Keir Starmer to close legal route that allowed Palestinians to settle in UK
On Monday, the Prime Minister set out plans to significantly reduce net migration as Labour seeks to head off the electoral threat from Reform UK.
Under the White Paper proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship, but so-called 'high-contributing' individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
READ MORE: Fire crews battle huge wildfire in West Lothian amid 'extreme' risk
Meanwhile, skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
Under the proposals, which have been widely condemned as 'cruel', the Labour Government is also set to curb judges' powers to block deportations – tightening legislation that allows courts to grant asylum to foreign criminals and illegal migrants under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) in 'exceptional circumstances'.
The loophole allowed a Palestinian family from Gaza to be granted the right to live in the UK after applying through a scheme meant for Ukrainian refugees.
The Palestinian family, a mother, father and four children aged seven to 18, had seen their home destroyed by air strikes and were living in a Gaza refugee camp.
The family used the Ukraine Family Scheme in January 2024 on the basis that it best fitted their circumstances and that their situation was so 'compelling and compassionate' that their application should be granted outside its rules.
The Prime Minister also said in his speech announcing the plans that he does not think it is necessary to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to continue his crackdown, as he recognised the use of international agreements to tackle illegal migration.
Asked at a press conference if going further on immigration would require 'disentangling ourselves' from the ECHR, Starmer said: 'No, I don't think that that is necessary.
'I also remind myself that the international agreements we've signed have given us the basis for the deals that we've struck on illegal migration.
'You can't strike those deals with other countries to work more closely together on law enforcement, to smash the gangs and to work on returns agreements – which is what we want to do – if, in the next breath, you'll say you don't believe in international law.'
But he also told reporters the Government wants to ensure the 'right balance' is made in migration cases in relation to the national interest looking at Article 8 of the convention, the right to private and family life.
The Government is reviewing the use of Article 8 particularly focusing on cases where ministers have disagreed with conclusions reached in the courts, after several deportation attempts have been halted by the way the ECHR clause has been interpreted in UK law.
Starmer said: 'There's a balance set out in legislation already that needs to be adjusted, in my view, and that's what we will do."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
4 minutes ago
- BBC News
Tyne Bridge repairs: Final funding confirmed after review
The final £6m needed to complete the restoration of the Tyne Bridge has been confirmed by the government, after the chancellor put it on hold last had been announced by the previous Conservative government, but was subsequently placed under review by Labour after the 2024 general cash to finish the refurbishment in time for the crossing's centenary in October 2028 will be drawn from a wider £1.85bn government pledge announced on Tuesday. Renovation work on the bridge, which carries traffic across the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead, has been ongoing since April 2024. While the Department for Transport (DfT) provided an initial £35.2m towards the repair works, a further pledge was made by former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for an additional £6.2m to cover the full costs of upgrading the grade II* listed bridge and the Central extra cash was placed under review by Labour and there had been serious worries among Tyneside leaders that it was at risk of being cut, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Politicians and business leaders from across the North East united in March this year to call on the government to hand over the promised funding, warning that a failure to do so would be a "spectacular own goal".The frustration added to anger over the scrapping of plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland and the cutting of £50m in transport funding for County Durham, with the government arguing it had inherited £2.9bn of unfunded transport commitments from the ministers, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, had repeatedly refused to commit to delivering the cash needed to complete the Tyne Bridge repairs. But on Wednesday the chancellor promised to provide £1.85bn to the North East Combined Authority in an allocation covering 2027 to 2032, a chunk of which will be used to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro to East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "The record £1.85bn funding for transport we announced for the region this week includes £6.3m that will allow Newcastle City Council to complete the restoration of our iconic bridge in time for its centenary in 2028."The council's deputy leader Alex Hay said the authority had "lobbied for years to secure this funding and stepped in with the council's own money to make sure the restoration could start when it needed to".Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said the bridge was a "symbol of the whole of the North East so it's vital we get it back to its iconic best". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Reform UK chairman hits out at his own MP's 'dumb' question on banning the burqa amid confusion over party's stance on face coverings
