Less than 1% of small boat arrivals returned home since 2020 – as cost of Bibby Stockholm revealed

Published

1 year ago

December 13, 2023

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Less than 1% of people who have arrived in the UK on small boats since 2020 have been returned to their home country, new statistics reveal.

The numbers showed that when Albanians were taken out of the figures – as the UK has signed a separate returns agreement with the country – just 408 people had been sent home in the past three years, despite 109,117 arriving via Channel crossings, an equivalent of 0.37%.

The government’s new illegal migration minister, Michael Tomlinson, said he wanted to see the return figure “as high as possible”, adding: “I am reading the same chart and, as far as I am concerned the numbers need to be significantly higher than that.”

But he and his colleague, legal migration minister Tom Pursglove, were slammed by the Home Affairs Select Committee for not being across the figures themselves.

During the committee hearing, it was also revealed the cost of housing asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge was more than £22m.

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The figures were handed over to the committee late on Tuesday in a letter from Home Office permanent secretary, Sir Matthew Rycroft.

He had appeared in front of the cross-party group of MPs two weeks ago but was attacked for being “disrespectful” by its chair, Dame Diana Johnson, when he struggled to answer questions on the specifics of immigration statistics.

The Labour chair then had to chase Sir Matthew for answers, which only appeared the night before Wednesday’s hearing, and which neither Mr Tomlinson nor Mr Pursglove seemed to be aware of.

Dame Diana put the returns number to the ministers early on in the hearing and they claimed to not recognise that figure.

However, when pressed, they could not give what they believed to be the correct number.

This was the last straw for Dame Diana, who said after the “disaster” of the hearing with Sir Matthew, she expected better.

“I appreciate you are very new in post,” she said. “But equally, this committee is now getting to the point where I think it is incredibly disrespectful in the way the Home Office is treating members of parliament.”

Mr Tomlinson tried to defend himself, saying while he aimed to be “constructive” with the committee, they should put forward “specific questions” ahead of appearances.

But this got short shrift from the chair, who said: “Asking questions on how many people have been returned who came by small boats is not the kind of thing I would expect to have to give notice of to the Home Office for.

“If you come in front of a committee, we are going to ask you those questions, we all know this is a really typical issue, we are all concerned about it, we all want to know.

“You are grown-ups, you are politicians, you have been around, you know what the issues are.”

Sir Matthew’s letter also revealed the exact cost of housing asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm – a total of £22,450,772.

The permanent secretary also said an updated assessment of whether it was “value for money” would be released in the new year.

But Dame Diana said she was “flabbergasted” such an assessment had not taken place already when the vessel is already in use.

Mr Pursglove said the word “updated” was important, insinuating assessments had already taken place.

But pushed for details on that, he again did not have the data, and just said using a barge was “undoubtedly a more cost-effective way” to house people than using hotels.

Speaking after the hearing, Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Today’s admissions from the Home Office show the truly appalling scale of Tory failure and chaos including a disastrously low level of enforcement in the asylum system.

“We can’t continue with this damaging and costly chaos.”

Politics

Chancellor to hold tariff crisis talks with top City executives

Published

2 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Chancellor to hold tariff crisis talks with top City executives

Rachel Reeves will seek to gauge the unfolding impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz on Wednesday when she holds talks with some of the City’s top executives.

Sky News has learnt the chancellor will hold talks with bosses from companies including Hargreaves Lansdown, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group and M&G amid ongoing volatility in global financial markets.

Insiders said the talks had been convened to help frame the Treasury’s financial services growth and competitiveness strategy.

However, they acknowledged that the fallout from US tariffs, while not directly affecting most City employers, would feature prominently on Wednesday’s agenda.

“The chancellor will use this meeting to show leadership, building on her statement to the House earlier today, and reiterating that the government will act decisively to take the right decisions in our national interest and protect working people,” a Treasury insider said.

Ms Reeves would stress a commitment to working with international partners to reduce barriers to trade, while pursuing the best possible bilateral deal with the US, they added.

Charlie Nunn, the Lloyds boss; Antonio Simoes of L&G; and Dan Olley, Hargreaves Lansdown’s chief, will all attend the talks.

It will be the latest in a string of meetings the chancellor has held in recent weeks in a bid to boost economic growth.

Her budget last October sparked a furious backlash from the business community, while last month’s spring statement raised fresh fears about the possibility of further tax rises later this year.

None of the companies invited to Wednesday’s meeting would comment when approached by Sky News.

Politics

Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Published

6 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.

Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.

According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.

“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.

Crypto adoption is not just about Trump

While some investors focus on the pro-crypto stance of US President Donald Trump, Turner emphasized that broader regulatory momentum is what matters most.

“When you look at the potential of having market structure regulation in the US, stablecoin regulation, and just the fact that across the board, not just President Trump himself, but the SEC and all these regulatory industries are really embracing crypto,” Turner said.

Banks, Paris, Bitcoin Regulation, Policy — Paris Blockchain Week’s panel with Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog, Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger, Messari CEO Eric Turner, AWS fintech leader Alex Matsuo and Near chief operating officer Chris Donovan. Source: Cointelegraph

Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said international banks with US branches are also poised to enter the market once the legal landscape becomes clearer:

“I think it’s a matter of fact that US banks are preparing to be able to offer crypto custody and at least crypto spot trading services anytime soon.”

“I think by then I would agree with you, Eric,” he continued, projecting a continued phase of market uncertainty until the US establishes a clear regulatory framework.

Banks are no longer afraid of Bitcoin regulators

With the establishment of clear crypto rules for banks in the US, there will be a rush for crypto services by large international banks that are incorporated outside of the US but have a US-based presence, Eichenberger said.

“Some of them may have had their strategic plans in their cupboard to offer crypto-related services, but have been afraid that at some point they will be gone after by any of the US regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:

“Now I think there’s no one to be afraid of anymore in terms of regulatory authorities worldwide. So I think many of the large international banks will launch this year.”

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Politics

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Published

9 hours ago

April 8, 2025

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.

Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.

However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:

“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”

“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.

China retaliates with new tariffs

Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.

In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.

China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.

Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely

As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.

Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.

Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:

“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”