Latest news with #CraigMunro
Metro
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Metro
Universal digital 'BritCards' on an app could soon be used to prove who you are
You could soon need to show a card on an app to get a job or rent a house under a proposed universal digital identity scheme. A 'BritCard' would be a free, mandatory electronic credential stored on a person's smartphone on the planned Wallet app. Employers, immigration, banks and landlords could use a verifier app to conduct checks. The card was proposed today in a policy paper by Labour Together handed to Number 10, with a poll conducted by the influential think-tank finding 80% of Britons would support a digital identity card. The government are examining the proposals, which Labour Together said would also help reduce visa overstayers and benefit fraud. Mockups show that the document would show whether the holder has the right to work or rent. Their driving licence would also be on the app, with hopes that the app could be used to order a passport, access NHS services or display your National Insurance number. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here. People would be required to show their online ID when renting a property or applying for a new job, as a system would check their official records. Landlords rarely face fines for not checking tenants' migration status, Labour Together said, while employers face complex right-to-work rules that vary drastically between groups of people. The paper also said it could help curb visa overstayers, with 63,000 non-EU nationals recorded as not leaving the country before their documents expired in the four years to March 2020, or fewer than 4%. Britain is the only country in Europe without an ID card, with those in the EU able to travel around the bloc with one instead of a passport. Sir Tony Blair attempted to introduce compulsory ID cards in 2006 after the September 11 and 7/7 bombings, only for it to be scrapped. Labour Together estimated it would cost £400million to build the e-ID system and £10million to run the free-to-use phone app. In the foreword, 'red wall' MPs Jake Richards and Adam Jogee said the BritCard 'should form an important part of Labour's enforcement strategy that does not compromise our principles and values'. They added: 'The Windrush scandal saw thousands of people wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement, including many legitimate British citizens who were unjustly detained or deported. More Trending 'We believe that a progressive government does not have to choose between dealing with these injustices. It must tackle them all head-on.' Morgan Wild, Labour Together's chief policy adviser, said: 'The state makes everyone, whether they are a British citizen or not, prove their right to work or rent. 'But we don't give everyone with the right to be here the ability to prove it. 'That leads to discrimination, unjust deportation and, as happened in the worst Windrush cases, dying in a country that is not your own. Through a national effort to provide everyone with proof of their right to be here, BritCard can stop that from ever happening again.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Full list of 12 countries on Donald Trump's travel ban MORE: Free school meals to be extended to 500,000 chilldren across the country MORE: Halving violence against women and girls will require more cash, watchdogs say
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
Gang leaders to face jail for forcing children to hide drugs inside themselves
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Brutal' gang leaders who force children as young as seven to hide illicit objects like drugs and weapons inside themselves will face jail under a new law. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips told Metro the stories of young and vulnerable people being exploited by criminals is her 'worst nightmare' as a parent. Now, the act of coerced internal concealment – known by the street names 'plugging', 'stuffing' and 'banking' – could become a specific criminal offence for the first time. Those who try to smuggle items across the country hidden inside traumatised victims will face up to 10 years behind bars, under an amendment being introduced to the government's Crime and Policing Bill. Metro travelled to Euston on Monday to see firsthand how the British Transport Police (BTP) is tackling the horrifying practice. On the bustling concourse of the north London rail station, officers in their bright jackets were even more visible than usual. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here. Commuters stepping off the escalator up from the Tube stop were directed towards a knife arch that set off gentle beeps as they passed through, while a police dog named Polly sniffed passengers heading to Liverpool. And hidden among them were plainclothes police, looking out for subtle signs of exploitation. Those include children who are 'unkempt, dishevelled, a long way away from where they live or where they're looked after', according to the BTP's Detective Superintendent Craig Payne, who headed up the operation. Criminals entice these young people with the promise of 'expensive shoes or expensive phones', he added – making these other potential indicators. Phillips, who was also at Euston to watch the officers at work, said it is difficult to come up with a figure for the number of victims due to the nature of the practice, but a thousand a year would be an underestimate. She told Metro: 'I've seen cases where people's fertility has been altered by brutal asks of them to carry weapons, money and other things. 'I've seen and heard examples of exploiters giving instructions to young boys about how to conceal drugs inside them. As a parent, that is my worst nightmare.' The Home Office minister added: 'This was an issue I've seen directly, and I want the use of children and vulnerable adults as mules to make money for exploiters to become a criminal offence, and so that is what we're doing.' Johnny Bolderson of charity Catch22, which helps victims of exploitation, said his colleagues had worked with seven-year-olds who were abused in this way. He said: 'There are so many different risks around it physically and internally for the young person, but that doesn't even touch the tip of it. 