Shabana Mahmood has unveiled a series of tough new policies around migration in what has been billed the biggest shake-up of the system in nearly half a century.
Under the planned changes, almost two million migrants who arrived in Britain from 2021 must have stayed in the country for 10 years before earning settled status.
Earlier this year, the Government announced it would double the permanent settlement qualifying period for migrants to a decade, with reductions for those making a strong contribution to British life.
But under new rules announced by the Home Secretary today, near two million people who arrived in the UK from 2021, which Labour has referred to as the "Boris wave", will face a longer wait time.
Migrants reliant on benefits will meanwhile face a 20 year wait for settlement, which is four times the current period and the longest in Europe.
Illegal migrants and visa overstayers would meanwhile have to wait up to 30 years to settle, removing the prospect of long-term residence and security in the UK.
Doctors and nurses working in the NHS will be able to settle after five years, while high earners and entrepreneurs will be able to stay after three years.
Sir Ed Davey calls on Kemi Badenoch to apologise following Covid Iquiry publication
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to apologise on behalf her party following the publication of the Covid inquiry’s second report.
“As this report is published, my thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost loved ones during the pandemic, and everyone who suffered. That a national lockdown could have been avoided will be shattering news to every person who was affected.
“Kemi Badenoch should apologise on behalf of her party. This report confirms the abject failure of the last Conservative government.
“The British people will rightly never forgive the Conservatives for leaving the country rudderless and vulnerable, and for partying while our communities were isolated and grieving.
“This tragedy can never be repeated,” he added.
Ms Badenoch was Minister of State for Equalities from February 14 2020, to July 6, 2022.
Lockdowns could have been avoided, Covid-19 Inquiry finds
Lockdowns could have been “avoided entirely” during the pandemic if ministers had responded more quickly to the virus, the Covid-19 Inquiry has concluded.
Baroness Heather Hallett said measures came “too little, too late” and contributed to how Britain was affected by the pandemic.
“The inquiry does not advocate for national lockdowns, far from it. Restricting people’s liberty in such a draconian fashion with all the devastating consequences should be avoided, if at all possible," she explained.
“But to avoid them, governments must take timely and decisive action to control a spreading virus. The four governments of the UK did not,” she continued.
“Had the more stringent restrictions, short of a stay at home lockdown announced on March 16 2020, been introduced earlier when the number of Covid-19 cases was lower, the mandatory lockdown that was subsequently imposed might have been shorter.
“Conceivably, it might not have been necessary at all," Lady Hallet said.
Former Labour MP joins the Greens as he 'urges' to follow
Former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has joined the Green Party.
Mr Russel Moyle served as the representative for for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven from 2017-2024.
However, he was blocked from standing in 2024 due a complaint about his behaviour eight years previously, which he denied.
Announcing the move, the former MP said: “For almost ten years I worked alongside Caroline (Lucas) as the MP next door. My old party has left behind millions of people who want hope and want to see change in their lives, their communities and the world around them.
“In the Greens I see a party that is offering that. In the Greens I see a party I have worked with for years and I am making the jump to join them today, I urge others to do so too,” Russell-Moyle added.
Nigel Farage 'wants small boat migration to continue' so he can 'spread division - Home Office minister
Nigel Farage has been accused of 'wanting small boat crossings to continue'
|PA
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage "wants small boat migrant crossings to continue" so he can “spread division” a Home Office minister has said.
Lord Hanson of Flint said the Government was seeking “to fix this problem, not to exploit it”.
The Labour frontbencher was speaking as he was tackled in the House of Lords over plans announced by the Home Secretary to overhaul the asylum system, aimed at deterring illegal migration to the UK and making it easier to deport people.
Clacton MP Mr Farage has described the plans as “extremely encouraging” but questioned whether they would ever be introduced.
Lord Hanson said: “Let me put it this way, I will welcome support for the Government’s proposals from wherever it comes from, but if she thinks that I have anything in common with the honourable member for Clacton and his crew, then she is sadly mistaken.
“I come from this from a position of trying to ensure that we build a conterminous, cohesive society that is open and tolerant, but one which manages its borders in an effective way.
“I don’t seek to, which I think, dare I say it, the honourable member for Clacton seeks to do, cause division.
