Latest news with #Keir
Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK to announce first people-smuggling sanctions in plan to 'smash the gangs'
LONDON — Gang leaders, corrupt officials and police officers, fake passport dealers and firms supplying small boats could be publicly named in UK sanctions targeting people-smuggling. The first measures are due to be unveiled on Wednesday and are seen as central to government plans to tackle criminal networks behind the crossings. Individuals and companies are expected to be hit with asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions from engaging with the UK's financial system under the sanctions. It is understood the first tranche will include the names of around two dozen people accused of facilitating the trade or profiting from it - but the Migration Advisory Committee said the impact could be limited. Its deputy chair, Dr Madeleine Sumption, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." Further sanctions packages are expected to include corrupt public officials and police officers, while the initial list published on Wednesday is intended to signal the type of targets the UK is pursuing as part of longer-term efforts to disrupt smuggling networks. Sir Keir has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and made tackling illegal migration at source a key election pledge last year. The government says criminal gangs are preying on the hopes of vulnerable people - but questions have been raised over how easily sanctions can be enforced, particularly given the international nature of smuggling networks. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the sanctions regime was "the first of its kind anywhere on the planet" and a key step in ending "the status quo" where criminal gangs prey on "vulnerable people with impunity". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "We are leading, others will follow." As well as ringleaders in the trade, the sanctions are expected to target enablers like financial middlemen, who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said sanctions "may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery", but warned "enforcement alone will not stop dangerous Channel crossings" without safe alternatives. Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. Responding to the plans, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus." The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". Earlier this month, the government signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. — BBC
Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UK to announce first people-smuggling sanctions in plan to 'smash the gangs'
LONDON — Gang leaders, corrupt officials and police officers, fake passport dealers and firms supplying small boats could be publicly named in UK sanctions targeting people-smuggling. The first measures are due to be unveiled on Wednesday and are seen as central to government plans to tackle criminal networks behind the crossings. Individuals and companies are expected to be hit with asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions from engaging with the UK's financial system under the sanctions. It is understood the first tranche will include the names of around two dozen people accused of facilitating the trade or profiting from it - but the Migration Advisory Committee said the impact could be limited. Its deputy chair, Dr Madeleine Sumption, said she would be "surprised" if the sanctions were a "game changer for the industry as a whole, and for the existence of the small boats route". "There are so many people involved in the industry that targeting people individually is probably only going to have an impact around the margins," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She added: "The impact is dependent to an extent on the co-operation of other countries where smugglers are operating." Further sanctions packages are expected to include corrupt public officials and police officers, while the initial list published on Wednesday is intended to signal the type of targets the UK is pursuing as part of longer-term efforts to disrupt smuggling networks. Sir Keir has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and made tackling illegal migration at source a key election pledge last year. The government says criminal gangs are preying on the hopes of vulnerable people - but questions have been raised over how easily sanctions can be enforced, particularly given the international nature of smuggling networks. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the sanctions regime was "the first of its kind anywhere on the planet" and a key step in ending "the status quo" where criminal gangs prey on "vulnerable people with impunity". Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "We are leading, others will follow." As well as ringleaders in the trade, the sanctions are expected to target enablers like financial middlemen, who push money through Hawala networks, an informal system for organising money transfers often used by smugglers. In the first six months of this year, more than 20,000 people crossed in small boats, an increase of nearly 50% on the previous year, according to Home Office data. Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said sanctions "may help disrupt some of the criminal networks profiting from human misery", but warned "enforcement alone will not stop dangerous Channel crossings" without safe alternatives. Ministers say the new sanctions will target immigration crime gangs "where traditional law enforcement and criminal justice approaches cannot reach". Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the new sanctions regime is a "decisive step in our fight against the criminal gangs who profit from human misery". "It will allow us to target the assets and operations of people-smugglers wherever they operate, cutting off their funding and dismantling their networks piece by piece," she said. Responding to the plans, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The truth is you don't stop the Channel crossings by freezing a few bank accounts in Baghdad or slapping a travel ban on a dinghy dealer in Damascus." The announcement comes after tensions in Essex at the weekend during a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers, which was triggered after the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults. Police said the protest descended into "mindless thuggery" after flares and bottles were thrown towards officers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the people protesting as "genuinely concerned families" and said parts of the country are "close... to civil disobedience on a vast scale". Earlier this month, the government signed a "one in, one out" deal with France to return migrants to France for the equivalent number of legal asylum seekers, subject to security checks. — BBC
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Starmer clashes with senior MP over welfare reform
Work and pensions committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams said the welfare bill was 'far removed' from Labour values as she questioned the Prime Minister at the Liaison Committee. She asked Sir Keir what he would like to say to the disabled people who experienced 'fear and anxiety' before the Government made concessions on its bill. 'Well, it's very important that they feel secure and supported, and that is at the heart of what we are doing in the changes we are making to welfare and related areas,' he said. Sir Keir said he did not accept that it would take several years before labour market changes allow more disabled people to be employed following Sir Charlie Mayfield's review, due in the autumn. Debbie Abrahams said the welfare bill was 'far removed' from Labour values (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) Mrs Abrahams asked what he would do to mitigate against a potential 50,000 newly disabled people being pushed into poverty. Sir Keir said: 'I don't accept that everything is going to take years. Some changes do take years, but not all changes take years, and we have to do work in the interim to give that support to those with disabilities.' Mrs Abrahams said she felt 'ashamed' of the 'poor' welfare legislation the Government put forward. 'This was poor legislation. It was designed to save money for the Treasury by cutting support to sick and disabled people. 'It was so far removed from Labour values of fairness and social justice, let alone compassion and common decency. 'I have to say I felt ashamed.' Sir Keir later said he thought he could 'engage Parliament more' when asked what he might do differently after his first year, but also said he wants to remind people of the 'improvements' the Government has made. After a year in office, Sir Keir was asked what he wanted the UK to look like at the end of his first term in No 10. Sir Keir Starmer appearing before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) He said: 'I want people to feel better off and there has to be a central focus on living standards. 'I want them to feel – as they will – that the health service is working much better, is there for them and their families in a way that it hasn't been for many years. 'And I want them to feel safe and secure, both in their immediate neighbourhood and as a country, both our borders and national security and defence. 'So, they're the three things that I'm focused on more than anything else.' Sir Keir's drive to improve the NHS could be derailed if resident doctors in England go ahead with strike action, which is due to begin on Friday. The Tory government faced waves of strike action in the NHS, which contributed to care backlogs. The Prime Minister has put international co-operation, including a promised one-in, one-out deal to return small boat migrants to France, at the heart of measures to control the borders. But arrivals are running at record levels for this point in a year, with the latest Home Office showing 23,534 people had crossed in small boats so far in 2025. The Liaison Committee, a panel made up of senior MPs who chair the various Commons select committees, was focusing on measures to tackle poverty. The Prime Minister, who is under pressure from within his own party to scrap the two-child benefits cap, said: 'People will not feel better-off or safe and secure if we haven't tackled poverty.' He said there were four 'limbs' to the Government's strategy: increasing incomes, decreasing costs, strengthening local support, including measures to get people into work and boosting financial resilience. 'I'm very proud of the fact that the last Labour government drove down poverty and I'm determined this Government is going to as well,' Sir Keir said.
