
PETER HITCHENS: Don't believe a word Sir Sheer Squirmer now says - Labour has lied about immigration for 40 years
When I was a revolutionary student, I and all my comrades wanted more immigration into this country. This was not because we especially liked immigrants. Most students in those days lived far from the areas where migrants tended to settle. It was because we did not much like Britain, and saw mass migration as a good way of changing it.
We also very much liked to look down on those who opposed immigration. We thought they were bad people, motivated by bigotry.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Keir Starmer and Labour are accused of standing in the way of a ban on cousins marrying each other - after poll shows British people want it axed
Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour party are standing in the way of a ban on cousins marrying each other, after a new poll showed an overwhelming majority of Britons want to see it axed, a Conservative MP has claimed. Conservative MP Richard Holden last year introduced a private members' bill to ban the practice, which would bring cousin marriages into the same bracket as marrying a parent, child, sibling or grandparent. Now a new YouGov poll has revealed the British communities that are most likely to back first cousin marriages, with a large majority thinking the practice should be outlawed. The former Cabinet Minister and Conservative Party Chairman told MailOnline: 'This YouGov poll is clear. 'The overwhelming majority of Brits, including those of Pakistani heritage, want to see first cousin marriage banned. 'The fact Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are standing in the way of ending an outdated practice rooted in misogynistic cultural practices shows that he's more interested in promoting cultural relativism than in ending practices that have no place in our country and isolate both individuals and communities from each other. 'If Starmer really believed in British values he'd back my bill, just like every community in Britain does.' Pakistani and Bangladeshi Britons are most likely to support the first cousin marriages, with 39 percent of those polled saying it should be legal. While 47 percent of the community say the practice should not be legal, this compares to just eight percent of white Britons who support first-cousin marriage. Six percent of black Britons say marrying a cousin should be legal, with nine percent of Indian Britons holding the same view. While marrying close relatives including siblings and half-siblings is illegal in the UK, marrying a first cousin is technically legal. Some 77 percent of white and Indian Britons believe marrying a cousin should be made illegal, compared to 82 percent of black Britons. Currently the UK follows the practice of 'genetic counselling', in which first cousins who are in a relationship are offered education about the risk of having children together and encouraged to receive extra checks during pregnancy. It is estimated that children of a first-cousin union have a six percent chance of inheriting a recessive disorder such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease - double the risk of the general population. But some have warned that outlawing the practice completely risks stigmatising those already in first cousin marriages in the UK. Amongst these was Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who drew huge criticism last year for defending cousin marriage. Instead of banning it outright, he said a 'more positive approach' involving advanced genetic tests for prospective married cousins would be more effective in addressing issues around it. One of Britain's foremost experts on child health also defended the right for first cousins to marry, dismissing concerns about inbreeding. Professor Dominic Wilkinson, an NHS neonatologist and ethics expert at the University of Oxford, argued a ban would be 'unethical'. Instead, Professor Wilkinson backed calls for such couples to be offered special screening on the NHS to help them decide if they should have children. Such tests can cost £1,200 privately. They are designed to spot whether prospective parents are carriers for the same genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy. It comes as data from 2023 showed in three inner-city Bradford wards, 46 percent of mothers from the Pakistani community are married to a first or second cousin, according to data published in 2023. The overall estimate for the cousing marriage capital of the UK in Pakistani couples was 37 percent ten years ago, and this figure has since dropped. Reasons behind the fall are thought to include high educational attainment, stricter immigration rules and changes in family dynamics. It compares to just one percent of white British couples. YouGov's data also revealed that those in London are most likely to support first cousin marriage, at 15 percent. The north followed at 12 percent, while in the Midlands it was ten percent. The south of England and Wales were the least likely to support it being legal, at six and seven percent respectively. Historically, first cousin marriages were extremely common amongst royalty and the British upper classes. It was seen as a way of firming up alliances and keeping wealth and land in the family. MailOnline recently revealed that no-one is tracking the rate of cousin marriages in the UK, with councils not recording any data on the issue. Studies have put Pakistan as having one of the highest rates globally at 65 percent of unions. This is followed by Saudi Arabia (50 percent), Afghanistan (40 percent), Iran (30 percent) and Egypt and Turkey (20 percent).


The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: ‘This is not justice' – the uprising over Ice raids on LA
Donald Trump's homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, on Saturday pushed back against the protesters opposing immigration raids in Los Angeles: 'A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @Icegov will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, described the protests as a 'violent insurrection'. During protests at a federal detention facility in downtown LA, David Huerta, a senior union official, was arrested in a police response that included teargas and flash-bangs. Hospitalised for his injuries, Huerta released a statement: 'Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice.' Following are the key Trump administration stories of the day: The Trump administration will deploy the national guard to immigration protests in Los Angeles, the border czar, Tom Homan, said on Saturday, as an immigration crackdown in the area erupted into mass protests with police in riot gear deploying teargas at bystanders. Arrests by immigration authorities in Los Angeles come as Donald Trump and his administration push to fulfil promises to carry out mass deportations across the country. Read the full story Trump warned Elon Musk on Saturday that he faces 'very serious consequences' if he funds Democratic candidates following the pair's epic public bust-up. He said in an NBC News interview to be broadcast on Sunday: 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that. He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.' Trump said he had no intention to speak to Musk and no wish to repair his relationship with Musk. 'I'm too busy doing other things.' Read the full story JD Vance said Elon Musk was making a 'huge mistake' going after Donald Trump. 'I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear … Look, it happens to everybody. I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours … I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine.' Read the full story Tehran denounced the US travel ban on Iranians and citizens of 11 other mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying it was a sign of a 'racist mentality'. Donald Trump signed the executive order on Wednesday. Alireza Hashemi-Raja, an Iranian foreign ministry official responsible for Iranians abroad, said the measure – which takes effect on 9 June – 'indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people'. Read the full story Lauren Gambino profiles Kristy Noem, Donald Trump's homeland security secretary: 'Noem leads the sprawling department at the heart of the president's hardline vision to carry out the largest deportation campaign in American history.' An international neo-Nazi terrorist organization calling itself the Base is continuing to build in the US and planning a new paramilitary training event – as the FBI under Trump appointee Kash Patel has signalled it is no longer prioritizing investigations of far-right extremism. Ben Makuch reports Catching up? Here's what happened on 6 June 2025.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Los Angeles anti-ICE protests: Trump threat against ‘riots and looters' after immigration raids spark fury on LA streets
President Donald Trump has threatened to use the federal government to crush anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles sparked by a weekend immigration raid in the city. The president said the 'RIOTS & LOOTERS' would be dealt with 'the way it should be solved!!!' 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' Trump wrote. When discussing protesters in the past, the president once quipped that 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts.' Earlier on Friday, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said he plans to send the National Guard to Los Angeles to combat protests against ICE that began this weekend following immigration raids in the city. 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us. She says they are going to mobilize—guess what? We are already mobilizing. We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight,' Homan told Fox News. California Governor Gavin Newsom responded, calling Homan's threat 'purposefully inflammatory.' 'That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,' he said in a statement. 'LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment's notice.'