Latest news with #JointCommitteeonHumanRights
Euronews
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Starmer: UK to send rejected asylum seekers to 'return hubs' abroad
The UK is looking to send asylum seekers who have had their application rejected to 'return hubs' abroad while they await deportation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday. During his first official visit to Albania, Starmer told the press, "We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs and I see them as a really important innovation". He stopped short of detailing which countries he was referring to. However, Starmer did rule out the possibility of sending rejected asylum seekers to Albania. The Western Balkan country's recently reelected Prime Minister Edi Rama said his country's similar agreement with Italy was a "one-off". Starmer — who is in Albania to agree on further measures focused on tackling illegal immigration and organised crime — said the plans were "consistent" with prior work done by the UK and Albania to reduce migrant crossings across the English Channel. Starmer's government has hailed the cooperation between the two countries as a success and reported a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years. Although Albania was ruled out as a potential host to British "return hubs," the UK government is considering sending asylum seekers to other countries in the Western Balkans, according to reports from domestic media. This week, Starmer unveiled controversial plans to cut migration to the UK in the government's Immigration White Paper and denied these plans were a response to the success of the far-right Reform UK party, which has a hardline position on tackling immigration, in recent local elections. Starmer's return hub scheme explicitly targets asylum seekers whose claims have already been rejected. Prior to Labour coming to power in July 2024, the Conservative government drew up and spent significant funds on plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda while their applications were processed. In February 2024, the country's parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights ruled that the repeat Rwanda bid was incompatible with the country's rights obligations.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More than 400 actors and industry figures sign open letter backing trans rights
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals have signed an open letter pledging 'solidarity' with the trans, non-binary and intersex communities who have been affected by the recent supreme court ruling. Eddie Redmayne, Katie Leung, Nicola Coughlan, Charlotte Ritchie and Paapa Essiedu are among those to have signed the letter addressing the film and television industry as well as cultural bodies. Bella Ramsey, James Norton, Joe Alwyn, Himesh Patel, Harris Dickinson and the director Ken Loach are also signatories. In mid-April, supreme court judges unanimously ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. This means a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change a person's legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The ruling has been interpreted to mean that trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces like toilets and changing rooms. The open letter said: 'We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.' It added the film and television community had previously come together in response to the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements by 'reflecting' upon working practices and 'uplifting' a broad spectrum of voices. 'We must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry – whether on set, in a production office, or at a cinema.' The letter continued: 'Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.' On Wednesday, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said it is 'absolutely unacceptable' to question the validity of the supreme court ruling that the term 'woman' is defined by biological sex. Giving evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Mahmood said: 'They obviously provided the legal clarity in their legal decision, which is exactly their job. 'I think it's disappointing since then that some individuals have sought to question the validity of the supreme court or cast aspersions, which is absolutely unacceptable. 'I think they've done their job and I think they've sought to do it in a way that recognises that we're talking about a balance of rights, but sought to give confidence to a minority community that they still have protections.' Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the ruling.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals sign open letter supporting trans rights
More than 400 actors and film industry professionals have signed an open letter pledging their 'solidarity' with the trans, non-binary, and intersex communities who have been affected by the recent supreme court ruling. Eddie Redmayne, Katie Leung, Nicola Coughlan, Charlotte Ritchie and Paapa Essiedu are among those to have signed the letter addressing the film and television industry as well as cultural bodies. Bella Ramsey, James Norton, Joe Alwyn, Himesh Patel, Harris Dickinson and the director Ken Loach are also signatories. In mid-April, supreme court judges unanimously ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. This means a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change a person's legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The ruling has been interpreted to mean that trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces like toilets and changing rooms. The open letter said: 'We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.' It added the film and television community had previously come together in response to the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements by 'reflecting' upon working practices and 'uplifting' a broad spectrum of voices. 'We must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry – whether on set, in a production office, or at a cinema.' The letter continued: 'Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.' On Wednesday, the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said it is 'absolutely unacceptable' to question the validity of the supreme court ruling that the term 'woman' is defined by biological sex. Giving evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Mahmood said: 'They obviously provided the legal clarity in their legal decision, which is exactly their job. 'I think it's disappointing since then that some individuals have sought to question the validity of the supreme court or cast aspersions, which is absolutely unacceptable. 'I think they've done their job and I think they've sought to do it in a way that recognises that we're talking about a balance of rights, but sought to give confidence to a minority community that they still have protections.' Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the ruling.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Misinformation being ‘whipped up' over immigration cases
