Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Braverman considering stringent legislation to deter employers from hiring illegal migrants

The home secretary is also pushing for more stronger enforcement of existing rules to contain illegal Channel crossings

Braverman considering stringent legislation to deter employers from hiring illegal migrants

Home secretary Suella Braverman is considering strengthening legislation to further deter companies from employing illegal migrants, a media report said as Britain grapples with a wave of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel dangerously.

Under the existing laws, employers hiring illegal migrants can be jailed for five years and fined unlimited amounts.

Braverman was examining if heftier fines and longer jail terms could help the country stem the flow of migrants illegally reaching its shores, a Telegraph report said.

She is also pushing for stricter enforcement of existing rules in the wake of the revelation that the number of fines being issued for breaches has come down sharply from 837 in the first quarter of 2016 to 152 in the first three months of 2022.

Official figures showed that more than 33,500 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, half of them coming from Afghanistan, Albania and Iran.

According to France, the UK’s “soft touch” image is working as a pull factor that has brought tens of thousands of illegal migrants to the island nation.

The Home Office’s most recent estimate put the number of illegal migrants living in the UK between 310,000 and 570,000 in 2001 and the figures have not been reviewed since 2005.

However, a Pew Research Center report which came later said the number could be as high as 1.3 million.

At the recent annual Conservative conference, Braverman, whose parents emigrated to Britain from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s, vowed to redouble the UK’s border control efforts.

It would not be bigotry to “say that we have too many asylum seekers who are abusing the system," she said at the event.

For the past 12 years, Conservative governments have been promising to significantly reduce the number of migrants, but success has evaded them.

Braverman’s predecessor Priti Patel came up with plans earlier this year to relocate asylum seekers arriving in Britain to Rwanda but they were halted following intervention by the European Court of Human Rights.

More For You

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Diwali

This year’s Diwali event will still see Belgrave Road continue to host what is left of the festival. (Representational image)

Major changes announced for Leicester’s Diwali celebrations amid safety fears

LDRS

THIS year’s annual Diwali celebrations will be stripped back amid public safety fears. Leicester City Council has said there will be no fireworks or stage entertainment as part of major changes announced for the event.

Cossington Street Recreation Ground will also not be used for the festivities, the council has revealed. The green space previously was the location for the main stage and the Diwali Village with its food stalls, funfair rides, fashion and arts. The annual fire garden display was also based there, offering “a peaceful oasis amid the festive excitement”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Corbyn- Zarah Sultana

Zarah Sultana with Jeremy Corbyn during a protest outside Downing Street demanding the UK government to stop all arms sales to Israel. (Photo: X/@zarahsultana)

X/@zarahsultana

Zarah Sultana leaves Labour, plans new party with Corbyn and independents

FORMER Labour MP Zarah Sultana has announced her resignation from the party and plans to launch a new political party alongside ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other independent MPs and activists.

Sultana, who represents Coventry South, lost the Labour whip last year for supporting the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasmukh Shah

The certificate was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.

Hasmukh Shah receives UK minister’s certificate of appreciation

A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.

The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai-Lama-Getty

Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

India says Dalai Lama alone can decide successor

A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.

Keep ReadingShow less