Reform UK's chairman today hit out at his own MP's 'dumb' question in the House of Commons about banning the burqa. Zia Yusuf questioned why Sarah Pochin, Reform's recently-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, had challenged the Prime Minister about the issue on Wednesday. During PMQs, Ms Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer if he would support outlawing the burqa - which is worn by some Muslim women - 'in the interests of public safety'. But Reform officials sowed confusion by later revealing that banning the burqa is not the party's official policy. In a hint at an internal party row, Mr Yusuf posted on X: 'I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do.' The Reform chairman said that Ms Pochin's question was 'nothing to do with me' as he was 'busy with other stuff'. 'Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy,' he added. In another post, he wrote: 'Just to be clear, I learnt about the question and the party's position re it not being policy for the first time on my X feed. I'm busy with UK DOGE.' Earlier this week, Mr Yusuf announced the launch of Reform's first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit. The party pledged this will look at 'wasteful spending' in local councils, in a mirror of Tesla boss Mr Musk's cost-cutting efforts in America under Donald Trump. Ms Pochin's question during PMQs on Wednesday triggered disquiet in the Commons and cries of 'shame' from other MPs. She asked Sir Keir: 'Given the PM's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?' The PM did not answer Ms Pochin's question but instead took the opportunity to attack Reform's economic plans - as set out by party leader Nigel Farage last week. After PMQs, Lee Anderson, one of Ms Pochin's fellow Reform MPs, also gave his public backing to a burqa ban. Yet, despite two out of the five Reform MPs supporting a ban, a party spokesman said it was 'not party policy' - although they added it was an issue that 'needs a national debate'. Mr Farage sowed further confusion over Reform's stance by using his GB News show to question the use of all face coverings in public places, saying the 'debate actually goes beyond the burqa'. 'There are many, many, many countries in the world that are banning the burqa,' Mr Farage said. 'But I think it goes further than that. 'I was in Aberdeen Monday, there was a mob there to meet me, an organisation called 'Antifa', and half of them had complete face coverings on so they would be unidentifiable. 'I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve debate about that, which I see the burqa as being a part. 'It's a tough one. It is a very difficult debate, but it's a debate. The Quran does not say anything about wearing a burqa 'It does say they want women to dress modestly. And actually, if you go to Morocco or Egypt or the UAE - Muslim countries - you won't see a single woman in a burqa. It's a relatively new thing. 'There is another social point: People do feel uncomfortable, actually, around people whose faces are covered. And I think it's a very difficult thing. 'Certainly, I think masked protesters who can turn up and demonstrate and, in some cases use violence, should not be able to get away with it.' At the 2010 general election, Mr Farage stood for UKIP - his former party - on a manifesto that called for a ban on both the burqa and niqab. But he later disowned UKIP's 2010 manifesto as 'drivel' when he returned as the party's leader after the contest. In his reply to Ms Pochin in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the recently-elected MP: 'Can I welcome her to her place, but I'm not going to follow her down that line. 'But now she is here and safely in her place, perhaps she could tell her new party leader [Mr Farage] that his latest plan to bet £80billion of unfunded tax cuts, with no idea how he's going to pay for it, is Liz Truss all over again. 'Although considering I think (Ms Pochin) was a Conservative member when Liz Truss was leader, she probably won't.' Sir Keir's response drew criticism from Tory former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who posted on social media afterwards: 'After failing to answer any of Kemi's (Badenoch) questions, he basically said to Sarah Pochin that he didn't like her question, so 'wasn't going to engage with it'. 'Refusing to answer MPs' questions isn't an option as a government minister.' Mr Anderson later shared a social media video of Ms Pochin speaking at PMQs, adding: 'Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.' Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said he did not support a ban on burqas in Britain. 'Fundamentally I do believe in freedom and I believe that people should have the choice to to wear whatever they want,' he told GB News. 'I wouldn't like to tell you what to wear. But I do also think it's important to make sure that women are not in any way coerced into doing something that they don't want to do. 'So I think it is very important to make sure that women are not being coerced and are able to make their own free choices.' Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy introduced a ban on burqas in France in 2010. Anyone found wearing the covering in a public space can face a fine of 150 euros (£125). It has since been unsuccessfully challenged in the European courts. Belgium brought in a similar ban a year later, and other countries including Denmark and Austria have got similar laws. Switzerland was the latest European country to introduce a prohibition, which started on January 1 this year.
