Latest news with #OrganisedImmigrationCrimeSummit
STV News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- STV News
PM set to announce new visa rules to 'tighten up' migration system
Migrants will be told they need to spend up to a decade in the UK before they can apply for citizenship and English language requirements will be increased as part of the Government's immigration crackdown. Sir Keir Starmer will promise to 'tighten up' all elements of the system as ministers look to bring down net figures, but are facing pushback against plans to stop foreign recruitment of care workers. The Prime Minister is expected to say that 'enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall' as a result of the policies in the Immigration White Paper, set to be unveiled on Monday. Meanwhile, the Home Secretary has been warned that plans to stop overseas recruitment for care worker visas are 'cruel', and the head of a nursing union is expected to accuse the Government of 'pandering and scapegoating' with the policy. Yvette Cooper said on Sunday that the overseas recruitment for care worker visas will be stopped, as part of plans to reduce 'lower-skilled' visas by 'up to 50,000' in the next year. Sir Keir has also hinted at a tightening up of the rules around the right to a family life for foreign offenders looking to evade deportation, telling The Sun newspaper 'if you break British law, you give up your right to be here'. Under the white paper proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship, but so-called 'high-contributing' individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system. Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English. Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning that they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language. Meanwhile skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages. Ministers are looking to bring down net migration figures, which stood at 728,000 in the year to mid-2024. 'Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control,' the Prime Minister is expected to say on Monday. 'Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall.' He will say that the system under the reforms will be 'controlled, selective and fair', and will recognise 'those who genuinely contribute to Britain's growth and society, while restoring common sense and control to our borders'. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks during the Organised Immigration Crime Summit in London in March. / Credit: AP Ms Cooper told Sky News On Sunday that 'we will be closing the care worker visa for overseas recruitment'. Under current rules, to qualify for a care worker visa a person must have a certificate of sponsorship from their employer with information about the role they have been offered in the UK. The Home Secretary told the BBC the rules around the system will change to 'prevent' it being used 'to recruit from abroad' but 'we will allow them to continue to extend visas and also to recruit from more than 10,000 people who came on a care worker visa, where the sponsorship visa was cancelled'. The head of a nursing union is expected to criticise the decision in a keynote speech on Monday. Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing will tell its annual congress that the Government's plans are about 'pandering and scapegoating'. 'The UK is so reliant on overseas colleagues, especially in social care. 'The Government has no plan to grow a domestic workforce. 'This is about politics – pandering and scapegoating. 'It should be about people,' she will say. 'We need an immigration system that works for care staff, nurses and the people who rely on them.' Care England's chief executive Martin Green earlier labelled the Government's plans as 'cruel'. The plans come less than a fortnight after Reform UK surged to victory in local council elections across England, a result that deputy leader Richard Tice has said was 'because people are raging, furious, about the levels of both legal and illegal immigration'. The Conservatives have said that the Prime Minister is 'trying to take steal credit for recent substantial reductions in visa numbers that resulted from Conservative reforms in April 2024'. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp added: 'Starmer is the same man who wrote letters protesting against deporting dangerous foreign criminals and has overseen the worst ever start to a year for illegal immigrants crossing the channel. 'The idea that Starmer is tough on immigration is a joke.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
UK to stop foreign sex offenders receiving refugee protections
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit at Lancaster House in central London, Britain March 31, 2025. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON - Britain will exclude foreign sex offenders from asylum protections, the government said on Monday in its latest effort to strengthen border security. Facing public anger at the number of asylum-seeking migrants coming to Britain and the cost of housing them, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government has sought to deter illegal migration and speed up removal of those denied refugee status. The government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is passing through parliament, will be amended to deny refugee status to any foreign national with a criminal conviction that qualifies them for the sex offenders register. "Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK," interior minister Yvette Cooper said in the statement. The government also said it would introduce new targets to speed up parts of the asylum decision-making system, and begin using AI to help caseworkers make decisions by improving access to country-specific advice and summarising interviews. Britain had 90,686 asylum cases awaiting an initial decision at the end of 2024. The government said in January that it had met its target to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018, having removed 16,400 people. Western countries, from France and Germany to the United States, have been grappling with a surge in the number of people fleeing war and persecution, with the global refugee population having tripled in the last decade. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Zawya
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Immigration offenders returned on flight to Nigeria and Ghana
43 failed asylum seekers and foreign offenders were returned on a charter flight to Nigeria and Ghana, as the government steps up international collaboration to secure our borders. The flight underscores the government's progress restoring order to the immigration system through the Plan for Change, ensuring rules are respected and those who break them are swiftly returned. Those removed had no right to be in the UK and included 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had served their sentences. 7 people returned voluntarily. Since the election, two charter flights have taken off to the countries, carrying a total of 87 people and demonstrating the strength of cooperation between the UK, Nigeria and Ghana on this critical issue. Under this government, over 24,000 people have been returned, an 11% increase on the same period 12 months prior, while four of the largest returns flights ever have taken off returning migrants to countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Deportations of foreign national offenders are also up 16% since the election, with 3,594 criminals removed. Immigration Enforcement ensure that returns are carried out in a dignified and respectful manner. Minister for Border Security and Asylum Angela Eagle said: "This flight demonstrates how international partnerships deliver on working people's priorities for swift returns and secure borders. Through the Plan for Change we're going further in restoring order to a broken system, accelerating returns of those with no right to be here and closing expensive asylum hotels. I thank the governments of Ghana and Nigeria for facilitating this operation, which reflects our joint commitment to disrupt organised immigration crime and protect our borders." Baroness Chapman of Darlington, FCDO Minister responsible for Irregular Migration said: "Working with other countries and partners around the world is critical to tackling irregular migration – by working internationally, we will meet this global challenge together. I welcome our strong cooperation with Ghana and Nigeria to return those with no right to be in the UK, secure our borders, and deliver on the Plan for Change." This operation follows the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, which saw the UK bring together over 40 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to drive forward the global fight against smuggling gangs and deliver on the government's mission to secure our borders. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rights groups urge Starmer to dial down anti-migrant rhetoric
