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Today I have decided to return to calling myself English because I am.
— Bushra Shaikh (@Bushra1Shaikh) February 17, 2025
Born in England, makes me English.
🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/cjhDvq8PIr
You will never be English.
— Callum (@AkkadSecretary) February 17, 2025
You have no Anglo, you have no Saxon.
You are a Pakistani twisted by ideology and delusion into a crude mockery of nature’s perfection.
All the “validation” you get is two-faced and half-hearted.
The Celts are utterly repulsed by you. Thousands of… https://t.co/ughNxveCjP
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Canine beauticians, DJs and pilates instructors are among the categories of overseas workers eligible to apply for UK skilled worker visas, an Oxford academic has found.
As the government promises a white paper later this year to slash the numbers entering the UK to work, a list of specific and in some cases unusual "middle-skilled" jobs to which foreign workers can still apply has been identified.
Analysis of Home Office data over three years to March 2024 shows that 334 visas were granted for "animal care service occupations", which include dog groomers, dog walkers, stable hands, kennel assistants and veterinary nursing assistants.
Over the same period, 167 fitness and wellbeing instructors, who include pilates and yoga teachers and lifestyle coaches, were given skilled worker visas.
Keir Starmer is launching an immigration policy drive amid a poll surge by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.
The list of occupations also includes "costume interpreters" – the people wearing period dress who greet visitors at museums and National Trust properties.
The anomalies were unearthed by Robert McNeil, a researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. "Many of these roles may well be challenging and require particular skills, but they might not be the sort of things that are front of mind for most people when they imagine roles that are critical for UK employers to recruit from overseas," he said.
He found them among more than 300 designated jobs on the "eligible occupations" skilled worker visas list, after flitting past professions usually associated with visa applicants such as nursing, care work, the civil service, the diplomatic corps and banking.
In a blog post on Tuesday, McNeil said the jobs were on the list because of changes introduced after the UK left the EU. "At the same time as ending free movement, the government reduced the skills threshold to allow middle-skilled jobs to qualify for work visas. Previously, only graduate jobs qualified in the system that applied to non-EU citizens.
"When people think about such middle-skilled jobs, roles like plumbers, bricklayers or engineering technicians spring to mind. But defining what is actually middle-skilled is not straightforward," he said. "Some of the results are surprising."
The "middle-skilled" list also includes "air travel assistants" – cabin crew and staff who check baggage at airports. In the year ending March 2024, 869 visas were issued for these roles. Cemetery managers, homeopaths and cycling instructors are also on the list.
Ministers have promised to tighten the rules around visas after repeatedly saying they want to reduce overall migration. Starmer accused the Conservative government of conducting an "open borders experiment" in November after revised official figures showed net migration to the UK hit a record 906,000 in 2023.
The white paper is expected to be published in spring as part of Starmer's plans to see off the political challenge from Reform. Among the proposals included in the document will be moves to reduce legal immigration, including by linking migration to skills and ensuring more British workers are trained to fill jobs commonly recruited from abroad.
It is also expected to take into account a Migration Advisory Committee review ordered by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to limit overseas hiring by technology and engineering companies.
But Labour is also keen to show the UK remains open to high-skilled workers by reviewing visa routes. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told a breakfast event at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people, visas particularly in the areas of AI and life sciences."
Home Office sources say that while the "eligible occupations" list is eclectic, applying for a visa is just the first step in being able to come to the UK to work. Foreign workers also need to be sponsored by an employer and most are required to be paid a minimum of £38,700. The required income drops to just less than £31,000 or lower if the applicant is under 26 or engaged in certain types of higher education.
Asked to respond to McNeil's findings, a government spokesperson said: "We are grateful for the work skilled international professionals do in the UK. However, it is clear that we must end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth. That's why, under our Plan for Change, we will publish a white paper to set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to the broken immigration system, as we aim to link our immigration, skills and visa systems to boost the domestic workforce."
