Meet the UK's Visa Scam Vigilante
On this episode of Bloomberg Investigates, we meet a few of the victims of an insidious scam that's relieved care workers of untold thousands of dollars. We meet Tadiwa, a young man from Zimbabwe whose family scraped together everything they had to secure him a job in the UK. But the documents a business agent promised him, which would have allowed him to apply for a visa, never arrived. Sheila, who wanted to move from Harare to the UK with her daughters, gave most of her savings to the same agent, and received nothing in return. To get by, she's had to sell bricks she bought to build her house and even her refrigerator.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Voices: By likening Nigel Farage to Jimmy Savile, Peter Kyle has handed Reform a free gift
Just when Nigel Farage and his tiny parliamentary party were beginning to be exposed as shrill and clueless, Peter Kyle, one of the most promising cabinet ministers, handed them a free gift. By saying that the Reform leader is on the side of 'people like Jimmy Savile', Kyle destroys his own arguments for the Online Safety Act. The attempt to link Farage with a notorious child sex abuser is gratuitous and offensive. It makes Kyle seem desperate, and allows Farage to pose as the wronged party. Farage's criticisms of the Act seem more credible after Kyle's outburst than before. It is surprising that Kyle has chosen to use this slur when Labour people were so indignant – and rightly so – when Boris Johnson used it against Keir Starmer. That was when Johnson was desperate: Sue Gray's report on lockdown parties in Downing Street had just been published and Johnson wanted some way of deflecting attention. His attack on Starmer had nothing to do with Gray's report. It was an aside referring to Starmer's time as director of public prosecutions, during which, Johnson said, 'he spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile, as far as I can make out'. But it was more relevant than Kyle's attack on Farage. It is factually correct that the Crown Prosecution Service failed to prosecute Savile when Starmer was in charge, and it is unclear whether it could have done more to bring Savile to justice at the time. But Farage has nothing to do with Savile – at all. Kyle's attempt to smear the Reform leader was phrased thus on Sky News: 'If people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he'd be perpetrating his crimes online, and Nigel Farage is saying that he's on their side.' Nothing could be better calculated to distract from the real issue, which is whether Farage's pledge to repeal the Online Safety Act is a sensible one. The Reform rhetoric about 'authoritarian' and 'dystopian' legislation is overdone, and Farage admitted yesterday that he didn't know how he would protect children online instead. But rather of exposing the weakness of Farage's arguments, Kyle allowed his opponent to protest on X that his comment was 'disgusting' and to demand an apology. Kyle responded: 'If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that.' This is a terrible way to conduct a public debate. There are well-founded concerns about the Online Safety Act, which seems to put unworkable obligations on non-profit-making websites while doing little to ensure that the big tech companies behave more responsibly. A lot of well-informed people said it was badly drafted legislation even before it was passed by the Conservative government two years ago. Kyle is now overseeing the coming into effect of provisions of the Act relating to age-verification, and instead of acting on the concerns that have been expressed, he has ploughed ahead – in effect accusing anyone who has doubts, including for example Ella Dorn of the New Statesman, of being aligned with Savile. When Johnson gratuitously dragged Savile's name into his attempt to save his disintegrating premiership, the disgust at his deliberate attempt to invoke conspiracy theories driven by fears of paedophilia was felt across the political spectrum. Munira Mirza, Johnson's adviser who was consulted in advance, begged him not to do it, and resigned when he did. Kyle should not be using the same disreputable tactic, which not only speaks volumes about this government's self-confidence but also allows Reform off the hook. Only this morning, Sarah Pochin, Reform's newest MP, was struggling to explain what her party's policy on small boats actually is. All she could propose was that Britain should 'do something drastic', by which she seemed to suggest that we should let migrants drown in the Channel. If the next election really is a fight between Labour and Reform, Labour must fight it better than this.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
What time is the three-minute silence for the Southport attack?
