The small boats crisis deepens – and so do Tory woes
The first three months of this year have seen the highest number of small boat arrivals ever at 4,644, according to provisional Home Office figures.
Not by very much. The number for the first three months of 2022 was 4,548 – 96 fewer.
A few days of poorer weather could have swung it the other way, but the point is it’s moving in the wrong direction for a prime minister who promised to “stop the boats”.
If you promise to reduce the numbers as one of your key pledges, then you get blamed for every failure to do so.
Politics live: New figures spell trouble for one of Sunak’s pledges
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who resigned from the government last year, described his party’s immigration policy in a tweet as “the triumph of hope over experience”.
As Tories head off on the local election campaign trail in glum spirits, the message from Downing Street is that this “migration emergency” can only be solved by getting flights to Rwanda.
And the legislation which might – possibly – allow that to happen won’t be debated again until after Easter following a string of defeats by peers.
Time is ticking down.
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“It’s a mess,” one former cabinet minister tells me. “Voters raise small boats all the time and they know there’s no deterrent.
“Number 10 seem to think if they just keep saying the numbers will go down, maybe they will.”
Plenty of initiatives have been launched, as the Home Office points out, but MPs question whether they are effective.
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‘When will you stop the boats?’
A year ago, Rishi Sunak agreed a deal with France worth £500m to step up patrols on their side of the Channel and fund a new detention centre, with the prime minister hailing it as progress in his small boats fight.
Despite a flurry of efforts in government to reduce the backlog of asylum claims and close migrant hotels in favour of bigger sites such as former military bases, it was revealed last week this may cost even more money.
The numbers are already eye-watering. The National Audit Office noted that in the year to March 2024, the Home Office expects to spend £4.7bn on asylum support, including £3.1bn on hotels.
Immigration is not the top issue for most voters, with the cost of living and the NHS regularly leading lists of their concerns, but it lurks in third place.
For Conservative voters, concern at the government’s handling of immigration, or mishandling, has been rising steadily.
With the additional challenge from the Reform Party, which wants stronger border controls, the prime minister heads into local elections with another of his five pledges looking very shaky.
Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.
Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.
He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.
The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.
Sheryl Wilkins was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.
Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.
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UK
Family of woman killed 56 years ago, in a case of mistaken identity, believe her remains are buried in a garden
A new “national day” to honour victims and survivors of terrorism will be added to the calendar from next year, it has been revealed.
The annual commemoration will fall on 21 August, and will be marked in a different place each year to recognise the widespread impact of terrorism around the country.
It comes after a 12-week public consultation showed 91% supported the plan for a national day, and 84% strongly supported the proposal.
Flowers left in St Ann’s Square, Manchester, to remember the Manchester Arena terror attack. Pic: PA
How the day will look, including a final name and symbol, will be worked out collaboratively between survivors and ministers, according to the Home Office.
But it will “honour and remember victims and survivors of terrorism”, encouraging survivors to access specialist support, spotlighting their stories, and educating the public.
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that it would not be a bank holiday.
Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the IRA Brighton hotel bombing in 1984, said victims of terrorism would no longer be “a footnote of history”.
Jo Berry, whose father was killed in the Brighton bombing in 1984, with convicted bomber Patrick Magee in 2004. File pic: PA
She said: “What we remember as a nation matters. It sends a signal about what we value.
“For too long, survivors of terror attacks, and those who have been killed in them, have been a footnote of history. Survivors have felt ignored and forgotten.
“That’s why Survivors Against Terror launched a campaign for a new national day of memorial three years ago.”
Read more:
Referrals to UK counter-terrorism programme reach new high
I was reporting in London during 7/7 – here’s what happened
Travis Frain, who survived the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017, also backed the campaign.
He said: “A national day would provide an opportunity to remember those we have lost, to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of those who have survived these heinous acts, and for us to look forward to the future to educate the next generation.”
The date was chosen to coincide with the UN International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
Plans have also been announced for a new support hub to help victims in the aftermath of terror attacks.
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