boris Johnson’s ex-adviser made youngest peer at 30
Tech experts retrieve Johnson’s pandemic WhatsApps

Mr Johnson said that according to one of the ecology reports he has received – which he described as “amazingly expensive but worth every penny” – “there are certainly bodies of water nearby that could be hospitable to newts”.

“There is a chance that these creatures could be interrupted in their peregrinations, when they leave their watery lairs, by an unexpected new hole in the lawn,” he said.

“I am told that something that could be the spoor of the newt has been found, but we await DNA testing from the lab – and so, inevitably, I am warned that there may be delays, and there may be costs.”

The Wildlife Trust says the great crested newt, which is protected under UK and European wildlife law, is the biggest of the UK’s newt species, measuring up to 17cm.

The so-called “warty newt” is almost black with spotted flanks and an orange belly, with the charity comparing it to a mini-dinosaur.

Newt numbers are in decline, with habitat loss cited as their biggest threat.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Dec 20 2022

Rishi Sunak vows to clear immigration backlog – but dodges questions on leaving European Convention on Human Rights | Politics News

Rishi Sunak has repeatedly refused to say whether the UK would have to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to deliver his government’s plan for removing asylum seekers who arrive illegally.

Making his debut appearance at the Commons Liaison Committee, the prime minister was asked by the SNP’s Joanna Cheery whether the UK would have to derogate from the ECHR to fulfil his proposals to curb immigration.

“You will see the legislation next year and no doubt we will have the opportunity to debate it then but I wouldn’t want to speculate on that now,” he said.

Mr Sunak said he welcomes the High Court’s ruling on Monday that the government’s policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful.

He told MPs he believes the plans will help tackle the problem of small boats crossing the Channel.

Nurses launch second day of strikes – live politics updates

But the PM refused to be drawn on whether the government’s Rwanda policy would require changes to the Human Rights Act or the UK’s commitment to the ECHR.

Both Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab have said the government may have to consider withdrawing from the ECHR to press ahead successfully with the government’s plans.

“We expect further legal challenge. We will continue to pursue that as necessary,” he said.

“I believe the Rwanda scheme represents an important part of our plan to tackle illegal migration and stop small boats. It is not the only part of it but it is an important part of it. That is why I welcome the court decision yesterday.

“We will introduce legislation in the new year that will achieve the aim I set out. I am confident that we can deliver on that plan and it will make a difference and reduce the number of boats arriving.”

On Monday, Lord Justice Lewis said in his ruling that the controversial policy, introduced under Boris Johnson, was “consistent with the refugee convention”.

However, he said the home secretary should look at people’s “particular circumstances” before deporting them to the central African country.

Making a statement in the Commons after the judgment, the home secretary said the Rwanda policy is a “humane” and “practical alternative” for those who come to the UK through “dangerous, illegal and unnecessary routes”.

“Being relocated to Rwanda is not a punishment, but an innovative way of addressing a major problem to redress the imbalance between illegal and legal migration routes,” she told MPs.

The government announced its Rwanda policy back in April, which would see some asylum seekers who had reached the UK via small boat Channel crossings deported to the country to have their cases processed.

Ms Patel said it would help deter people from making the dangerous journey, but human rights campaigners, charities and opposition parties condemned the plan as inhumane.

PM evasive as he faces questions on immigration

The PM avoided directly answering questions about immigration.

Diana Johnson asked how many small boat crossings he expects next year, whether anyone will be waiting more than 6 months for an asylum claims and how many will be sent to Rwanda, but the PM wouldn’t set specific targets, saying the issues “can’t be solved overnight”.

While the court decision yesterday that the Rwanda plan is legal was a win for the government, the plan being workable relies on swift action.

The home office being potentially dragged to court over every Rwanda deportation case makes it very hard for the policy hard to work as a deterrent.

Rishi Sunak knows it’s an issue that chimes with many voters and Tory MPs, something he said is a personal priority.

He pledged last week to “abolish” the immigration backlog, to achieve something his predecessors tried and failed to.

The PM may not be setting himself any targets today, but images of small boats arriving on the Kent coast will speak for themselves.

The first flight was set to take off in June with four people on board, but was halted after a number of legal challenges and the European Court of Human Rights ruling the plan carried “a real risk of irreversible harm”.

However, both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss insisted they would push ahead with the policy when they took the keys to Number 10.

Meanwhile, the PM also told the Commons Liaison Committee that he was committed to abolishing the backlog of 92,000 asylum claims – as it stood at the end of June 2022 – by the end of the year.

However, the current backlog stands at 117,00.

“I think it would represent one of the most significant reductions in the backlog we have seen. If we can go further I would absolutely love to,” he said.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Nov 13 2022

Immigration minister vows ‘Hotel Britain’ will end for migrants to deter ‘asylum shopping’ | UK News

The immigration minister has declared that “Hotel Britain” must end, calling for migrants to be housed in “simple, functional” spaces rather than “luxury” rooms.

Robert Jenrick said that a “chronic shortage of acceptable accommodation” for “record numbers” of migrants has led to the government using expensive hotels, adding to the cost for taxpayers.

But, writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he suggested that more basic accommodation should be considered, such as disused student accommodation, defunct holiday parks, or even budget cruise ships.