The country will come together to show 'sorrow and solidarity' a year after the Southport attack, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Sir Keir Starmer has said "the whole nation stands with the families of Bebe, Alice and Elsie" a year on from the Southport attack. Three minutes of silence will be held in the Merseyside town today (29 July) to mark a year since Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven were murdered by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In the days following the attack, during which Rudakubana also attempted to kill eight other children and two adults, violent disorder broke out in the seaside town and across the country. The prime minister said: "We stand together in grief, in honour of the memory of those wonderful children, and in admiration of the families who have shown strength beyond words. 'We stand with all the children and adults who still bear the physical and mental scars of that day – and in awe of those who risked their lives to help." When is the silence for the Southport victims? The three-minute silence will be held in Southport at 3pm today (29 July). People have been asked not to leave flowers at the scene, or at the schools the girls attended, as the town continues to rebuild after the tragedy. Watch: 'We cannot allow evil to define us', says council deputy leader about Southport attacks Members of the public are being asked to consider making donations to local causes, including funds set up in the names of the victims and the Southport Strong Together Appeal, which was established last year to support those affected. No large vigil will be held, but churches and community centres will be open for those looking for support or space for quiet reflection. What happened in the Southport attack? Shortly before midday on 29 July, 2024, chilling footage showed the moment Rudakubana strolled up to the entrance of the dance class at The Hart Space, where a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop was taking place. The 18-year-old had the hood of his green jumper up and a surgical mask on during the 22-second clip, which saw him approach the building before entering, where he began to attack the children and adults inside. Describing the attack a year on, one girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: 'Some of the girls were sat down in a circle making bracelets with the teachers, and then a couple of them were getting up to get beads and I was stood in between two tables, and he came through the doors and stabbed a little girl in front of me, and then came for me and stabbed my arm. 'I turned and then he stabbed my back, even though I didn't feel it at the time, and then I went on to the landing where there was a bunch of girls huddled around, so I just started pushing them down the stairs, telling them to get out and to run.' In January, "cruel and pure evil" Rudakubana received one of the highest minimum terms on record - 52 years - for the 'sadistic' murders of the three girls and attempted murder of others. Who were the victims? Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine A keen dancer, she had been pictured eagerly waiting to get into the Taylor Swift-themed event on the day she was killed. In a post on the Instagram account of Alice's WonderDance foundation yesterday (28 July), her family said: "Not a day goes by that we don't miss her terribly, the weight of pain is getting heavier every day. And so it will be forever. Now we are living with the beautiful memories and thinking about what tomorrow would be like if nothing had happened.' Bebe King, aged six Bebe's Hive, set up by her family to support grieving children, referenced Taylor Swift song "Bejeweled" in an Instagram post which said: 'Our girls' energy will continue to shimmer.' The caption, which appeared to have been written by Bebe's mother Lauren, accompanied a video of her dancing and playing with a bubble machine. 'I feel her with me every day and that feeling is what keeps us going. Her light, her care, her spark – it lives on, and we'll continue it for as long as we can.' Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven At her funeral last summer, Elsie was described as 'a little girl who loved a big party' and had the 'ability to light up any room that she entered'. The team behind Elsie's Story, a charity set up in her name to support other children, said on Instagram at the weekend: 'We set out with an ambition: to continue Elsie's legacy, to make a positive difference in her name, to bring hope to other children, and to show that we will not live in fear, but with fun and love." Eight other children The other children injured in the attack cannot be named for legal reasons. John Hayes, 63 The businessman was stabbed in the leg while trying to disarm Rudakubana, but survived. He told ITV News how he ran from his office to help when he realised people were injured. Asked if he felt he was a hero, he replied: 'I'm not going sit here and tell you that I was brave about the whole thing and confronting a knifeman, that's not the story at all." Leanne Lucas, 35 The yoga class instructor suffered serious stab wounds while trying to protect two girls, but survived the attack. She told LBC: 'My purpose was creating wellbeing events for children and families, and... for that to be trampled over has just really dampened all of our spirits. I'm not too sure how we'll ever move on, apart from use the girl's memories as a driving force to change things for other people in the future, so this doesn't have to happen to them again." Read more Southport MP says town won't be defined by atrocity one year on from attack (The Guardian) Southport stabbing victim reveals how she survived attack - and fears 'it could happen again' (Sky News) A Year On From The Southport Riots, Is The UK Really On The Edge Of Mass Civil Disobedience? (HuffPost)
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Fetterman cheers ICE arrests of illegal alien child sex offenders, Luna calls for death penalty
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's apprehension of illegal alien child sex offenders, while Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., advocated for the individuals to face the death penalty. ICE noted in a Monday press release that it "arrested 214 illegal aliens for immigration offenses in the Houston area in the past six months who have been charged or convicted of a sex offense involving a minor." "I don't support or agree with all of ICE's tactics or actions. I do fully support moves like these. This makes our nation more secure and all our children safer," Fetterman said in a post on X. Responding to the news about the ICE arrests, Luna said in a post on X, "Skip deportation. Go directly to the death penalty. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200." According to the ICE press release, one of the individuals arrested was "Jose Guadalupe Meza, a 40-year-old, four-time deported criminal alien from Mexico who was arrested June 24 and has been convicted of theft and sexual assault of a child. ICE removed Guadalupe Meza to Mexico June 25." The news comes amid the Trump administration's crackdown on border and immigration enforcement. Fetterman has previously expressed support for ICE's work, describing any calls for the abolition of the agency as "inappropriate" as well as "outrageous." "Bringing together the resources and expertise of the entire federal law enforcement community to confront the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration that we saw over the past four years has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens, transnational gang members and child sex offenders," ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting field office director Paul McBride noted, according to the press release.