“He wants us not to solve this problem. He wants this problem to continue. He wants the small boat routes to continue so he can spread division."
Changes to asylum system expected to come next April, Home Secretary says
The Home Secretary said changes to the asylum system could come in next April.
Shabana Mahmood said: “It’s a 12-week consultation.
“It will end in the middle of February and we would anticipate making changes and to begin the phase out of those changes once adopted from April 2026.”
She added that some changes may require technical solutions that “may take a little longer”.
Chris Philp accuses Shabana Mahmood of 'copy and paste' of Tory policies
Chris Philp accused the Home Secretary of a 'copy and paste' of Tory policies
|UK Parliament
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Shabana Mahmood of copying Conservative policies over her proposed settled status shake-up.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he said: "There is much in this statement I support, not least because so much of it is so familiar.
"The idea of a 10 year route to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is something that we proposed in amendments to the Government's bill around nine months ago.
"The Labour Party inexplicably voted against those measures here just a few months ago and now they have adopted them.
"We also proposed removing benefits from foreign citizens including those on ILR who don't have British citizenship and this consultation document now looks at doing the same thing.
"I am delighted to see the Home Secretary upon arrival at 2 Marsham Street [address of Home Office building] has got out the copy and paste function on her laptop and started copying and pasting Conservative policies."
Shabana Mahmood blames net migration figures on 'Boris wave'
Shabana Mahmood has placed blame for net migration figures on the last Tory government.
She said: "I spoke on Monday of the 400,000 who have claimed asylum since 2021.
"But that figure pales in comparison to the net migration figure in the same period. In that time, 2.6 million more people moved to Britain than left.
"This is the result of the extraordinary open border experiment conducted by the last Government. In that period, now sometimes called the 'Boris wave', immigration controls were drastically lifted."
Home Secretary: 'I worry that a vision of a greater Britain is giving way to that of a littler England'
The Home Secretary discussing new proposed rules around the settled status system
|UK PARLIAMENT
Shabana Mahmood is delivering her second statement in the House of Commons this week as she discusses proposed changes to the settled status system.
She said: "I, and so many others like me, are a patriot. Mine is a love of this country: one that is forever changing, while something essential about it always endures.
"It is a patriotism that finds room for those who trace their roots back many generations, and those, like me, who do not.
"But I worry that this broad patriotism is, for some, narrowing and that a vision of a greater Britain is giving way to that of a littler England as anger turns to hate.
"Some will choose to scorn this analysis. They would rather we simply wished it away. But those who look like me do not have that luxury.
"Our lives – and the lives of our families – are more dangerous in a country that turns inwards. So we have no choice but to ask: what is the cause of our division? And how might this country be united?"
Migrants on benefits face longest wait in Europe before getting settled status, Home Secretary announces
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a wave of new rules in what has been billed the "biggest overhaul of [the] migration model in 50 years".
Under the proposals, migrants who are reliant on benefits face a 20-year wait before they can earn settled status, which is four times the current period and the longest in Europe.
The plans could also see migrants only eligible for benefits and social housing if they first become British citizens, rather than upon being granted settlement as is currently the case.
Illegal migrants and visa overstayers would have to wait up to 30 years to settle, removing the prospect of long-term residence and security in the UK.
Doctors and nurses working in the NHS meanwhile will be able to settle after five years, while high earners and entrepreneurs could be able to stay after just three years in a bid to support economic growth.
No10 defends Home Secretary's plans to increase migrant return payments: 'We make no apology for saving taxpayers millions of pounds'
Shabana Mahmood said she is willing to consider a 'big increase' in payments for migrants to voluntarily return home | GETTYDowning Street has defended payments to migrants to agree to a voluntary departure from the UK as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood indicated she was considering a big increase in the sums offered.
A No10 spokesman said: “We make no apology for saving taxpayers millions of pounds by removing individuals who have no legal right to remain in the UK, or who are seeking to leave voluntarily.
“You’ll have seen already, the Government has increased removals, almost 50,000 people removed, including around 5,200 foreign national offenders.
“For example, to use a specific case, the £500 spent to remove Hadush Kebatu that you’ll remember was, of course, uncomfortable, but it would have cost thousands to get him out on another flight.
“So, payments for voluntary returns play a vital role in this, helping to curtail lengthy legal challenges to removal that cost the taxpayer millions of pounds.”