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Starmer clashes with senior MP over welfare reform
Work and pensions committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams said the welfare bill was 'far removed' from Labour values as she questioned the Prime Minister at the Liaison Committee. She asked Sir Keir what he would like to say to the disabled people who experienced 'fear and anxiety' before the Government made concessions on its bill. 'Well, it's very important that they feel secure and supported, and that is at the heart of what we are doing in the changes we are making to welfare and related areas,' he said. Sir Keir said he did not accept that it would take several years before labour market changes allow more disabled people to be employed following Sir Charlie Mayfield's review, due in the autumn. Debbie Abrahams said the welfare bill was 'far removed' from Labour values (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) Mrs Abrahams asked what he would do to mitigate against a potential 50,000 newly disabled people being pushed into poverty. Sir Keir said: 'I don't accept that everything is going to take years. Some changes do take years, but not all changes take years, and we have to do work in the interim to give that support to those with disabilities.' Mrs Abrahams said she felt 'ashamed' of the 'poor' welfare legislation the Government put forward. 'This was poor legislation. It was designed to save money for the Treasury by cutting support to sick and disabled people. 'It was so far removed from Labour values of fairness and social justice, let alone compassion and common decency. 'I have to say I felt ashamed.' Sir Keir later said he thought he could 'engage Parliament more' when asked what he might do differently after his first year, but also said he wants to remind people of the 'improvements' the Government has made. After a year in office, Sir Keir was asked what he wanted the UK to look like at the end of his first term in No 10. Sir Keir Starmer appearing before the Liaison Committee of senior MPs (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) He said: 'I want people to feel better off and there has to be a central focus on living standards. 'I want them to feel – as they will – that the health service is working much better, is there for them and their families in a way that it hasn't been for many years. 'And I want them to feel safe and secure, both in their immediate neighbourhood and as a country, both our borders and national security and defence. 'So, they're the three things that I'm focused on more than anything else.' Sir Keir's drive to improve the NHS could be derailed if resident doctors in England go ahead with strike action, which is due to begin on Friday. The Tory government faced waves of strike action in the NHS, which contributed to care backlogs. The Prime Minister has put international co-operation, including a promised one-in, one-out deal to return small boat migrants to France, at the heart of measures to control the borders. But arrivals are running at record levels for this point in a year, with the latest Home Office showing 23,534 people had crossed in small boats so far in 2025. The Liaison Committee, a panel made up of senior MPs who chair the various Commons select committees, was focusing on measures to tackle poverty. The Prime Minister, who is under pressure from within his own party to scrap the two-child benefits cap, said: 'People will not feel better-off or safe and secure if we haven't tackled poverty.' He said there were four 'limbs' to the Government's strategy: increasing incomes, decreasing costs, strengthening local support, including measures to get people into work and boosting financial resilience. 'I'm very proud of the fact that the last Labour government drove down poverty and I'm determined this Government is going to as well,' Sir Keir said.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Please, Sir Keir, racing is being battered and we NEED your help before it's too late
SIR KEIR, are you listening? Do you know what is going on? Has anyone talked to you? Tax nightmares. Affordability checks. Labour peer frustrations. 1 Racing is booming at the moment with punters returning to tracks - but huge headwinds in the shape of harsh taxation lie in wait Credit: PA It appears racing is being battered in every direction. Who is listening? It remains hard to know. I've written before and I'll write it again. Considering horse racing is loved by the King and Queen downwards, it's quite extraordinary that it seems anyone who is part of the sport seemingly finds it impossible to get the ear of the Prime Minister. But while everyone is shouting from the rooftops about the current mayhem and possible nightmares around the corner, whether those in charge of Government have any idea what is happening behind the scenes is just a guessing game. We know Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, like horse racing. Remember the day after the General Election? Victoria was having a day out at the Eclipse at Sandown. Not so long ago Sir Keir was also at Doncaster for the St Leger to watch Jan Brueghel land his victory for Aidan O'Brien. And yet, there is every chance the Labour Government is on the verge of lumping a huge taxation on the Sport of Kings that could be the beginning of the end. Most read in Horse Racing For those of you who don't know, that's because there is a current Treasury proposal to harmonise remote gambling tax rates, which could result in a raise to the rate on sports betting (including horseracing) from 15 per cent to 21 per cent. It all comes at a time when racing attendances are up - although no doubt partly due to good weather - allowing the sport to remain as the second most watched in the country. Above all that, though, horse racing already contributes over £4billion to the national economy and supports in the region of 85,000 jobs. Why would you even contemplate wrecking that? All this is going on at the same time Lord Allen continues to sit on the bench while he decides whether he wants to become BHA chairman. Many in racing think he is sent from God to make everything all right, although as of yet I've seen nothing on paper to back that up. That all said, everyone knows the governance needs a massive change. We really only hear one side of the Lord Allen 'will he join or won't he join' saga. But I'm led to believe he's put forward a proposal which basically says accept it or I walk. I am also led to believe he wants a hefty salary for whoever he makes CEO in place of Brant Dunshea. I can't back this up. It's just the word on the street. If Lord Allen is the Messiah, though, you would have thought he'd have already been talking to Sir Keir and messages would be coming back to racing about the tax issue. It's been silent as far as I am aware. So Sir Keir. The question is simple. Do you hear us? Do you know what is going on? FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Read more on the Irish Sun Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
