Emmanuel Macron blames Brexit for migrant crisis as Starmer agrees deal
The French president told a joint press conference with the British prime minister: "It's in fact since Brexit [that] the UK has no migratory agreement with the EU.
"It creates an incentive to make the crossing, the precise opposite of what Brexit had promised."
The pair have agreed on a plan to send back small boats migrants, with an asylum seeker being sent to the UK in exchange.
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The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Betrayal after betrayal: Afghan special forces abandoned by Britain had details leaked in MoD data breach
Hundreds of Afghan special forces soldiers betrayed by Britain had their details leaked in a major data breach before being left in the dark about the potential threat to their lives by the Taliban, The Independent can reveal. The leak in February 2022 involved the names and contact information of 18,700 Afghans being shared 'in error' by a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official and prompted a top secret operation to scramble thousands to safety in Britain. Among the names were members of two specialist units, known as the Triples, whose soldiers have faced torture and death by the Taliban because of their role training and fighting side-by-side with British forces, as revealed by this publication. The Independent spearheaded a campaign urging the government to grant members of the Triples sanctuary in Britain after many were left stranded and in danger, following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. Now it has emerged that around half of the commandos initially identified for relocation to the UK were affected by the breach, which became the subject of a draconian superinjunction amid fears the dataset could fall into the hands of the Taliban. The Triples members only knew about the blunder as the legal order was lifted on Tuesday after an extraordinary two-year legal battle gagging the British press. Hundreds of Triples soldiers, along with their families, have been brought to the UK, but there are fears many have been left behind in Afghanistan, where their lives are still at risk. Major General Charlie Herbert, who served alongside the Triples in Afghanistan, has urged the government to spell out how many have made it to the UK and how many are still in limbo. He described the data leak episode as a "dereliction of duty" by the government, and questioned whether a superinjunction should ever have been put in place. 'I can't believe the data breach happened. I'm really worried that nobody was made aware of this. There would have been people in Afghanistan on that list, not aware that that list had been shared and could have been in the hands of the Taliban,' he said. 'What was the purpose of that injunction, because the information had leaked? It was already on social media in Afghanistan, so the only impact it had was on the media's ability to reported,' he added. Ex-Tory veterans' minister, Johnny Mercer, said: 'The whole thing is appalling, it's time to stop the deceit and do the right thing by these poor folk. 'The MoD need to extract the remaining Triples. There are enough subject matter experts out there to help them identify them, and then consider where we go from there.' It emerged in court documents submitted in early 2024, as part of the superinjunction case, that around half of those Triples commandos who would be brought to the UK had had their data leaked by the government. In a witness statement, the head of Afghan resettlement, Natalie Moore, said the MoD would 'retake 2,000 eligibility decisions for applicants claiming a connection to UK special forces, which include applications from former members of the Triples, of which around 50 per cent are affected people'. As of this month, 300 Afghans with links to specialist units have been brought to the UK or are on the way, and 1,800 are still to come. Daniel Carey, a partner at legal firm DPG, which has represented Triples, questioned why those at risk were not notified earlier. He said: 'We already know from many Arap cases that government assessments of Taliban risk are unreliable - my clients have been detained and tortured despite government assessments that the risk to them was low. 'Afghans in the UK are worried about the impact on their families and pending family member applications.' The units were set up, paid and trained by the British, but soldiers from the two units had been denied relocation through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). The scheme promised to relocate Afghans directly employed by, or who worked closely alongside, British forces and who are at risk of reprisals. The Independent raised the plight of the Triples in November 2023 - three months after officials first became aware of the leak. Following our investigation, the MoD admitted its decision-making was 'not robust' and announced a review of around 2,000 applications to Arap. The High Court later heard that one UK special forces officer oversaw the blanket rejection of 1,585 cases during the summer of 2023. Mr Carey said it was 'incredible' that, a year after the data breach, another military official had overseen a sweeping refusal of applications. Last week, the High Court found that defective decision-making resulted in hundreds of Afghan special forces who served with the British being wrongly rejected for sanctuary and abandoned to the Taliban. Mr Carey said: 'Our clients have experienced years of delays at risk of Taliban reprisal waiting for lawful decisions. ' The government's refusal to notify those affected of the decisions in their cases (now reversed) led to further delays. Now we know that the whole time they have also been put at risk due to the massive data leak. 'Many Triples are still in Afghanistan, nearly four years after applying, and are seemingly now at greater risk than ever. I hope that the decisions will now follow swiftly.' On top of the 2,000 initial applications reviewed, up to 2,500 extra cases have been identified for re-examination after the MoD realised the significance of rediscovered payroll data.