British pilots and planes unharmed after Russian spy ship pointed lasers, says armed forces minister
There were no injuries sustained by British pilots and no damage to their planes or equipment after a Russian spy ship directed lasers at them, the Government has confirmed.
The Yantar Russian research vessel is used to gather intelligence and map undersea cables, and it is currently operating on the edge of British waters, monitored by Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and RAF P-8s.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced on Wednesday that lasers originating from the Yantar were directed as British personnel operating one of the P-8s in a bid to disrupt the monitoring.
Armed Forces minister Al Carns told MPs today the pilots were medically assessed after the incident, and there were no injuries.
He said: “The Yantar has once again been operating in and around the UK’s EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) for the second time this year.
“During this time, she was continuously monitored by Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and the RAF’s P-8s.
“We will ensure that the Yantar is not able to conduct its mission unchallenged or untracked."
Keir Starmer insists next week's Budget will be 'fair'
The Budget will take place on November 26
|PA
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted next week’s Budget will be “fair” and will “bear down on the cost of living”.
“The Budget is next week, so I won’t get ahead of myself," the Prime Minister told the BBC this morning.
“What I can tell you is it will be a fair Budget. It will bear down on the cost of living.
“It will make sure that our economy is in a fit state to grow and bring in the wealth that we need to fund breakfast clubs and so many other things that are needed.”
Andy Burnham has 'concerns' over Shabana Mahmood asylum system reforms
Andy Burnham said he has "concerns" over the Home Secretary's proposed reforms to the asylum system.
The Greater Manchester Mayor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "I agree that Shabana Mahmood is right to grasp this nettle and have root-and-branch reform of the system.
“I agree with that, but I do have a concern about leaving people without the ability to settle.
“One of the concerns being that if there’s a need to constantly check up on the status of countries where people have come from, that might limit the ability of the Home Office to deal with the backlog.
“And it also may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate."
WATCH: Minister labels 'long-standing Labour critic' Clive Lewis' offer to sacrifice seat for Andy Burnham a 'distraction'
Andy Burnham 'appreciates support' of Labour MP who offered to sacrifice his seat so Manchester Mayor could challenge PM for leadership
Andy Burnham has said he 'appreciates the support' of Labour MP Clive Lewis
|PA
Andy Burnham has said he "appreciates the support" of Labour MP Clive Lewis, who said he would be willing to give up his parliamentary seat to allow the Manchester mayor to mount a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer.
When asked about the proposal on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Burnham said: "I appreciate the support, but I couldn’t have brought forward a plan of the kind that I brought forward today without being fully focused on my role of mayor of Greater Manchester.
"And I’m providing leadership on growth, which is what I think the country needs and is helpful to the Government right now, and we’re doing this in advance of the Budget."
"I would just finish by saying this, what I think part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster which is playing out in front of us right now," he added.
WATCH: Conservative Chair backs Shabana Mahmood's migrant plans - but warns 'problem will never be solved' until UK leaves ECHR
Most Britons think Labour is handling economy 'badly' according to damning new poll
The majority of people said the Government was managing the economy badly
|YOU GOV/PA
A new poll has shown the majority of Britons believe the Government is managing the economy badly in the latest blow to Rachel Reeves ahead of the Budget.
The You Gov survey showed 77 per cent of people think Labour is handling the economy either "very" or "fairly" badly.
Meanwhile, 14 per cent of Britons think it is being managed either "very" or "fairly" well.
The poll comes at the heels of the Chancellor's highly-anticipated Budget on November 26.
Covid-19 inquiry to publish findings on political decision-making during pandemic
The Covid inquiry will publish its findings today on decisions made by Boris Johnson during the pandemic
|PA
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry will publish its findings today into decisions made by former prime minister Boris Johnson and his senior advisers.
Key players, including Mr Johnson and former health secretary Matt Hancock, gave evidence to the inquiry into what they were thinking in 2020, including before the first lockdown was announced in March.
During a series of hearings, they were questioned over Government measures introduced during the pandemic, such as Covid testing, social distancing and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme designed to support businesses.
Chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge, heard wide-ranging criticisms of Mr Johnson and his team, with WhatsApp messages and emails detailing disagreements disclosed to the inquiry.
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