British government split over new-look Brexit deal
Keir Starmer travels to Brussels with the prospect of a new youth mobility scheme high on the agenda.
Home Office
Just 23,000 people came to UK last year on youth mobility visas
Figures give EU diplomats more hope of reaching a post-Brexit deal to allow young holiday workers into UK Just 23,000 people came to the UK last year to work as part of the British youth mobility scheme, a fraction of the overall net migration figure,…
Starmer avoids backing anti-Trump comment before potential meeting
PM hopes to meet both candidates on US trip but attempt to see Trump undermined by Home Office minister saying he had emboldened racists in UKKeir Starmer has said he wants to meet Kamala Harris and Donald Trump before the US election, as he declined t…
Donald Trump emboldened UK racists, says Labour minister
Home Office Minister Angela Eagle says US Republican fed anti-immigrant sentiment across the west.
FS policy: 20 people to meet at Labourโs conference
Looking to influence financial services policy but unsure who to meet at Labourโs inaugural party conference in Liverpool this weekend? Politicians, advisers or policy wonks: Weโve got the ultimate list of who holds the power in and around the first Labour Party conference in 14 years โ and who to have a chinwag with on [โฆ]
Even Britainโs left-wing government seeks lessons from Giorgia Meloni
Keir Starmer wants to ape Italy on tackling irregular migration. He should brace for controversy.
Eight dead after Channel crossing attempt
The Home Office says 801 people crossed the Channel on Saturday.
How Britain took its eye off the far right
In the wake of this summer’s riots, Keir Starmer’s new Labour government is seeking answers.
UK splashes extra ยฃ10.5m to avert Brexit chaos at ports
The EUโs new border system has raised fears of queues and delays for British travelers to Europe.
Keir Starmerโs plan to tackle the far right? Fill some potholes.
Labour wants to show government can work after a wave of social unrest.
Migration keeps derailing British leaders
As the dust settles on days of far-right rioting, the issue seems inescapable for Britain’s new leader Keir Starmer.
Keir Starmer walks straight into summer from hell
With Britain’s prisons full and its population angry, the new prime minister hoped things wouldn’t reach boiling point so soon.
Tory leader race: The 6 hopefuls trying to save their party from the abyss
With just 121 Conservative MPs left, it’ll be an uphill struggle for these contenders to turn around the once-mighty British party’s fortunes.
Courts place UKโs post-Brexit scheme for EU citizens at risk, experts warn
Lawyers criticise what they consider inconsistencies in the handling of individual foreign nationalsโ casesThe UK government scheme allowing EU citizens to remain post-Brexit is in danger of being upended, legal experts have warned, after a series of c…
Albanian man taken from UK psychiatric ward to deportation flight โ report
Watchdog raises concerns about Home Office decision in annual report about incident last summerAn Albanian man who was being held in a secure psychiatric unit was taken directly from his hospital bed to a Home Office deportation flight, a report has re…
Attack on Donald Trump strikes fear into European hearts
Fears of political violence are simmering just beneath the surface in Europe, too.
Keir Starmer urged to quickly fix โbrokenโ EU settlement scheme
Organisations including the3million write to PM calling for action to avoid a repeat of Windrush scandalUK politics live โ latest updatesKeir Starmer must take quick steps to fix the โbrokenโ Home Office settlement scheme for EU citizens who were in th…
Four people drown trying to cross Channel near Boulogne-sur-Mer
Deaths are first to happen since election of Keir Starmer, who has pledged to โstop the criminal gangsโโข Europe live โ latest updatesFour people have died overnight trying to cross the Channel, according to reports in French media.A rescue operation to…
Jeremy Hunt rules himself out of Tory leadership race
The race to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party has already begun following its devastating election defeat.
Civil servants obliged to carry out Tory Rwanda deportations, court rules
Union for civil servants claimed Home Office staff could be open to prosecution if Strasbourg rulings on Rwanda ignoredโข General election 2024: live newsGuidance drawn up by Conservative ministers which told civil servants to ignore Strasbourg rulings …
Calaisโ Jungle is gone, but the migrants keep coming
French and British efforts to stop small boats have done little to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel.