South Wales Argus
9 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
China's proposed ‘super embassy poses super risk' to security, Tories claim
More than a thousand demonstrators took to the streets of central London earlier this year to protest against the proposed embassy. Ministers are expected to make a final decision on the redevelopment plans at the historic former site of the Royal Mint, after it was rejected by the local council, Tower Hamlets. Speaking in the Commons, shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart accused the Government of being 'too weak' to block the plans. He said: 'The Government's own cyber experts, Innovate UK, have warned the Government that the proposed Chinese embassy at the Royal Mint threatens to compromise the telephone and internet exchange that serves the financial City of London. 'The experts are now telling the Government what everyone else has known all along: the super embassy poses a super risk. 'Yet the Deputy Prime Minister's office has said that any representations on the planning application have to be made available to the applicants. 'So perhaps the real Deputy Prime Minister can clear this up – is the Government seriously saying that if MI5 or GCHQ have concerns about security on this site, those concerns will have to be passed to the Chinese Communist Party or has the Deputy Prime Minister (Angela Rayner) got it wrong?' Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden replied: 'When it comes to both engagement with China and with an issue like this, we will of course engage properly and always bear in mind our own national security considerations.' Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart (Ben Whitley/PA) He also accused Tory governments of opting to 'withdraw' from engaging with China for a number of years after they had previously sought a 'golden era' with Beijing. A spokesperson for Innovate UK said it 'has not raised any concerns', adding: 'Innovate UK does not have responsibility for cyber security.' Comments referred to by Mr Burghart are understood to have been made in a personal capacity. Mr Burghart went on to say: 'At the heart of this are two simple facts. First, the Government already knows that this site is a security risk; it's a security risk to the City of London and through it our economy and the economies of all nations that trade in London. 'Second, the Government has the power to block it. Ireland and Australia have both already blocked similar embassy developments. Why is this Government too weak to act?' In his reply, Mr McFadden said: 'A decision on this application will be taken in full consideration of our national security considerations. That is always part of this and it is part of our engagement with China and with other countries.' Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Chancellor Rachel Reeves flew to China in January to meet with the country's leaders and set out a path towards further investment into Britain. Elsewhere in Cabinet Office questions, Mr McFadden said the Civil Service should be more representative of the UK and speak with 'all the accents of the country'. This came in response to Labour MP for Dudley, Sonia Kumar, who said: 'I welcome the relocation of the Civil Service across the country and with a recent study showing that Dudley has high levels of economic inactivity, what reassurances can (he) give me that young people in Dudley want every opportunity to build their career in the Civil Service, whether that's training, apprenticeships, or any mentorships?' Mr McFadden replied: '(Ms Kumar) will not be surprised to hear my strong enthusiasm for greater employment opportunities for young people in the Black Country. 'When we made the announcement last week about the relocation, we also announced a new apprentice scheme because we don't just have to change location, we have to change recruitment patterns too if we're really going (to) get that Civil Service that speaks with all the accents of the country.' Later in the session, Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) asked for reassurance that 'no Cabinet Office ministers will be attending Glastonbury this year', because 'controversial Ulster rap band' Kneecap remain part of the festival's line-up. Mr McFadden replied: 'I will not be going to Glastonbury, but I'm very much looking forward to going to see Bruce Springsteen at Anfield Stadium on Saturday night.'
