Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK wants to tackle small boats while being compliant with ECHR - PM's spokesperson

Sunak in December last year set out a new five-step strategy to clamp down on illegal immigration, with a promise to end the government's backlog of asylum applications by the end of 2023.

UK wants to tackle small boats while being compliant with ECHR - PM's spokesperson

Britain wants to tackle the issue of migrants arriving in small boats while remaining compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Monday.

The Sunday Times cited officials saying Sunak might consider leaving the ECHR if the British law were challenged by its human rights court.


"The policy approach of the government will both deal with the underlying causes and seeks to be compliant with our international obligations including the ECHR," the spokesperson said.

Sunak in December last year set out a new five-step strategy to clamp down on illegal immigration, with a promise to end the government’s backlog of asylum applications by the end of 2023.

Hundreds of additional staff will be deployed to a new unit to monitor small boats crossing the English Channel as well as a dedicated unit to handle claims from Albanians – among the largest cohort of illegal migrants despite Albania being categorised as a safe country. The new plans also cover housing 10,000 asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed in less expensive accommodation than hotels.

“It is unfair that people come here illegally. It is unfair on those with a genuine case for asylum when our capacity to help is taken up by people coming through, and from, countries that are perfectly safe,” Sunak said in a statement in the House of Commons.

“It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws. Enough is enough. As currently constructed the global asylum framework has become obsolete,” he said.

Under the government’s five-point agenda, which Sunak said had been devised by him and his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, a new permanent unified Small Boats Operational Command will be set up to coordinate intelligence, interception, processing, and enforcement. It will involve more than 700 new staff and double the funding given to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) for tackling organised immigration crime in Europe.

The second step he set out involves freed up immigration officials being able to increase raids on illegal working by 50 per cent. The third area of focus will be to counter the GBP 5.5 million daily bill for the use of hotels to house asylum seekers and make use of alternative sites such as disused holiday parks, former student halls, and surplus military sites.

The fourth area covers a doubling of asylum application caseworkers “radically re-engineering” the end-to-end process with shorter guidance, fewer interviews, less paperwork and introducing specialist case workers by nationality.

The fifth and final area highlighted by Sunak in Parliament is aimed at tackling the large numbers from a “safe, prosperous European country” of Albania, who make up a third of those arriving via small boats.

“The Prime Minister of Albania has himself said there is no reason why we cannot return Albanian asylum seekers immediately,” said Sunak.

“Last year Germany, France, Sweden all rejected almost 100 per cent of Albanian asylum claims. Yet our rejection rate is just 45 per cent. That must not continue. So today I can announce a new agreement with Albania – and a new approach,” he said.

The agreement covers embedding UK Border Force officers in Tirana airport in Albania to combat organised crimes and a new dedicated unit for the country expediting cases within weeks, staffed by 400 new specialists.

(Agencies)

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less