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The pressure building on migration means tough choices for the prime minister.

Rishi Sunak has made stopping small boats his priority, but it’s a big rise in legal migration which is the story in these figures.

The number of skilled worker visas is up by two-thirds in the year to June 2023 to more than half a million.

It’s driven by big rises in the numbers of people coming to work in health and care – both of which are struggling to recruit.

International students – a success story for universities – are up to 657,000 if you include their dependants, which the government has plans to introduce limits on.

Now that free movement has ended, work visas – especially for skilled work – are easier to come by than before Brexit.

The numbers are no longer strictly capped, and neither is the time limit.

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Signage is seen at the UK border control point at the arrivals area of Heathrow Airport, London, September 3, 2018. Picture taken on September 3. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Applicants who stay here for five years can settle permanently in the UK and eventually apply for citizenship.

Some advocates of Brexit and the Australian-style points system said this was how the system should work – that if there is a shortage in a certain sector, it should be easier to bring people in.

The political problem is that the rapidly rising number of work visas means more migration overall, and that’s the opposite of what the government promised when elected.

Net migration – the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and leaving – is already at a record high of more than 600,000.

The 2019 manifesto dropped the commitment to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, after years of failing to meet it.

But Rishi Sunak has promised to bring migration down overall, and it is running at around three times the levels at the last election.

Ministers point to unprecedented circumstances in the past two years, including people being resettled from the violence in Ukraine and unrest in Hong Kong, and those numbers are levelling off.

But the work visas will, on these trends, continue to climb higher.

John Vine, the former chief of borders and immigration, has said reports about abuse of the system should trigger an investigation into whether it is functioning properly.

A small group of Tories called the New Conservatives – opposed by some others in their party – is already claiming it’s time to cut back on skilled work visas, even in the social care sector, which has 165,000 vacancies.

Then there is Sunak’s battle with irregular migration.

The government has passed the Illegal Migration Act to try to ensure that those who come on small boats are detained and removed.

But the backlog of cases – and hotel bills alongside it – is at a record 175,457 people awaiting an initial decision.

Read more:
No job for many people arriving in UK on skilled worker visas
Crackdown on illegal migration could spark ‘perma-backlog’

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The prime minister promised to get through the backlog of “legacy” cases – those lodged before June 2022 – by the end of this year, despite warnings by the National Audit Office that it was unrealistic given the number of decisions required.

The cases in that group are now down a bit to 67,870, requiring a big increase in the number of decisions to get through it.

With Labour now taking aim at an asylum system “in complete chaos”, Rishi Sunak faces criticism from all sides.

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UK ‘ready to spend well over £100m’ on possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine

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UK 'ready to spend well over £100m' on possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine

The UK is ready to spend “well over” £100m on a possible deployment of British forces to Ukraine if Donald Trump secures a peace deal with Russia, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey also said Vladimir Putin views Britain as his “number one enemy” because of the country’s support for Ukraine.

The defence secretary’s plan includes the preparation of military personnel to join a multinational force that would be sent to help secure Ukraine’s borders if the US president brokers a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.

He signalled British troops could be ready to deploy as soon as that happened and he said this could include soldiers on the ground.

Some of the anticipated money to prepare for any mission is already being spent.

The defence secretary also warned of a “new era of threat” and said the risk of wider conflict in Europe has not been as great since the end of the Second World War.

Mr Healey used a lecture at Mansion House in London to talk about efforts led by the UK and France to build a “coalition of the willing” of more than 30 nations to form what he called a “Multinational Force Ukraine” over the past six months.

At Mansion House this evening. Pic: PA
Image:
At Mansion House this evening. Pic: PA

This force would help to secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and train its troops if Russia agrees to halt its full-scale war.

“So, as President Trump leads the push for peace here in Europe, we are ready to lead the work to secure it in the long-term,” the defence secretary said.

“For our Armed Forces, I am already reviewing readiness levels and accelerating millions of pounds of funding to prepare for any possible deployment into Ukraine.”

Asked how much money, he said it would be “well over” £100m.

British troops have been instrumental in the training of Ukrainian soliders throughout the conflict at camps like this one in East Anglia.Pic: PA
Image:
British troops have been instrumental in the training of Ukrainian soliders throughout the conflict at camps like this one in East Anglia.Pic: PA

Mr Healey trumpeted the UK’s support for Ukraine, including a record £4.5bn in assistance this year, and taking over from the United States in co-chairing a wider group of nations that have been sending weapons and money to Kyiv.

“This is why President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy calls the UK his closest ally,” he said.

“This is why Putin ranks Britain as his number one enemy.”

But he warned that as Russia’s aggression grew in Ukraine and beyond its borders, “Britain and our NATO allies stand more unified, and stronger”.

