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Suella Braverman has confirmed that steps are being taken to “immediately” improve the situation at Manston migration centre, according to the Home Office.

These measures include bolstering the medical facilities currently on-site, supplying extra bedding and improved catering facilities, and providing more activities to support migrant welfare.

The department also confirmed that more than 1,000 people have been moved off the migrant processing site in the last five days.

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Ms Braverman has been criticised over the conditions at Manston, which is designed to hold a maximum of 1,600 people, and they are meant to stay there for up to 24 hours while they undergo checks, but it has been used to house around 3,500 people for weeks.

The overcrowded immigration centre in Kent has become a symbol of the “broken” asylum system the home secretary is under increasing pressure to fix.

Speaking after her visit on Thursday, Ms Braverman said: “I have met with our expert teams who work tirelessly to save lives and protect the UK’s borders. I wanted to see first hand how we’re working to reduce the number of people in Manston, support people there, and thank staff for all their efforts.

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“I am incredibly proud of the skill and dedication shown to tackle this challenging situation here on a daily basis. This is a complex and difficult situation, which we need to tackle on all fronts and look at innovative solutions.

“To break the business model of the people smugglers, we need to ensure that the illegal migration route across the Channel is ultimately rendered unviable.”

Suella Braverman (circled) at the Manston facility
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman (circled) arrives at Manston

But the MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, said it was a “great pity” the home secretary did not meet local MPs and council leaders during her trip to Kent.

“The small boats crisis is not just in the migrant processing facilities, it is on our Kent beaches, schools, services and housing,” she said.

“It’s a great pity that the home secretary wasn’t able to meet with Kent MPs and Kent council leaders to discuss first hand the serious local impact of this issue which Kent leaders have described as at ‘breaking point’.”

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Migrant centres ‘overwhelmed’

Braverman’s visit ‘well received’

The home secretary met Border Force staff in Dover earlier on Thursday to discuss Channel crossings operations before travelling to the processing centre by military helicopter to speak to staff and receive an update on the overcrowding crisis.

She later left the centre in Manston after spending two hours on site.

A Home Office source said that Ms Braverman held a 45-minute question and answer session with staff at the centre which was “well received”.

The home secretary did not take questions from the media during the visit.

Downing Street later defended the home secretary’s use of a military helicopter to travel to Manston.

“The home secretary was in Dover to receive an update on operations on the ground. That obviously involved operations in the Channel. She travelled on a military aircraft to see the area of operations at sea,” a Number 10 spokesperson said.

Several hundred people were moved to Manston over the weekend after an attacker threw petrol bombs at the Western Jet Foil processing centre in Dover on Sunday.

Read more:
‘Get a grip’: Starmer blames Tories for ‘broken’ asylum system
Minister rejects Braverman’s ‘invasion’ claim and says ‘I would never demonise people’

Lawyers on behalf of charity Detention Action and a woman held at Manston are threatening legal action against the home secretary over the conditions.

The charity said an urgent pre-action letter, sent to the Home Office on Tuesday, represented the first action against Ms Braverman around the “unlawful treatment” of people held at the facility.

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Braverman and migrant row explained

Home Office facing a judicial review

Government minister Graham Stuart conceded earlier in the day that Manston was not operating legally and “none of us are comfortable with it”.

Asked whether he was happy that asylum seekers were being detained illegally, he told Sky News: “Obviously not. None of us are comfortable with it. We want it tackled, we want to get a grip, that’s exactly what the home secretary is focused on.”

Hundreds of people have been removed from Manston in recent days, with immigration minister Robert Jenrick expressing hope that it will return to being “legally compliant” soon.

He revealed to Sky News on Wednesday that the Home Office is facing a judicial review over the situation, but insisted that was “not unusual”.

The grim conditions at Manston were laid bare in a letter thrown by a young girl over the perimeter fence to a PA news agency photographer on Wednesday begging for help and comparing it to a “prison”.

The government found itself under further criticism last night after a group of asylum seekers were reportedly left at Victoria station in London without accommodation after being moved from Manston.

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Minister ‘not happy’ with situation at Manston

Kent ‘at breaking point’

Ms Braverman’s visit came after council chiefs across Kent warned the whole county is at “breaking point”, with concerns of far-right violence fuelled by the failure to control the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats.

