Immigration policy, border security, asylum and migration.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to reopen the UK Resettlement Scheme, with Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees among vulnerable groups expected to receive priority.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readDaniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, has been charged with criminal damage and a separate RIPA offence following an alleged incident involving a boat in the Channel.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readHome Office figures show 3,427 people who previously arrived in the UK by small boat were returned in the 12 months to 31 July 2026, up 39% year on year.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readNigel Farage has said he wants Donald Trump's border chief Tom Homan to help secure Britain's borders, although no formal role or agreement has been announced.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readThe Government has formally confirmed that its national Digital ID programme, proposed legislation and mandatory right-to-work element will not proceed, although several separate digital identity services will continue.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood has branded Danny Tommo an 'outright racist' and warned that people who break the law will face its full force amid tensions over the proposed Bicester asylum site.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readPiddington residents have voted 285 to 26 to symbolically leave the United Kingdom in protest against plans to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at nearby MoD Bicester.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readThe Government has warned that people smugglers may use larger boats and less frequently targeted stretches of coastline after an unusual crossing near the Isle of Wight and protests in Portsmouth and Dover.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readPolice have confirmed that officers were injured and police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles damaged during the Portsmouth anti-migration protest, with an investigation now under way.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readHundreds of anti-migration protesters gathered in Portsmouth and blocked roads after a small boat carrying around 140 migrants was intercepted and its occupants brought ashore.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readAround 140 migrants have reached Britain in a single inflatable boat after setting out from an unusually distant part of Normandy, days after Andy Burnham and Emmanuel Macron discussed efforts to reduce Channel crossings.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readReform UK and France’s National Rally have signed a memorandum of understanding setting out how they would work together to stop Channel small-boat crossings if both parties enter government.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readThe Home Office is changing the Immigration Rules so applicants in the UK who previously failed to report for immigration bail or absconded from bail or custody can be refused on that basis.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readRecognised modern-slavery victims on Skilled Worker visas can now leave an exploitative sponsoring employer and work elsewhere for the remainder of their existing visa.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readFrance is deploying 45 additional officers to western beaches as the UK and France respond to smugglers using larger ‘mega-dinghies’ and launch sites further along the French coast.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readSmall-boat arrivals fell to 7,371 across June, July and August, roughly half last summer's total, as ministers credit stronger UK-French enforcement while acknowledging more people are being packed onto each vessel.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readReform UK has pledged a police-led taskforce to scrutinise asylum-accommodation contractors and proposed criminal liability for senior executives where residents commit violence against women and girls.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readJohn Swinney's Scottish Government has demanded a Scottish Visa, Rural Visa and Scottish Graduate Visa just a day after publishing its draft legislation for another independence referendum.
Charlotte Mercer · 6 min readReform UK has unveiled sweeping election-law proposals including English-language comprehension checks at polling stations, severe restrictions on postal voting, the removal of Commonwealth voting rights and limits on foreign-language campaign material.
Charlotte Mercer · 6 min readAlmost 200,000 people were granted permanent UK settlement in the year ending June 2026, up 24% and the highest annual total since 2011, new Home Office figures show.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readSmall-boat arrivals fell 23% to around 33,000 in the year ending June 2026 while the number of supported asylum seekers living in hotels halved to 16,000, new Home Office statistics show.
Staff member · 4 min readForty people who disappeared while they were children living in Home Office asylum hotels remain unlocated, with Parliament demanding answers over efforts to trace them.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood says the Government is involved in live international discussions about return hubs for people whose UK asylum claims have failed.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readReform UK’s Zia Yusuf has warned Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle and the company’s directors that they could face prison under a future Reform government if SIM cards continue to be supplied through Care4Calais.
Charlotte Mercer · 6 min readZia Yusuf’s posts accusing former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace of treachery remained online after Nigel Farage publicly called the language ‘over the top’ and promised his Reform UK spokesman a ‘ticking off’.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readShadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has attacked the Government's £662 million border agreement with France after a record 230 people crossed the Channel in a single overcrowded inflatable boat.
Staff member · 6 min readA major Anglo-French rescue operation was launched after an overcrowded dinghy reportedly carrying around 160 migrants caught fire in the English Channel.
Staff member · 2 min readReform UK MP Sarah Pochin has faced criticism after invoking France’s defeat in June 1940 during a dispute over Operation Fortress, with critics pointing to the tens of thousands of French soldiers killed defending their country.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readReform UK’s Operation Fortress has sparked a confrontation with France, an attack on the BBC from Richard Tice and a provocative Second World War jibe from Sarah Pochin.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readAndy Burnham has promised to be relentless in tackling small-boat crossings, but more than 2,000 people arrived during his first 12 days as Prime Minister as questions continued over enforcement on French beaches.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readRestore Britain leader Rupert Lowe has publicly offered to explore cooperation with Nigel Farage and Reform UK, while making any agreement conditional on five policy demands.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readLabour MP Jo White has been appointed Minister for Migration and Citizenship, replacing Mike Tapp. Her appointment comes after she responded to reports surrounding a leaked audio recording.
Staff member · 2 min readMike Tapp has confirmed he is leaving his role as Minister for Migration and Citizenship, thanking Home Office staff and pledging to continue supporting the Government from the backbenches.
Staff member · 1 min read