African and Asian artists condemn โhumiliatingโ UK and EU visa refusals
โUnfairโ rejection rates of up to 70% harm cultural diversity and create a โglobal apartheidโ, say promoters and musiciansMusicians, authors, producers and festival managers have hit out at โhumiliatingโ and costly visa-rejection rates for African and …
UK election candidates battle death threats and abuse
A rising tide of anti-politician feeling is limiting appetite for public-facing events.
Home Office says Eurostar e-gate issue fixed
Eurostar said there was a technical problem with UK Border Force e-gates at Gare du Nord.
Home Office says Eurostar e-gate issue fixed
Eurostar said there was a technical problem with UK Border Force e-gates at Gare du Nord.
Man facing UK charge for helping Hong Kongโs spy agency found dead
Police say Matthew Trickett’s death is ‘being treated as unexplained.’
AI, Inc. flexes its election bona fides โ and hunts for customers
Billions of voters head to the polls this year โ and consultants, advocates and nonprofits want to use the emerging tech to reach them. But the success of such campaigns is far from clear.
UK summons Chinese ambassador to complain about spying
UK foreign office says China’s pattern of behavior ‘is not acceptable.’
Hundreds of potentially trafficked children โabandoned by Home Officeโ
Exclusive: 1,871 possible trafficking or modern slavery victims left open to exploitation after falling out of UK system, FoI data revealsHundreds of children identified as potential victims of trafficking are being abandoned by the Home Office and lef…
โAlarmingโ number of lone children held in UK-run facilities in France
Charities say FoI disclosure that 369 such children were held over 21-month period is โhugely concerningโMore than 350 lone children were held in UK-run detention facilities in northern France over a 21-month period, according to documents disclosed un…
Home Office to launch shock asylum raid across UK
Exercise under which people will be selected for removal to Rwanda comes at start of tough week for Sunakโs party
Meet the cricketing headmasterโs son poised to make Britain an international โlegal pariahโ
The passage of the government’s Rwanda legislation sets the stage for a final showdown between Britain to and the European Court.
Brussels wants post-Brexit talks with UK on new youth mobility rights
Young people hit ‘particularly hard’ by Brexit, Commission’s Maroลก ล efฤoviฤ says.
Albanians willing to be repatriated detained for weeks in UK, watchdog finds
HM chief inspector of prisons says detainees held unnecessarily despite volunteering for fast-track deportationAlbanians volunteering to be repatriated under a fast-track deportation deal are being detained unnecessarily for several weeks at taxpayersโ…
Migrant workers at greater risk of modern slavery after Brexit, research finds
Exclusive: Visas created hastily to solve labour shortages expose people to โhyper-precarityโ and exploitationVisas created hastily to solve labour shortages as a result of Brexit have put workers at greater risk of modern slavery and exploitation, res…
โIf you want to abuse your workers, thatโs fineโ: UK modern slavery watchdogโs funding cut
Government accused of undermining the fight against labour abuses after ยฃ2m reduction in oversight budgetBritainโs labour abuse watchdog has had its funding cut by the Home Office despite a dramatic surge in exploitation in the care sector.The budget o…
UK probes claim Oct. 7 survivors were quizzed at airport โbecause they are Israeliโ
Home Secretary James Cleverly orders investigation after border officials are said to have spoken in ‘aggressive terms’ to Israeli nationals.
Revealed: UK-funded French forces putting migrantsโ lives at risk with small-boat tactics
Exclusive: newly obtained footage and leaked documents show how a โmass casualty eventโ could arise from aggressive tactics employed by border forcesFrench police funded by the UK government have endangered the lives of vulnerable migrants by intercept…
Leak inquiry: what happens when Westminsterโs secrets are spilled
This week, Aggie Chambre looks atย the art of the leak and asks โ why do people do it, and what happens when your political secrets are exposed? Former Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green talks about helping to leak Home Office secrets when Labour was in charge. Aggie hears from journalist and author Isabel Oakeshott about [โฆ]
One year on from Silicon Valley Bank collapse
SNEAK PEEK โ Silicon Valley Bank collapsed a year ago: whatโs changed? โ Ministers gather for U.K. Global Fraud Summit. โ Labour assembles crack team to advise on National Wealth Fund. Happy Monday! Welcome to another week of financial services news and views. To kick off the week we have an amazingly insightful review into [โฆ]
Theresa May: The Brexit prime minister who should have been great
Westminster says farewell to Britainโs second female premier brought down by her partyโs civil war over Europe.