Meanwhile, the PM’s spokeswoman did not deny reports that the government is trying to negotiate Rwanda-style deportation deals with countries such as Belize, Peru and Paraguay to reduce pressure on the system.

“We do plan to negotiate similar deals with other countries, akin to the Rwanda partnership, but it’s not helpful for us to comment on speculation around potential discussions,” she said.

The contentious Rwanda deal has been delayed by a number of legal challenges, but Ms Braverman is talking to at least three other countries about extending the locations in which asylum seekers could be deported to, according to the Daily Express.

Responding to the report, Eamon Courtenay, the foreign minister of Belize, tweeted that his country “is not in negotiations with the UK or any other country to accept migrants”.

He added: “We will not agree to accept exported migrants. That is inhumane and contrary to international law.”

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Sir Keir Starmer slams the Conservative Party’s Rwanda plan

More Rwanda-style deals planned

Ms Braverman has admitted herself that the asylum system is “broken” and singled Albanians out several times over the past week when discussing the rise in small boat crossings, which she referred to as an “invasion on our southern coast”.

On Wednesday, Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, accused Britain of becoming like a “madhouse” with a culture of “finding scapegoats” during a migration crisis in which “failed policies” are to blame.

Four parliamentary committee chiefs piled further pressure on the home secretary to explain how the government will get a grip on both the situation at Manston and the migrant crisis in general.

In a joint letter to Ms Braverman, the chairs of the Home Affairs Committee, Justice Committee, Joint Committee on Human Rights and Women and Equalities Committee expressed their “deep concerns” over the “dire” conditions at Manston, asking what will be done to address the current situation and avoid overcrowding in future.

While council chiefs in Kent have also written to the home secretary, urging her to stop using the county as an “easy fix”, and have warned they are under “disproportionate pressure” because of Kent’s location.

There are no more school spaces for local children in Year 7 and Year 9 due to the arrival of young refugees, they said.

Labour has accused the government of “losing control of our borders” and said 12 years of Tory leadership is to blame for the “broken system”.

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IDF admits mistakenly identifying Gaza aid workers as threat – after video of attack showed ambulances were marked

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IDF admits mistakenly identifying Gaza aid workers as threat - after video of attack showed ambulances were marked

The IDF has admitted to mistakenly identifying a convoy of aid workers as a threat – following the emergence of a video which proved their ambulances were clearly marked when Israeli troops opened fire on them.

The bodies of 15 aid workers – including eight medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – were found in a “mass grave” after the incident, according to the head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Jonathan Whittall.

The Israeli military originally claimed an investigation found the vehicles did not have any headlights or emergency signals and were therefore targeted as they looked “suspicious”.

But video footage obtained by the PRCS, and verified by Sky News, showed the ambulances and a fire vehicle clearly marked with flashing red lights.

In a briefing from the IDF, they said the ambulances arrived in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah shortly after a Hamas police vehicle drove through.

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
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Palestinians mourning the medics after their bodies were recovered. Pic: Reuters

An IDF surveillance aircraft was watching the movement of the ambulances and notified troops on the ground. The IDF said it will not be releasing that footage.

When the ambulances arrived, the soldiers opened fire, thinking the medics were a threat, according to the IDF.

The soldiers were surprised by the convoy stopping on the road and several people getting out quickly and running, the IDF claimed, adding the soldiers were unaware the suspects were in fact unarmed medics.

An Israeli military official would not say how far away troops were when they fired on the vehicles.

The IDF acknowledged that its statement claiming that the ambulances had their lights off was incorrect, and was based on the testimony from the soldiers in the incident.

The newly emerged video footage showed that the ambulances were clearly identifiable and had their lights on, the IDF said.

The IDF added that there will be a re-investigation to look into this discrepancy.

The clip is filmed through a vehicle windscreen - with three red light vehicles visible in front
Image:
The clip is filmed through a vehicle windscreen – with three red light vehicles visible in front

Addressing the fact the aid workers’ bodies were buried in a mass grave, the IDF said in its briefing this is an approved and regular practice to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses.

The IDF could not explain why the ambulances were also buried.