'Because obviously there's the embarrassment around it, there's the fear, the side of it where you're holding something for a gang and you can lose it if you get arrested, if you are caught or if you ask for support.' As well as children, he said criminals have also taken advantage of neurodiverse and isolated people. The new law is a 'great thing moving forward', Johnny added, but he warned it would need to take into account that not all over-18s are perpetrators and ensure support is in place for them too. Other amendments added to the landmark Crime and Policing Bill, currently more than 300 pages long, including new offences covering child criminal exploitation and cuckooing. Described by the government as 'one of the most significant updates to crime and policing legislation in the UK for decades', it is now approaching the report stage after passing its second reading in March. Ensuring vulnerable children and adults do not become victims in the first place is 'the fundamental things that has to happen', Phillips said: 'I don't want to just identify these children and then deal with them after this has happened.' Law enforcement, schools, youth services and the government all have a role to play in achieving that, she added. Last month, an Independent Sentencing Review was published, advising the government on potential approaches to justice which could relieve some pressure on the prison system. One recommendation, a scheme for early release of some offenders, was met with criticism from some of the country's top police officers. More Trending Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington told the BBC: 'How do the victims of these crimes feel when someone who may have committed a violent crime and given three years in prison is released on parole, and then they breach that licence? 'If I was a victim of crime, I'd be worried about that.' Phillips said: 'When senior police officers in our country are speaking up for their officers, that is something that every government should listen to.' 'What I know from working with senior police officers is we get to a point with the crisis in prisons where we cannot lock anybody up and something has to be done,' she added. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Teens who killed pensioner with fireworks and ran off laughing are jailed MORE: Remains found in search for 'murdered' woman who vanished 15 years ago MORE: Man 'drove three-inch nail into girl's brain to stop her revealing sex abuse'
Metro
4 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
I'm a liberal snowflake but I'd fight for Britain in a heartbeat
As Keir Starmer unveiled plans today for an increase in defence spending in the UK, he argues the best way to deter aggression is with a trained Reserve ready to fight. As a self-confessed bleeding heart liberal, I think the Prime Minister is right. Believing that doesn't make me a warmonger; it makes me one of the first who'd pick up arms. By every measure, I'm a left-wing stereotype: A metropolitan, millennial, liberal, pro‑European, anti‑Trump, anti-gun, anti-war, Ukraine‑defending, 'woke', DEI‑supporting, internationalist, vegetarian who chooses cycling over driving every time. And yet, if my country was threatened tomorrow, I would not hesitate to fight for her. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This confession – shared with only a handful of people (until now!) – tends to short‑circuit any conversation. Progressives hear it and immediately summon images of chest‑beating nationalism or indefensible wars waged in our name. That reflex, while not without historical foundation, exposes a blind spot. It confuses the abuse of force with the existence of force, and it ignores a hard truth: Our generation has outsourced the defence of democracy to 'someone else'. And with Keir Starmer talking of a 'unity of purpose' with his defence plans,but a 2024 YouGov poll revealed only 6% of Britons would volunteer if another world war erupted. A shocking 36% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 33% of 25- to 49-year-olds said they'd still refuse even if called up. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here. You only have to cross a few borders to see our brave Ukrainian neighbours – people our age and younger in battle against an invader. Their struggle is daily, physical and unimaginably costly – all for the fundamental right to exist. Yes, they rely on conscription as well as volunteers, but their bravery reminds us that the liberties we champion and upon which our country is founded – free speech, human rights, the rule of law – survive only when citizens are prepared to guard them with something heavier than a hashtag. In the UK, we need to step up, like our grandparents did in two bloody World Wars. And so, much to the literal open-mouthed silence of a close friend and the stunned horror of my partner, I confessed I recently contacted both a British Army and Navy Reserve unit. Truthfully, my skills would likely be better used elsewhere, and I'm hardly front‑line‑fit. But if just 10% of British adults under 35 joined the Reserves – that's roughly 1.3 million people – the mere act would stiffen deterrence, signal unity with allies and, crucially, send a warning shot to the Putins of this world. None of this requires conscription. What it requires is a cultural reset: Universities that treat Reserve training with the same prestige as Erasmus placements; trade unions that negotiate protected leave for service; progressive politicians who speak of defence with the same urgency they reserve for the NHS. So yes, I'm a liberal millennial. I recycle obsessively, believe trans rights are human rights and think