Read more:
‘Ukraine can’t win war,’ says Trump
UK military to be given powers to shoot down threatening drones

Putin has ‘sent signal to Trump that he’s ready for Ukraine deal’

Vladimir Putin. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
Image:
Vladimir Putin. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters

Giving a stark verdict of the security landscape, Mr Healey said: “This is – undeniably – a new era of threat. The world is more unstable, more uncertain, more dangerous. Not since the end of the Second World War has Europe’s security been at such risk of state-on-state conflict.”

He said this required what he described as “a new era for defence”.

He said: “This is now an age for hard power, strong alliances and sure diplomacy.”

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The defence secretary said plans for the new era would include increasing defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – though critics have accused the UK and other European allies of playing smoke and mirrors with the target, questioning how much will really be spent on weapons and troops.

“As I look ahead to the rest of this decade, our task, in this new age of hard power is to secure peace in our continent and to forge stronger deterrence and resilience, a New Deal for European security,” said Mr Healey.

Turning to the Middle East, he also announced the UK was sending a two-star military officer to work as the deputy to the US commander, charged with monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

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Govt to allow early release of thousands of rapists and violent criminals, Tories claim in sentencing row

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Govt to allow early release of thousands of rapists and violent criminals, Tories claim in sentencing row

The government will allow thousands of rapists, child sex offenders and other violent criminals to be released early from prison, the Conservatives claimed as a row over sentencing law reforms erupted.

Ahead of MPs debating the Sentencing Bill, introduced to tackle the growing prison population, on Tuesday, the Tories accused Labour of favouring criminals over victims and said the government’s approach is a “betrayal of victims”.

But Labour accused the Conservative Party of “rank hypocrisy” over prison overcrowding and the previous government’s early release policies.

The bill will restrict the use of short sentences and instead strengthen community punishments.

It will also include an “earned progression scheme”, which allows convicts who demonstrate good behaviour to be freed earlier, with enhanced supervision in the community followed by an unsupervised period on licence.

There will be a minimum release point of 33% for standard determinate sentences and a 50% minimum for more serious standard determinate sentences – as well as more tagging to monitor offenders in the community.

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Could a drone drop a gun into prison?

The Tories claim the bill as it is would mean 85% (6,500) of the most serious jailed offenders could qualify for early release because they are serving standard sentences, while more than 83% of child sex offenders and 62% of convicted rapists would serve reduced sentences.

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They have tabled an amendment to the bill to ensure a carve out for the most serious crimes, so those who commit assault by penetration, rape, grievous bodily harm, stalking and sexual offences against children cannot be released early.

Under Labour plans to abolish custodial sentences below 12 months, the Tories calculated up to 43,000 offenders could avoid jail altogether.

They said the bill could lead to permanent leniency in sentencing.

Read more:
More jail time for criminals who refuse to attend sentencing hearings

Thousands of prison officers to get stab-proof vests

Conservative shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan said: “Labour’s early release plan is a betrayal of victims and a gift to rapists and paedophiles. Keir Starmer is putting criminals before communities and letting predators out early.

“Under Labour’s plans, thousands of the most serious and sickening offences imaginable would no longer be treated as such. What an insult to thousands of victims across the country.

“Anyone who vote for these plans will have to explain exactly why these crimes do not count among the most serious offences.

“The Conservatives will fight this moral rot every step of the way.”

Justice Secretary David Lammy at Belmarsh prison. Pic: PA
Image:
Justice Secretary David Lammy at Belmarsh prison. Pic: PA

But sentencing minister Jake Richards accused the Tories of “rank hypocrisy” as he said the previous government took prisons to “breaking point”.

He said Labour are “cleaning up the mess” left by the Tories and accused them of “feigned outrage”.

“The Conservatives’ rank hypocrisy is shameful. They built this crisis, then feigned outrage when the consequences arrived,” he added.

“They took our prisons to breaking point, released thousands of serious offenders early and pushed Britain to the brink of a situation where police could no longer make arrests and courts could no longer prosecute.

“That would have been a total collapse of law and order.

“Now they attack us for cleaning up the mess they made. They are behaving like arsonists complaining the fire service couldn’t stop the flame.

“This Labour government believes in prison and in punishment that cuts crime.

“We’re delivering the biggest prison expansion since the Victorians, reforming sentencing to keep the public safe and building a justice system worthy of the name.”

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Canadian province to ban new crypto mining connections

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Canadian province to ban new crypto mining connections

Canadian province to ban new crypto mining connections

British Columbia is moving to ban new crypto mining connections to protect its Hydro power grid. For years, analysts have argued this is the wrong approach.

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