UKโs Tories tear themselves apart over Islamophobia
A row over a suspended MP has triggered a days-long debate in the governing party about anti-Muslim hatred.
Prince Harry loses court battle with British government over security
King Charles IIIโs youngest son challenged the decision to downgrade his security detail after move to the US.
UK inks deal with EUโs Frontex on illegal migration
Pact stops short of a returns agreement, but will allow the two sides’ border agencies to work together more closely.
Britainโs Westminster power couples โ 2024 ranking
A look at the love matches wielding political power.
Why Rishi Sunakโs Tories canโt stop beefing with bishops
The British prime minister is on a collision course with England’s clergy, who are no longer ‘the Conservative Party at prayer.’
Italian man removed from UK despite post-Brexit Home Office certificate
Massimiliano Melargo, who was stopped at airport, has permission to enter and leave UK while awaiting settlement decisionAn Italian man has been removed from the UK despite holding a Home Office certificate explicitly stating he has a right to travel i…
The Week โฆ Ministers try to avert war
Two of Westminsterโs best-connected journalists, Sky Newsโs Sam Coates and Politicoโs Jack Blanchard, guide us through their predictions of how British politics will play out over the next seven days. This week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits Northern Ireland following the plans to restart Stormont and the swearing-in of Michelle OโNeill as the first nationalist [โฆ]
Dublin not expecting EU objections to new trade rules for Northern Ireland โ as it happened
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereBack at the home affairs committee James Daly (Con) asks why so few police investigations end up in people being charged.James Cleverly, the home secretary, says the Crown Prosecution Se…
British police and security services to help protect Paris Olympics
France and UK also agree to deploy more drones and sea barriers to stop small boats crossing ChannelUK security experts will help France to protect the Paris Olympics in a sign of closer cooperation, the Home Office has said.Both governments also plan …
Indonesian fruit picker landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office
Exclusive: Test case likely against UKโs seasonal worker scheme as charity alleges breach of right to be protected from labour exploitationWhen Ismael found himself sleeping rough at York station in the late October cold he struggled to understand how …
Home Office U-turns on rights of EU citizens who were in UK pre-Brexit
โLack of awarenessโ of EU settled status scheme restored as reasonable grounds for late applications by permanent residence card holdersThe Home Office has made a significant U-turn on the rights of EU citizens who were in the UK before Brexit.It is go…
EU citizens are being kicked out of the UK. In Spain we’re asking: why not treat British people the same way? | Marรญa Ramรญrez
Does turning away Europeans with valid paperwork really make British borders โsafe and secureโ? Itโs hard to imagineFour years after the UK officially left the European Union, you can still be taken aback reading about Brexitโs self-defeating, if somet…
โGiven my life backโ: Home Office restores rights to French woman after Brexit mix-up
Paula Serre lost her job after being stripped of the right to live and work in the UK after confusion over immigration processA French woman who lost her job in the UK after a mix-up over the Brexit immigration process has had her residency and work ri…
Spanish woman deported from UK after returning from Christmas holiday
Woman was detained overnight and removed despite presenting Home Office documents showing her right to work and live in UKA 34-year-old Spanish woman was forcibly removed from the UK after returning from a Christmas holiday near Mรกlaga despite presenti…
UK does not cooperate sufficiently over small boat crossings, says French body
Independent French auditors say UK information on people crossing Channel is โvery patchyโThe UK is not coordinating sufficiently with France to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats or providing enough detailed information, F…
Britainโs got some of Europeโs toughest surveillance laws. Now it wants more
Despite the protestations of industry and campaigners, ministers are whisking a new bill through parliament.
