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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Immigration fuels record population growth for second year running
Immigration has fuelled the two biggest annual rises in the population of England and Wales since the Second World War, official figures revealed. The population grew by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024 to nearly 62 million, the second largest annual increase since records began in 1949, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It was only beaten by the 821,210 increase in the population in the preceding 12 months, from mid-2022 to mid-2023, following record rises in net migration – the number of people entering the UK minus those leaving. Almost all the population increase in the year to June 2024 – some 98 per cent – was due to international migration, with natural changes due to births and deaths accounting for only a fraction. Senior politicians warned the huge growth in the population fuelled by migration was unsustainable due to the pressures that it placed on housing and public services. Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said: 'These numbers are far too high and must come substantially down. The pressure on housing and social cohesion is unacceptable. We also now know that mass low-skill migration is bad for the economy and actually costs more than it contributes. 'The only thing certain to get immigration numbers dramatically down is a hard cap on the number of visas issued, set by Parliament each year. We tabled this proposal in Parliament just a few weeks ago, but Labour voted against it.' Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: 'This is disastrous for the quality of life for everyone. It puts impossible pressures on public services and further divides our communities.' Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice added: 'These new mass immigration figures… are deeply concerning and have serious implications for the housing crisis, crime rates, and quality of life across Britain. 'The UK cannot benefit from, or cope with such high levels of unvetted, low-skilled immigration. We need economic policies that support British families, encourage higher birth rates, and ensure that the interests of the British public come first.' However, Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, blamed the Conservative Government's 'failed open borders experiment' for net migration that ended up three times higher than at the start of the last Parliament. She said the Labour Government's new measures would bring net migration down further. Measures to cut net migration introduced by the Tories have already started to reduce numbers through higher salary thresholds for skilled foreign workers and bans on students and overseas staff bringing in family dependents. Net migration, which stands at 720,000, is forecast to fall to about 340,000 from 2028 as a result of measures that are already in place, according to the ONS.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Shadow home secretary says the immigration status of suspects MUST be made public in court to stop misinformation spreading online
The immigration status of suspects should be made public to end harmful misinformation, the Shadow Home Secretary has said. Courts and prosecutors should reveal how a defendant entered Britain to stop lies spreading online, according to Chris Philp. His intervention comes amid heated protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which houses migrants, and the false claim that the Southport killer was an asylum seeker, which sparked race riots last summer. Mr Philp said: 'The Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service should not be refusing to release details on the immigration status of dangerous perpetrators – the public deserve to know the truth and they need to be protected from foreign criminals.' Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, added: 'The courts should be required by law to publish, in real time, the nationality and immigration status of those who come before them. 'Speculation and distortion would stop, preventing sensitive situations from getting out of control.' The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed the potential release of further information about foreign national offenders (FNOs) will be considered as part of a review. Online misinformation about the Southport triple-murderer Axel Rudakubana, 18, being a Muslim asylum seeker ignited nationwide rioting last summer. It was later revealed that Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Christian parents who migrated to the UK from Rwanda. An MoJ spokesman said: 'The Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has asked civil servants to review what can be published on FNOs to increase transparency on this important issue.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'It is our long-standing policy not to comment on individual cases. FNOs who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes will face the full force of the law, including deportation.' Earlier this month, a Mail on Sunday investigation revealed that more than 300 asylum seekers living at 70 hotels had been charged with 708 criminal offences, as serious as rape, over the past three years. While the nationality of the accused is sometimes shown in court documents when they ask for an interpreter, the immigration status is not disclosed. Violent protests broke out at The Bell Hotel this month after an Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault, which he denies.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Fury as bankrupt Birmingham council offering asylum seekers huge discounts on swimming, golf, trampolining & Villa games
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BANKRUPT Birmingham Council is offering small boat asylum seekers hefty discounts on leisure activities — including swimming, golf and trampolining. The Labour-run authority, which is locked in a bin strike now in its seventh month, is giving migrants up to 25 per cent off through its Passport To Leisure scheme. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Small boat asylum seekers are being offered hefty discounts on leisure activities Credit: Getty 2 Money is lopped off tickets to watch shows, such as Disney musical Mary Poppins at the Birmingham Hippodrome Credit: supplied Migrants, many of whom have crossed the Channel by boat before claiming asylum on reaching the UK, can also get a fifth off on the use of council swimming pools. Martial arts classes are subsidised for migrants under the initiative, as are courses on trampolining, golf, gymnastics and football. The price of a trip to a council wellbeing centre for fitness, yoga, squash and badminton sessions is also cheaper. The council even offers £1 tickets to Aston Villa matches for migrant children, as long as they are accompanied by a full paying adult. In a further slap in the face for taxpayers, asylum seekers get ten per cent off at most council leisure sites, meaning cheaper trips to the theatre, museum and city's botanical gardens. Under the scheme, £3 is lopped off tickets to watch shows, such as Disney musical Mary Poppins at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The Passport To Leisure card is available to over-60s, full-time students, carers, disabled people and recipients of certain benefits. Birmingham — England's largest local authority district by population — already has a 'Be Active' scheme for asylum seekers which offers free swimming and gym sessions. The council is £3.9billion in debt and declared itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023 with the issue of a Section 114 notice, limiting it to essential spending only. It is also under fire over its handling of a bin strike which has seen mountains of rubbish pile up on the city's streets. Migrant hotel protesters take to the streets again as demonstrations spread across the country in weekend stand-off Unite union members are in a dispute over pay and proposed changes to some roles. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'This is a bankrupt Labour council, in the middle of a bin strike, racking up billions in debt, hiking council tax by 21 per cent, and their priority is trampolining perks for illegal immigrants. 'It is a slap in the face for hard-pressed taxpayers who are being forced to subsidise freebies for illegal immigrants who claim asylum having crossed the channel.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Apple and Google face calls to install 'kill switches' in mobile phones stolen by moped gangs to end resale market
Pressure is mounting on big tech companies to install remote 'kill switches' in mobile phones amid ongoing phone-theft epidemic. Senior Conservative politicians have urged the Labour Government to 'force' Apple and Google to end the criminal phone trade once and for all by rendering all stolen phones useless. Kill switches work by severing smartphones from the cloud once the devices have been reported to police as stolen. James Conway, who oversees Scotland Yard's phone-theft investigations, believes this will slash their market value on the black market, massively disincentivizing criminals from snatching them. This call to action comes after a Daily Mail investigation revealed that vulnerable youngsters are being groomed into stealing phones by county-lines gangs, which are then shipped abroad in bulk and sold around the world. Last night Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Mail: 'The Labour Government is presiding over a crime epidemic - with phone theft rife. 'Mobile phone companies should urgently implement 'Kill Switches' which prevent stolen phones from accessing the cloud globally. 'Google and Apple claim to have antitheft measures but these are clearly completely ineffective. This call to action comes after a Daily Mail investigation revealed that vulnerable youngsters are being groomed into stealing phones by county-lines gangs, which are then shipped abroad in bulk and sold around the world. 'If companies like Apple continue to refuse to do this voluntarily then the Government must urgently legislate to force them, by amending the Crime and Policing bill. 'Implementing a 'Kill Switch' is vital and the Government should legislate to compel big tech companies to do this if they're not going to do it voluntarily.' Meanwhile, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Alicia Kearns added: 'A remote kill switch would reclaim our streets and better protect us all from the plague of phone thieves in our cities. 'This is the sort of initiative phone companies should be introducing to better protect their customers and help tackle organised crime.' Some 80,000 phones are stolen in London every year, with around 80 per cent of this bounty ending up abroad. Across the entire United Kingdom, around 230 mobile phones are stolen every single day. Speaking to the Daily Mail last week, Commander James Conway, who oversees Scotland Yard's phone-theft investigations, explained that a 'kill switch' would ensure that a 'the [stolen device] wouldn't operate as a smartphone any more and would have next to zero value in that market.' In response to the growing phone-theft crisis several cyber security companies such as Nuke From Orbit have been established to make it easier for users to safeguard their accounts. Nuke From Orbit allows users to block access to multiple services and accounts simultaneously after the user's phone has been stolen. James O'Sullivan, CEO and Founder of Nuke From Orbit explained: 'As our lives become more reliant on mobile phones, the need to be able to disavow that device when stolen increases exponentially.' A spokesperson for Google said: 'Google's top priority is the safety of its users, and we are proud to bring constantly evolving, industry-leading security technologies to Android. 'Our freely available anti-theft features help users to protect their devices before, during, and after a theft. 'Users in locations at risk of phone theft can simply switch them on and stay protected.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elite police unit to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts
An elite unit of detectives is being convened to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts. The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team will operate from the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster, drawing officers from forces across England and Wales. The unit will be tasked with flagging early signs of potential civil unrest and 'maximizing social media intelligence', after last year's riots exposed gaps in police planning. Home Office ministers say it will give local commanders national support to spot and respond to online threats. The move comes as protests outside asylum hotels spread across the country. On Saturday, crowds gathered in Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth to demand action, with further demonstrations planned. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner warned the Cabinet that ministers must tackle 'the real concerns that people have' about immigration to prevent disorder. Critics seized on the plan, branding it 'disturbing' and warning of free‑speech infringements. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the Government of trying 'to police what you post, what you share, what you think' because it 'can't police the streets' itself. 'Labour have stopped pretending to fix Britain and started trying to mute it,' he added, accusing ministers of favouring surveillance over frontline policing. The NPoCC, which led the nationwide police response to Covid lockdowns under Operation Talla, will co‑ordinate the new unit. Details of the unit emerged in a letter to MPs from Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, published before parliament's summer recess and were revealed by The Telegraph. She confirmed ministers were acting on recommendations from the Commons Home Affairs Committee and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, both of which urged a nationally co‑ordinated social‑media monitoring capability. Dame Diana wrote that the new team 'will provide a national capability to monitor social media intelligence and advise on its use to inform local operational decision‑making,' helping forces to manage public‑safety threats and risks. While initial funding runs until 2026, she said future support would depend on spending priorities. A Home Office spokesman said: 'This new team will help police forces track real-time information and protect communities from incidents and emergencies before they escalate. 'As part of the government's Plan for Change, we are restoring visible, neighbourhood policing, focused on the public's priorities, including halving knife crime and violence against women, clamping down on theft and anti-social behaviour, and ensuring that people can feel safe in their own high streets.'