Mr Jenrick said: “Human decency has to be accompanied by hard-headed common sense: illegal immigrants are not entitled to luxury hotels.

“Conditions in the UK are almost always better than in neighbouring countries, which helps explain why the UK is a destination of choice for economic migrants on the continent ‘asylum shopping’.

“‘Hotel Britain’ must end, and be replaced with simple, functional accommodation that does not create an additional pull factor.”

It comes as UK ministers are under fire over conditions at the Manston holding centre in Kent – at one point as many as 4,000 people were being detained at the site, despite it being designed to hold just 1,600.

It has also emerged that people at the facility will be vaccinated against diphtheria after 39 cases of the contagious disease were recorded among asylum seekers in England in the year to 10 November.

Read more:
Thousands to be vaccinated at Manston migrant centre after spike in highly contagious disease
Number of migrants identifying as minors pushing social workers in Devon to ‘breaking point’
‘We are worthy people’: Albanians smuggled into UK say they are ‘excited for the future’

The number of migrants who have crossed the Channel into the UK is thought to have surpassed 40,000 this year, after dozens more arrived on Saturday.

And the mayor of Calais was quoted in French media as saying that “around 500 people” were rescued after 14 attempts to cross the Channel in the previous 24 hours.

Mr Jenrick said that the UK needed to work closely with French officials to deter those “attempting to cheat the process”.

It has been reported in recent days that a new agreement with France – thought to be worth about £80m – is in its final stages.

He said: “With greater co-ordination between our respective security and law enforcement agencies, we can dismantle the evil criminal gangs masterminding these crossings and bring greater order both to our shores and to northern France.”

Read more:
Suella Braverman and migrant row explained
Illegal immigration ‘out of control, claims Braverman

Mr Jenrick also said that he would look at expanding the controversial Rwanda deportation scheme introduced by former home secretary Priti Patel.

The scheme, which sees migrants deported to the east African nation, whether their asylum applications are successful or not, has not yet been used.

But Mr Jenrick said similar agreements will be explored with other countries, adding that those travelling from “safe” nations must not view small boats as “a path to a life here”.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Oct 4 2022

Home Secretary Suella Braverman vows to stop Channel migrant crossings – and will ‘make Rwanda scheme work’ | Politics News

The new home secretary has vowed to stop small boats crossing the Channel and to find a way to “make the Rwanda scheme work”.

Suella Braverman, in her first speech in the job, received a standing ovation at the Conservative Party conference after promising to stop the illegal migrant crossings.

“We have got to stop the boats crossing the Channel. This has gone on for too long. But I have to be straight with you, there are no quick fixes,” she said.

“The problem is chronic. Organised criminal gangs are selling a lie to thousands of people. Many are drowning in the Channel.

“Many are leaving a safe country like France and abusing our asylum system.”

Ms Braverman told the Birmingham conference said she will work closely with France “to get more out of our partnership” both on the French coastline and “further upstream” against the criminal gangs smuggling people over.

This announcement was met with a standing ovation from the audience and prompted her to say she had not finished yet.

The home secretary added that in order to prevent illegal migration “we need to find a way to make the Rwanda scheme work”.

She hit out at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) overriding the UK Supreme Court so the government’s first deportation flight to Rwanda was unable to take off.

Her predecessor, Priti Patel, launched the scheme to send migrants, who came into the UK via small boats in the Channel, to Rwanda in a partnership with the African country.

But no flights have yet left the UK due to the ECHR’s decisions, with Ms Braverman saying: “We need to take back control.”

Modern slavery

She also said the largest group of migrants in small boats are currently coming from Albania, which she said is “a safe country”.

Ms Braverman said many of them claim to have been trafficked as modern slaves “despite them having paid thousands of pounds to come here, or having willingly taken a dangerous journey across the Channel”.

She said many are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked “are lies”.

Dover’s Tory MP Natalie Elphicke told Sky News she welcomed the measures and added that the British people will “absolutely help people in need of asylum” but the situation is abused daily in the town.

Ms Braverman also said there are “egregious examples of convicted paedophiles and rapists” making last-minute claims of modern slavery to block their deportation.

Read more:
Liz Truss says she has ‘absolutely no shame’ in U-turn on cutting 45p tax cut
Home secretary attacks Tory MPs who ‘staged coup’ over tax cut

Not racist to want to control borders

In her wide-ranging speech, the home secretary said legal migration needs to be controlled so those who emigrate to the UK assimilate.

“It’s not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders,” said Ms Braverman, whose parents came from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s.

“It’s not bigoted to say that we have too many asylum seekers who are abusing the system.

“It’s not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration places pressure on housing, public services and community relations.

“I reject the Left’s argument that it is hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority to tell these truths.”

Police should not take the knee

She also promised to back the police and to ensure they investigate every neighbourhood crime.

Members applauded when she said officers must have powers to “stop protesters who use guerrilla tactics” and warned activists from environmental groups Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion that they will be jailed for breaking the law during protests.

She also said it was wrong for police to take the knee, join in political demonstrations and for male officers to strip search female suspects.

“More PCs, less PC,” she said to a roar of applause.

The home secretary also pledged to ensure the Prevent terrorism referral scheme is “fit for purpose”.

admin 0 Comments