More than 130 refugee and human rights organisations have called on Keir Starmer to stop using language that demonises migrants, after he made controversial remarks before an international people-smuggling summit. The criticisms are contained in a letter to the UK prime minister, coordinated by the campaign coalition Together With Refugees. It has been sent to the prime minister in response to comments he made before the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on 31 March, where more than 40 countries came together in London to focus on tackling organised immigration crime including people-smuggling gangs. Starmer said: 'But we all pay the price for insecure borders – from the cost of accommodating migrants to the strain on our public services. It is a basic question of fairness.' In an open letter to the prime minister, the organisations say: 'Now is not the time to play into the hands of those seeking to build them-and-us division between local communities and refugees. It is the time to move away from the hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past and unite our communities for a different way forward.' The 136 signatories are from a range of organisations across the UK including City of Sanctuary UK, Choose Love, Freedom from Torture, One Strong Voice, Rainbow Migration, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Scottish Refugee Council, Welsh Refugee Council and the Public and Commercial Services Union. The letter states: 'You told us this week that immigration 'is a basic question of fairness'. We agree. But the searing experiences of last summer, when hate-filled mobs tried to burn down hotels hosting asylum seekers, make it clear that the path to fairness is not to be found in those pitting local communities against refugees seeking safety from persecution and war.' The letter also responds to the summit's focus on targeting smuggling gangs. It states: 'Rather than the border security summit's focus on expensive new ways to disrupt people smugglers, often making the journey more dangerous for refugees, the government should be looking at safe routes for refugees to get here without risking their lives.' Tim Naor Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action, said: 'We need the prime minister and his government to be brave and ditch the divisive language that scapegoats migrants, including refugees and people seeking asylum. 'Hostile policies and rhetoric risk fuelling more of the racist, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant riots that tore through our communities last summer. 'The government must use language that focuses on unity and community resilience, and develop a new asylum system that is grounded in rights and justice.' Nico Ndlovu, a signatory and the representative of the lived experience campaign group One Strong Voice, said: 'The prime minister's words this week make no recognition of our suffering and why we desperately need to find safety, or our contribution to this country, its economy and culture. 'It's painful to hear him add his voice to this kind of hostile rhetoric. Rather than this summit's narrow and expensive focus on people smugglers we need a proper vision for the asylum system, with a plan that is fair, compassionate and well managed.' The letter calls for a new plan for refugees that is compassionate and well managed including fair, rapid decisions on their application for asylum, and the chance to rebuild their lives, stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes and safe routes for refugees. A government spokesperson said: 'As the prime minister made clear, there is nothing compassionate about turning a blind eye to the vile gangs who ruthlessly exploit vulnerable people and trade in human misery. This is why we have launched an unprecedented global fight against these criminals to secure our borders as part of our Plan for Change.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK to work with allies and social media to tackle people smuggling adverts
The UK has pledged further action with allies and social media platforms to tackle people smuggling adverts online as part of efforts to cut small boat crossings and other illegal migration services. A new agreement made at the UK's Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Tuesday will see the UK, US, Albania, Sweden, Tunisia and Vietnam take more collective action to target criminal gangs advertising illegal migration online, and share more data on the issue. The agreement will also see governments work with social media companies – including Meta, TikTok and X, who were present at the summit – to design out methods being used by criminal gangs to advertise and glorify their people smuggling activities online. The Home Office said 18,000 social media accounts used to sell spaces on small boats have been taken down by the National Crime Agency (NCA) since last July – 10,000 more than the previous year – but that further action is still needed. As part of the new collective action agreement, governments will work with online platforms to help improve detection and moderation tools for identifying content linked to people smuggling. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said: 'Criminal gangs are exploiting online platforms to prey on vulnerable people, luring them into dangerous and illegal journeys that undermine our border security. 'This international agreement is a vital step in shutting down their online operations and dismantling their networks across the world. 'These organised crime groups operate across borders, which is why the UK has united with five nations to take decisive action – strengthening intelligence-sharing and taking away platforms that these criminals depend on for their business. 'Under the Government's Plan for Change, we will continue working with global partners to dismantle smuggling networks, bring perpetrators to justice, and protect vulnerable people from falling into their hands.' The summit has also seen nations agree to increased intelligence-sharing, including between law enforcement agencies, while the UK is to lead work on investigating how criminal gangs are using online spaces. Graeme Biggar, director-general of the NCA, said: 'Yesterday we saw law enforcement from over 40 nations come together in a shared endeavour to stop these criminal gangs. 'We have explored challenges, sought solutions, and reinforced our shared commitment to tackling the threat and harm caused by people smuggling. 'International intelligence-sharing and co-operation is absolutely crucial to track criminal activity across borders, allowing us to put a stop to these dangerous criminals, and this summit has ensured that we can build on our work to put a stop to these gangs, protect our borders and save lives.'