Family of man found dead on Bibby Stockholm turn to crowdfunding to repatriate his body
Leonard Farrukuโs family โfacing a double tragedy with not being able to have his body back homeโ in AlbaniaThe family of a man believed to have killed himself on the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, say they have had to turn to…
Italian woman facing removal from UK despite โpermanent residencyโ card
Silvana one of potentially thousands who were unaware of need to apply for post-Brexit EU settlement schemeAn Italian environmental technology investor who has lived in the UK for 14 years has discovered she could be removed despite getting a โpermanen…
UK waters down plan to make foreign spouses earn ยฃ38,700
Earnings threshold will now only rise to ยฃ29,000 in the spring, and further increases are undated.
Rishi Sunak loves Big Tech. Why does he keep scaring them away?
A surveillance reform speeding through parliament is just the latest UK government proposal that has tech companies worried.
UK vulnerable to โcatastrophicโ ransomware attack, MPs warn
LONDON โ MPs have warned that swathes of the United Kingdomโs critical national infrastructure are vulnerable to ransomware which the government is ill prepared to fend off. In a report published Wednesday, the U.K. parliamentโs joint committee on the national security strategy called for the Cabinet Office to take over responsibility for ransomware from the [โฆ]
Asylum seeker aboard UKโs Bibby Stockholm barge dies
Two care groups working with migrants aboard the vessel confirm person has died.
UKโs botched Rwanda deportation plan comes with ยฃ290M price tag
Asylum plan getting Conservative MPs fired up is costing even more than previously disclosed.
UKโs James Cleverly blasts Metaโs encryption push
Home Secretary says he is โincredibly disappointedโ Meta has not listened to ministersโ concerns.
โWingless birdsโ: life aboard Britainโs controversial asylum barge
Residents of the Bibby Stockholm speak out, as Conservatives strike a tough pose on asylum policy.
Why Prince Harry is fighting the UK government in court
He’s royally unhappy โ and it’s all about security.
Raab rejects claim that Johnsonโs government was โpuppet regimeโ run by Cummings โ as it happened
This live blog is now closed, you can read more from todayโs Covid inquiry hereBack at the home affairs committee, Tim Loughton (Con) has just had another go at getting answers about the number of asylum applications that have been withdrawn. (See 10.3…
Fivefold rise in number of EU citizens refused entry to UK since Brexit
Home Office data reveals impact of end of free movement and raises questions over Border Force hostilityThe number of EU citizens refused entry to the UK since Brexit has increased fivefold, Home Office figures show.In the first three quarters of 2019 …
Net migration to UK hit record 745,000 in 2022, revised figures show
Office for National Statistics raises previous figure by 140,000 and gives estimate for year to June of 672,000Net migration boosted the UK population by a record 745,000 in the year to December 2022, fuelled in part by a surge in overseas professional…
9 hidden details buried in Rishi Sunakโs Autumn Statement
Cut through the spin with POLITICO’s guide to the fiscal small-print.
Keir Starmer hit by major rebellion as 10 of his frontbenchers back Gaza cease-fire
A total of 56 Labour MPs rebelled by voting for a cease-fire in the Middle East.
Judgment day for Rishi Sunak as Supreme Court rules on Rwanda deportation plan
POLITICO maps the winding journey to the top court for the U.K. government’s flagship plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Rishi Sunakโs biggest gamble
The UK prime minister’s dramatic Cabinet reshuffle is far from certain to succeed.
Migrant workers face exploitation as result of post-Brexit scheme, says report
Analysis by Work Rights Centre finds Home Office system prioritises immigration control over workersโ rightsThousands of migrant workers are at risk of exploitation because of multiple failures in the government scheme that allows them to come to the U…
The Guardian view on Rishi Sunakโs reshuffle: the Tories canโt escape their own chaos | Editorial
The prime ministerโs moves reveal his failure to restore trust in government after the calamitous Truss administrationRishi Sunakโs cabinet reshuffle reveals the identity crisis at the heart of the Conservative party. Are the Tories the party of tax cu…
Helicopters, riding boots and vacuum cleaners: How French border force spends UK money
Figures obtained by POLITICO shed light on key border deal between U.K. and France.
