Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Priti Patel vows to crack down on crime, disruptive protests

Priti Patel vows to crack down on crime, disruptive protests

BRITAIN'S home secretary Priti Patel on Tuesday (5) set out a series of crime-fighting measures, including stringent action on crimes against women, and tougher penalties for protesters disrupting highways.

In her speech at the ongoing annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the senior Indian-origin politician also highlighted the progress of the post-Brexit points-based system of immigration she had launched last year.


"This Conservative government is taking the tough decisions needed to cut crime and make our streets safer,” Patel told party delegates amid applause.

"So today I can announce I will also increase the maximum penalties for disrupting a motorway, criminalise interference with key infrastructures such as roads, railways and our free press, and give the police and courts new powers to deal with the small minority of offenders intent on travelling around the country, causing disruption and misery across our communities,” she said.

The announcement follows key motorways being blocked by climate protesters in recent days, causing major disruption to transport networks.

In the wake of a serving Scotland Yard officer being sentenced recently for the rape and murder of a 33-year-old woman walking home at night in London, Patel also confirmed an inquiry to provide independent oversight to ensure mistakes are not repeated within the police force.

"I say this as home secretary, but also as a woman, such unconscionable crimes and acts of violence against women and girls have no place in our society. And that is why I have redoubled my efforts to ensure women and girls feel safer,” she said.

On the country's new visas and immigration system, the 49-year-old Gujarati-origin politician welcomed an end to the European Union (EU) policy of free movement of people within the economic bloc.

She said: "We have finally ended the free movement. Delivered our new points-based immigration system, welcoming people to our country based on the skills they have to offer, not the colour of their passport.

"Our new routes are attracting the best and brightest talent from around the world. Welcoming brilliant scientists, the finest academics, and leading people in their fields, all helping to drive our economy forward as we build back better from the pandemic. And at long last, the British immigration system is under the control of the British government.”

Under the points-based system in force since early this year, migrants from anywhere in the world “including India” are expected to apply to live and work in the UK, based on their level of skills rather than the country of origin.

The conference which will run until Wednesday (6) will conclude with prime minister Boris Johnson's flagship speech.

(PTI)

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less