Defence boosts Serco amid asylum hotel decline Politics Government defence contracts helped Serco deliver a higher profit in 2025 despite a drop in the use of migrant hotels, once a key revenue stream for the London-listed company. Serco, an outsourcing company that covers government work on everything from migrant hotels to waste collection, was boosted by higher state expenditure both in the UK [...]
Asylum seekers’ cost to taxpayer is unknown, public auditor says Politics The full cost of asylum to the British taxpayer is unknown as the government has not processed data on how much local authorities spend on migrants, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a broad report mapping out asylum seekers’ journeys through the UK’s legal systems and support structures, public auditors found that there [...]
Brain drain: Net migration plummets to pre-pandemic low as more Brits flee Economics Net migration has fallen to a pre-pandemic low, official statistics have shown, as successive Tory and Labour governments have looked to tighten controls on visas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said net migration dropped to 204,000 in the year ending June 2025, around two-thirds lower than levels a year earlier. The large fall [...]
Home Secretary to announce ‘sweeping changes’ to asylum system November 15, 2025 The Home Secretary has vowed to “restore order” to the British asylum system with “sweeping changes” modelled on the approach taken by Denmark. Shabana Mahmood will lay out a series of reforms to the asylum system in the House of Commons on Monday aimed at making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants, and [...]
Profit slashed at billionaire’s asylum accommodation empire November 5, 2025 Profit at one of the Home Office’s providers of asylum accommodation has been slashed in half during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. Clearsprings Ready Homes, which is run by ‘asylum king’ Graham King, has posted a pre-tax profit of £58.7m for the 12 months to 31 January, 2025. That total is down [...]
Ministers brace for fresh protests and legal battles after asylum hotel ruling August 30, 2025 Keir Starmer has been warned by a Labour grandee that voters will continue to shift to Reform UK unless decisive action is taken to address the migrants crisis. The government won a Court of Appeal challenge against an an injunction which would have seen asylum seekers moved out of the Bell Hotel, Epping, but ministers [...]
Work and study visas fall in push to reduce immigration August 21, 2025 Work visas issued to migrants have fallen by 36 per cent compared to last year, fresh data has revealed, as tightened rules on skilled workers and care providers have lowered the numbers of people arriving in the UK. The Labour government is under considerable pressure to cut net migration from previous peaks of nearly one [...]
UK sanctions 25 targets in illegal migration crackdown July 23, 2025 The UK government has banned 25 people smugglers, fraudsters, and bankers in the first set of sanctions aimed at curbing illegal migration, putting pressure on countries across Europe and the Middle East to follow suit. The Foreign Office has disclosed the names of 24 individuals and one company it has accused of facilitating people-smuggling and [...]
Keir Starmer agrees migrant returns deal with France July 10, 2025 Keir Starmer has agreed a “pilot” deal to return illegal migrants to France in an exchange for individuals to arrive as asylum seekers as part of a drive to curb small boat crossings. In a speech delivered alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Starmer said the new plan would come into effect in the coming weeks. [...]
Borders watchdog casts doubt on Labour pledge to end asylum hotels June 24, 2025 The Labour government’s pledge to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by 2030 has been dismissed as unachievable by the UK’s borders watchdog. Chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated at the Spending Review nearly a fortnight ago that the government’s commitment to end asylum hotels would save the government £1bn a year. But David Bolt, [...]