Cabinet of โfuckpigsโ and a team with โno planโ: 9 Boris bombshells from the UKโs COVID inquiry
Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain’s evidence rocked Westminster Tuesday.
Westminsterโs most gruesome rivalries
POLITICO celebrates Halloween with a spook-tacular guide to the SW1 feuds that just won’t stay in the grave.
Afghans who fled Taliban to UK โset to be made homeless at Christmasโ
Home Office has imposed a 15 December deadline to eject people who worked for UK in Afghanistan from hotels, say councilsMore than 1,000 Afghans in the UK face being made homeless days before Christmas after the Home Office imposed a fresh deadline to …
UK net migration will start falling to pre-Brexit levels, analysis shows
Students and recent arrivals will begin to return and current record figure of 606,000 will be halved in coming yearsNet migration to the UK is likely to fall significantly in the coming years but remain at pre-Brexit levels of about 300,000, analysis …
Wednesday briefing: Is Britain about to get invaded by bedbugs?
In todayโs newsletter: With Paris under siege by these tiny, blood-sucking terrors, many on the other side of the Channel are wondering if theyโre next โ and what can be doneโข Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Paris is b…
UK outspends rest of Europe on housing asylum seekers by at least 40% a person
Exclusive: Report by aid campaign One finds costs now take up nearly a third of the official aid budgetThe UK is spending 40% a person more than any other European country on housing asylum seekers with the costs taking up nearly a third of the officia…
UK dials up fight with Meta over encryption
New campaign comes as the United Kingdom finalizes rules that would allow it to monitor encrypted chats.
Theresa May: Iโm woke
Former Tory prime minister says she meets the definition ‘of somebody who recognizes that discrimination takes place.’
Shock and recriminations as Chinese spy scandal rocks UK parliament
Rishi Sunak under pressure to toughen stance on Beijing.
UK to label Wagner a terrorist organization
The move will make it a criminal offense to be a member of or to support the group once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Suella Braverman restates wish for UK to leave European court of human rights
Home secretary calls the court โpoliticisedโ and refuses to rule out mass tagging of asylum seekersSuella Braverman has reiterated her wish to leave what she called the โpoliticisedโ European court of human rights (ECHR) and refused to rule out the mas…
Person aboard UKโs Bibby Stockholm asylum seeker barge โattempted suicideโ
Claim comes in a letter sent to the Home Office by asylum seekers housed on a controversial barge in Dorset.
UK facing highest number of asylum claims for two decades
The last time UK asylum claims were this high was 2002, when 84,130 asylum applications were made in a year.
Hereโs Larry! Why Westminsterโs political cats matter more than you think
From rodent-battlers to PR tools, felines like Larry the Cat have a storied history.
Channel boat deaths prompt fresh anger over asylum policy
Hunt is on for survivors after at least six people die, while activists call for more safe and legal routesThe governmentโs controversial asylum policy faced renewed criticism on Saturday when at least six people died after a small boat crossing the Ch…
Asylum seekers moved off controversial UK barge after deadly bacteria found in shipโs water
Ministers had described the Bibby Stockholm as ‘safe and decent accommodation’.
Meet Westminsterโs attack dogs
The gloves are coming come off in Westminster, even before the general election has been called.
UK signs deal with Turkey to tackle small boat gangs
UK and Turkish police will work to disrupt the supply of small boats on the way to Britain.
Why Britain wants to shout about its offshore asylum ship
Rishi Sunak is going big on his small boats plan.
First asylum seekers moved to barge off UK south coast
The Home Office hopes to house up to 500 people on the Bibby Stockholm.
UK minister denies barge housing asylum seekers is a โpotential death trapโ
Grant Shapps defends Bibby Stockholm vessel, currently moored in Dorset as part of UK plans to cut asylum accommodation costs.
UK plan to house asylum seekers on barge delayed by fire safety concerns
Home Office says vessel will open โin the coming weeksโ after inspections uncover compliance issues
NatWest bank chief quits over Nigel Farage โdebankingโ saga
Alison Rose resigns in row over bank’s consideration of Farage’s political views in closing his account.