Antonia Romeo appointed civil service boss Politics Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Dame Antonia Romeo to be the first female cabinet secretary to lead the civil service, as part of a reshuffle of the government’s top team. The new civil service chief is currently the most senior civil servant at the Home Office, and was a leading contender for the role when [...]
Crackdown on social media migrant adverts to begin, Home Office says Politics Social media users who tout illegal routes into the UK face up to five years in prison, starting on Monday. The Home Office will activate part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, passed last year, as part of its crackdown on adverts telling migrants how they can circumvent immigration checks. Border security minister [...]
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 [...]
AI to answer your 101 calls, leaving 999 calls to humans December 9, 2025 “It’s not unusual for us to see 5,000 calls in 24 hours,” chief superintendent of the Thames Valley police department, Simon Dodds, told City AM. “Prioritising 999 over everything else is a real challenge”. That pressure has pushed his department, as well as the Hampshire & Isle of White Constabulary, to use AI agents. Their new [...]
UK startup growth clashes with Labour’s immigration reforms November 20, 2025 More than half of Britain’s fastest-growing startups are founded by immigrants, as global talent continues to power the UK’s entrepreneurial engine even as ministers tighten migration rules. New analysis from the Entrepreneurs Network shows that 54 per cent of the UK’s top 100 fastest-growing companies have at least one foreign-born founder, a sharp rise from [...]
Fresh Labour revolt brews over asylum system tightening November 17, 2025 A growing number of Labour backbenchers are preparing to revolt against the government’s proposed tightening on the UK asylum system. In another fiery showdown between Keir Starmer’s government and emboldened backbenchers, home secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to spark tensions across Westminster with new announcements aimed at making the UK less attractive to people crossing [...]
Home Secretary: Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” November 16, 2025 Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” in the UK and must be brought under control to maintain consent for any form of asylum system, the Home Secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood said the Government needed to “deal with the pull factors that draw people in the first place” as she plans to announce a new [...]
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 [...]
UK telecom giants sign new pact to block scam calls as AI drives fraud November 5, 2025 Britain’s biggest mobile networks have agreed to overhaul their systems to stop scammers using fake numbers to impersonate banks and government departments. As ministers seek to stem the growing tide of AI-driven fraud, BT, EE, Vodafone, Three, Virgin Media O2, Sky, TalkTalk and Tesco Mobile have signed a new telecoms charter with the Home Office. [...]
British basketball at war: GBBL proposes peace deal to BBF and SLB November 4, 2025 The chief executive of the Great Britain Basketball League (GBBL) has moved to make peace with the existing clubs and the sport’s governing body following the 12-month civil war that has resulted in the men’s national team being suspended from international competition. In a letter sent to the interim chair of the British Basketball Federation [...]