we should re‑join the EU yesterday. But I also believe that if darker forces come to our doorstep, the progressive response is not to leave the burden to someone else, but to shoulder it ourselves. I want all wars to end, but readiness is not warmongering. It is the silent promise that liberty will never be forfeited for lack of volunteers. Making – and keeping – that promise might be the most radical act my generation ever performs. And for those who ask, what would we be fighting for? As someone who left the UK to live in the US, I can tell you that our imperfect little island punches way above its weight. We stumble now and again – Brexit being a fairly major faux pas – but when push comes to shove, we almost always get it right. From Kosovo to Ebola relief, I couldn't be prouder of our leadership in stepping up to preserve a liberal global order time and time again. It came much later than I'd have liked, and of course there is more action needed, but when Israel took things too far in Palestine, we pulled out of trade talks, publicly called for a halt to military operations and demanded the immediate flow of humanitarian aid. While we should be doing more – including deploying troops – we didn't even blink before picking a side when Putin began an unprovoked, illegal invasion of Ukraine. And just as Ukrainians refuse to back down despite years of brutal attrition, we haven't flinched and we haven't left their side – not for a single second. Because that's who we are. We can be a self‑critical nation and still worth defending. More Trending The United Kingdom today is, at its core, the same proud country that declared war to defend our Polish neighbours in 1939 and opened its arms to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. That is our country. Tiny, sure, but damn mighty. Proud. Open. Tolerant. Progressive. Diverse. Time and again, whether under Labour, Conservative, or Liberal Democrat coalition governments, we have sided with what is right. Sometimes a little late, sometimes a little clunky, but we always get there. If all that isn't worth fighting for, I don't know what is. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Like JoJo Siwa, I dated a man after women — we're both still queer MORE: Inside UK's new £15,000,000,000 nuclear attack submarines to combat 'Russian aggression' MORE: Ukraine's 'Pearl Harbour' strike on Putin 'may have breached nuclear doctrine'
Glasgow Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
ITV's This Morning star wowed by Glasgow hotel
Josie Gibson stayed at the AC Hotel by Marriott Glasgow and toured the hotel's brand-new luxury wedding and event venue The Collector's Hall. She said: "I have never, ever stayed in anywhere like this in my life." The Liberty Suite, a two-bedroom residence with a living area, dining space, and kitchen, offers stunning views and elegant interiors. Josie with Craig Munro (Image: Supplied) Josie visited Glasgow to get a first look at The Collector's Hall, AC Hotel's new venue designed for weddings, private events, and gatherings. She joked with general manager Craig Munro about her own romantic aspirations, saying: "Can I get married here? "Can you imagine walking down the aisle to a hunky Scotsman… I've just got to find him first." Craig said: "It was an absolute privilege to have Josie stay in our Liberty Suite. "This two-bedroom suite, with its unique layout and high-end finishes, complements our new wedding and event space perfectly. "We're thrilled she enjoyed her time with us and would be honoured to host her big day - when that hunky Scotsman comes along." The AC Hotel by Marriott Glasgow is a restoration of Glasgow's 120-year-old Grade A-listed former Parish Halls. As part of the £100 million Love Loan development, the project has transformed an entire block off George Square into a leisure and residential neighbourhood. The hotel's heritage suites, including The Liberty Suite, showcase original features such as a sweeping stone staircase, period cornicing, a glass ceiling dome, and a stained-glass window depicting Glasgow's famous coat of arms inspired by the legend of St Mungo. The Collector's Hall is now open for bookings.
Metro
21-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
More pensioners will now be eligible for winter fuel payments
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More pensioners could be eligible for the winter fuel payment after a U-turn on the planned cuts. Sir Keir Starmer announced that more people could get the winter fuel money months after the government cut the number. Speaking at the Prime Minister's Questions, he said he understood the financial pressures on pensioners after he was quizzed on the controversial move. He said: 'I recognise that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis including pensioners. More Trending 'As the economy improves, we want to make sure people feel those improvements in their days as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure that as we go forward more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments. 'As you would expect Mr Speaker, we will only make decisions we can afford, that is why we will look at that as part of a fiscal event.' Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here. Labour MP Sarah Owen said: 'Whilst the economy is showing signs of improving, many pensioners are still impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. People in Luton who have worked hard all their lives seeing their precious savings slip away, so can the Prime Minister tell us what measures he will take to help struggling pensions in towns like mine?' The government came under fire after MPs voted in favour of cutting the payments and making it means-tested rather than universal. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Is it safe to travel to France? Latest advice after 'truly violent' floods and rainstorms MORE: Keir Starmer's words on Israel aren't enough – we need action MORE: Mad cow disease confirmed on Essex farm