Misinformation is being 'whipped up' over asylum and immigration cases in relation to international human rights law, the Government's top legal adviser has said. Lord Richard Hermer KC warned there is a 'real job on misinformation' around Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to private and family life, in how it is applied to immigration cases in the UK. Giving evidence to Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday, the Attorney General said: 'There is clearly a lot of information, misinformation, that is being whipped up in the context of asylum and immigration in particular, Article 8. 'Many of you will have heard banded around the idea that the courts have allowed a foreign national offender to stay here because his child will miss chicken McNuggets. 'That is doing the rounds. 'What is not doing the rounds is that that case went to the Upper Tribunal, who categorically rejected that as an Article 8 argument. 'They rejected the claim.' He added: ' Courts are always going to make mistakes. 'That's why we have appeal courts, and that's what's happened here.' The senior lawyer however said it was 'entirely right' for the Home Secretary to conduct a review on the use of Article 8 in migration cases in the UK. Yvette Cooper confirmed on Monday the review will be particularly focusing on cases where ministers have disagreed with the conclusions reached in the courts. Several deportation attempts have been halted by how the ECHR clause has been interpreted in UK law. Lord Hermer said there has been a 'rise' in the number of decisions reported at First Tier immigration tribunals on the basis of Article 8 that are 'capable of suggesting that it is not being applied properly or appropriately'. He told the committee: 'I want to make clear in all my comments about decisions of any court that I am categorically not criticising judges. 'I think there is real merit in checking that Article 8 is being properly understood and applied, because, as I've said, you can have a very, very robust but fair process in asylum and immigration context that is entirely compatible with Article 8.' He added there needs to be checks on the 'right calibration' of casework decisions and also that the Government is being robust in appealing against decisions. 'Completely understand that people are concerned, so are we,' he said. 'We are determined to ensure that the immigration asylum system is as robust, efficient and fair as it can be, and you can do an awful lot that is compatible. 'All of this I should stress will be within Article 8.' Elsewhere, the Attorney General was quizzed by MPs and peers on how he ensures the Government receives impartial advice on questions of human rights law after a 'long career at the bar'. It comes after Lord Hermer faced questions about how his previous work, including representing former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, could result in possible conflicts of interest in his Government work. But he replied: 'Well, I think the short answer is that's by doing the best I can.' 'It's absolutely essential that governments of whatever colour receive objective, legal advice.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Misinformation being ‘whipped up' over immigration cases
Misinformation is being 'whipped up' over asylum and immigration cases in relation to international human rights law, the Government's top legal adviser has said. Lord Richard Hermer KC warned there is a 'real job on misinformation' around Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to private and family life, in how it is applied to immigration cases in the UK. Giving evidence to Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday, the Attorney General said: 'There is clearly a lot of information, misinformation, that is being whipped up in the context of asylum and immigration in particular, Article 8. 'Many of you will have heard banded around the idea that the courts have allowed a foreign national offender to stay here because his child will miss chicken McNuggets. 'That is doing the rounds. 'What is not doing the rounds is that that case went to the Upper Tribunal, who categorically rejected that as an Article 8 argument. 'They rejected the claim.' He added: 'Courts are always going to make mistakes. 'That's why we have appeal courts, and that's what's happened here.' The senior lawyer however said it was 'entirely right' for the Home Secretary to conduct a review on the use of Article 8 in migration cases in the UK. Yvette Cooper confirmed on Monday the review will be particularly focusing on cases where ministers have disagreed with the conclusions reached in the courts. Several deportation attempts have been halted by how the ECHR clause has been interpreted in UK law. Lord Hermer said there has been a 'rise' in the number of decisions reported at First Tier immigration tribunals on the basis of Article 8 that are 'capable of suggesting that it is not being applied properly or appropriately'. He told the committee: 'I want to make clear in all my comments about decisions of any court that I am categorically not criticising judges. 'I think there is real merit in checking that Article 8 is being properly understood and applied, because, as I've said, you can have a very, very robust but fair process in asylum and immigration context that is entirely compatible with Article 8.' He added there needs to be checks on the 'right calibration' of casework decisions and also that the Government is being robust in appealing against decisions. 'Completely understand that people are concerned, so are we,' he said. 'We are determined to ensure that the immigration asylum system is as robust, efficient and fair as it can be, and you can do an awful lot that is compatible. 'All of this I should stress will be within Article 8.' Elsewhere, the Attorney General was quizzed by MPs and peers on how he ensures the Government receives impartial advice on questions of human rights law after a 'long career at the bar'. It comes after Lord Hermer faced questions about how his previous work, including representing former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, could result in possible conflicts of interest in his Government work. But he replied: 'Well, I think the short answer is that's by doing the best I can.' 'It's absolutely essential that governments of whatever colour receive objective, legal advice.'