The IDF said six of the 15 people killed were linked to Hamas, but revealed no detail to support the claim.

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Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza

The newly emerged footage of the incident was discovered on a phone belonging to one of the workers who was killed, PRCS president Dr Younis Al Khatib said.

“His phone was found with his body and he recorded the whole event,” he said. “His last words before being shot, ‘Forgive me, mom. I just wanted to help people. I wanted to save lives’.”

Sky News used an aftermath video and satellite imagery to verify the location and timing of the newly emerged footage of the incident.

More from Sky News:
Israeli troops expand Gaza ‘security zone’
What happened to the ceasefire?

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Aid worker attacks increasing

It was filmed on 23 March north of Rafah and shows a convoy of marked ambulances and a fire-fighting vehicle travelling south along a road towards the city centre. All the vehicles visible in the convoy have their flashing lights on.

The footage was filmed early in the morning, with a satellite image seen by Sky News taken at 9.48am local time on the same day showing a group of vehicles bunched together off the road.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes swipe at US over ‘weak’ comment on Russian attack – as Ukrainian drones strike factory

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes swipe at US over 'weak' comment on Russian attack - as Ukrainian drones strike factory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hit out at the US over its “weak” response to lethal Russian attacks on his hometown on Friday.

President Zelenskyy posted a lengthy and emotional statement on X about Russia’s strikes on Kryvyi Rih, which killed 19 people.

Meanwhile Ukrainian drones hit an explosives factory in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight strike, a member of Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters.

In his post, President Zelenskyy accused the United States of being “afraid” to name-check Russia in its comment on the attack.

“Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such a strong people – and such a weak reaction,” he wrote on X.

“They are even afraid to say the word “Russian” when talking about the missile that killed children.”

America’s ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink had written on X: “Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih.

“More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end.”

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Strike on Zelenskyy’s home city

President Zelenskyy went on in his post to say: “Yes, the war must end. But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade.

“We must not be afraid to put pressure on the only one who continues this war and ignores all the world’s proposals to end it. We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a ceasefire.”

Grandmother ‘burned to death in her home’

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s defense council, said the missile attack, followed by a drone attack, had killed 19 people, including nine children.

“The Iskander-M missile strike with cluster munitions at the children’s playground in the residential area, to make the shrapnel fly further apart, killed 18 people.

“One grandmother was burnt to death in her house after Shahed’s direct hit.”

Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck a military gathering in a restaurant – an assertion rebutted by the Ukrainian military as misinformation.

“The missile hit right on the street – around ordinary houses, a playground, shops, a restaurant,” President Zelenskyy wrote.

Mr Zelenskyy also detailed the child victims of the attack including “Konstantin, who will be 16 forever” and “Arina, who will also be 7 forever”.

The UK’s chief of the defence staff Sir Tony Radakin said he had met the Ukrainian leader on Friday, along with French armed forces leader General Thierry Burkhard.

“Britain and France are coming together & Europe is stepping up in a way that is real & substantial, with 200 planners from 30 nations working to strengthen Ukraine’s long term security,” Sir Tony wrote.

The UK and France have spearheaded a so-called “coalition of the willing” – a group of countries that have pledged to help Ukraine secure if a ceasefire deal is reached with Russia.

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Global markets have given Trump a clear no-confidence vote – and his fickleness is making the problem worse

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Global markets have given Trump a clear no-confidence vote - and his fickleness is making the problem worse

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a "Foreign Trade Barriers" document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced global tariffs, ratcheting up protectionism. Pic: Reuters

04 April 2025, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Stock exchange traders watch their monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange while the display board with the Dax curve shows falling prices. US President Trump had issued a huge tariff package against trading partners around the world. The European Union and China have already announced countermeasures. Photo by: Arne Dedert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Traders at the Frankfurt stock exchange watched the DAX plummet on Friday. Pic: Picture-alliance/dpa/AP

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

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He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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No winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

Aerial view of a ro-ro terminal for vehicle shipment in Yantai in eastern China's Shandong province, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT
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Vehicles destined for export, like these in Yantai in eastern China, face massive US tariffs. Pic: Chinatopix/AP

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Container ports like Oakland in California might expect activity to fall. Pic: AP

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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