New Statesman
19 minutes ago
- New Statesman
Keir Starmer's credit arrears
Photo byKeir Starmer will need to do more than play a wine-pouring genial host to charm ministers at a Chequers cabinet away day. Many have been feeling distinctly unappreciated, as he increasingly resembles a distant and disapproving Victorian father. Failing to notice Rachel Reeves' teary misery, never mind comfort the visibly distressed Chancellor, wasn't the first – and proved not to be the last – occasion this Prime Minister has failed to spread the love. Cabinet colleagues noticed President Emmanuel Macron name-checked Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as well as his interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, during the recent state visit, for negotiating the small boats deal. Starmer, standing alongside visiting Manu, didn't. Dishing out credit goes a long way in politics, whereas hogging the glory breeds disenchantment. Jury service is a civic duty that meant Matthew Pennycook, the Housing Minister, missed a slew of affordable-home announcements while dispensing justice. He's one of three government frontbenchers plus a group of other MPs summoned to decide the guilt or innocence of the criminally accused. One of their number who was called up joked it's part of a plot by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to convince colleagues that the courts system is broken and requires radical reform after the retired judge Brian Leveson proposed curtailing jury trials. Serving is believing. Strike-threatening doctors are giving Wes Streeting a headache and we hear the Health Secretary is increasingly unpopular with peers. Twice, a noisy Wesleyite army has invaded the Lords end of the terrace, including the Friday the assisted dying bill cleared the Commons. MPs and peers jealously guard their turf. A snout growled that on both occasions merry members of Wes's crew adopted don't-you-know-who-we-are attitudes when challenged. Reform shape-shifter Lee Anderson doesn't know whether he's coming or going. The Tory defector walked into the wrong lobby during a welfare bill vote. A north-west England Labour MP clocked the hard-right party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, hoiking '30p Lee' out of the voting line. Anderson is supposed to be chief whip of Reform's four MPs. Awks. There are mutinous whispers among senior ranks of James Cleverly's Territorial Army (TA) regiment over the former Tory foreign secretary's promotion to colonel. The TA veteran delivered a speech to a regimental dinner of the 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery to celebrate his elevation from the lesser rank of lieutenant colonel. Not satisfied with being knighted, he clearly wants more people to have to call him 'sir'. According to one senior officer present, eyebrows rocketed and jaws plummeted when it sounded during the speech as though 'not very' Cleverly believed the post would come with a salary. It doesn't; it's honorary. 'We weren't sure whether he was joking or seriously naive,' groaned a snout. No money tree there. Sir! 'Farage Assistance Group' was wealth-tax champion Neil Kinnock's barbed-if-polite suggestion for the name of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's new left collaboration. It wasn't his first thought, though. On hearing of the party plan, Labour's former leader growled: 'Are they going to call it the Fruit and Nut Party?' Raisin' the bar for puns there, Neil. With Starmer now expected to shuffle the pack for the first time in September, Westminster is awash with speculation over likely winners and losers. While the Prime Minister has personally reassured the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, that her job is safe, Tech Sec Peter Kyle has been spoken of as a replacement. But Labour insiders warn those fancying a bump up not to make it too obvious. Back in 2023, one recalls, it was Lucy Powell and Darren Jones who battled for the shadow tech brief. The winner? A Labour leader who loathes off-the-record briefings gave the job to the aforementioned Kyle. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Boris Johnson's erstwhile Substack-ing svengali Dominic Cummings once said Lisa Nandy would be a far better Labour leader than poor old Keir Starmer. The guru's blog is often peppered with references to 'brilliant women' he used to work with in the civil service. He often contrasts these with useless male duffers who didn't – remember 2020? – know what epidemiology was. Cummings is now in the process of setting up his own party. Names suggested for the project include the 'Third Force' and the 'Start-Up Party'. Only one problem so far. All of the first members are men, observes a snout. No women want to join, however 'brilliant' they are. Polls keep telling us that Reform is on course to be the largest party after the next general election. While that election is (probably) four years away, that means the party is scrambling to find suitable candidates. Who's on the list for 2029 then? One snout whispers that the ex-Mumford & Sons banjo maestro turned culture wars 'independent YouTuber' Winston Marshall could be interested in a seat. Marshall, whose dad, Paul, just happens to be a major shareholder in GB News – home to Reform leader Nigel Farage's prime time show – surely wouldn't need to sing for a plum constituency. Snout line: Got a story? Write to tips@ [See also: The Tories are responsible for the Afghan resettlement fiasco] Related
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
PETER HITCHENS: We must stop interfering in countries like Afghanistan and start focusing on home. This warmongering is making us poorer, unhappier and less British
The airwaves are full of ministers and ex-ministers claiming that they take full responsibility for the £7 Billion Afghan farce. How nice. How proper. How reassuring. But in what way do they do so? Will Afghan families come and live in their houses, or even next door? Will their Parliamentary and ministerial salaries and pensions be docked to help pay the bill? Not blinking likely.