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Update:
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 15, 2025
The man burning the Quran has been charged with a religiously aggravated public order offence and remains in custody.
Moussa Kadri, 59, from Kensington and Chelsea, has been charged with causing actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon for attacking the… https://t.co/hpPrj1TVig
!chuds !nooticers lol
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An east London councillor has been charged with perverting the course of justice by allegedly trying to influence a 16-year-old girl into dropping her allegation of r*pe.
Abdul Malik, 50, who represents Blackwall and Cubitt Town ward on Tower Hamlets Council, was due to appear at Thames magistrates court on Friday to face the charge for the first time.
It is said he "contacted the father of a 16-year-old complainant of r*pe and told him to get his daughter to drop the charges against the male alleged to have r*ped her and get him out of custody, which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice".
The incident is alleged to have happened on January 23. The father and aunt of the suspected male feminist are accused of also intervening two weeks earlier.
Abdul Roqib, 45, is accused of contacting the 16-year-old on January 10 "to ask her to drop the charges against his son, which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice".
Rahela Begum, 41, is also accused of also contacting the girl on the same day to allegedly try to convince her to withdraw from the criminal case.
All three defendants are due to appear in court to face a charge of committing an act or series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice.
Malik sits on Tower Hamlets council for the Aspire Party, which is led by the borough's directly-elected Mayor Lutfur Rahman.
He currently sits as chair of the Human Resources Committee, and also has a seat on the licensing committee, having first been elected to the council in 2022.
It is understood Malik, of Mercury Walk, Tower Hamlets, Roqib, of Warrior Square in Manor Park, and Begum, of Rye Road in Hoddesdon, were held in custody before their court hearing.
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A new campaign group for gay and bisexual rights but not transgender rights has been formed in the Labour Party https://t.co/UOom4e5Wtb
— LabourList (@LabourList) February 13, 2025
A new campaign group for gay and bisexual rights but not transgender rights has been formed in the Labour Party.
Labour LGB aims to "defend and enhance the rights of LGB people" whilst also calling for protections for single-s*x spaces and "supporting the principles that same-s*x attraction is real and that biology matters".
It comes as another rival group to LGBT+ Labour, Pride in Labour, held its first annual general meeting last weekend and called on the party to deliver on its manifesto commitment to implement meaningful reform to the Gender Recognition Act.
Dee McCullough, a spokesperson for Labour LGB, said: "We are a coalition of proud Labour Party LGB members.
"The last Labour government delivered a raft of landmark reforms that we celebrate. Civil partnerships, equal age of consent, equal employment rights, adoption law reform and abolishing Section 28 to name a few. In the years ahead, we need to be vigilant in maintaining these rights. We must defend the Equality Act which spelled out that sexual orientation is a protected characteristic.
"We want to ensure that the Labour government continues to accept that same-s*x attraction is real and that biology matters. These principles must be embedded in legislative proposals and in government policy.
"We would encourage Labour Party LGB members to join Labour LGB. In the ongoing debate about LGB rights within the party, the voices of LGB people must be heard in branches, CLPs, at party conference and in Parliament. The campaign for equality never ends."
The move comes amid claims that the government is shelving a manifesto commitment to make it easier for people to legally change their gender, with a party source telling The Guardian that changes may not be brought forward before the next general election.
The Prime Minister's spokesperson told reporters the government "stands by our commitment to modernise gender recognition rules as set out in the manifesto and we'll set out our next steps on this work in due course."
'No LGB without the T', says rival LGBT+ group
Some LGBTQ+ groups within the party have spoken out over the formation of Labour LGB, claiming it aims to "divide the LGBT+ community" within the party.
Alex Charilaou, co-chair of Labour for Trans Rights, said: "The values of the labour movement are those of equality, social justice and solidarity. This new group's plans to divide the LGBT+ community in Labour will not work.
"Trans people are at the frontline of a wider reactionary culture war. Gay, lesbian, bi and other LGBT+ people recognise that their rights are just as under threat from growing far-right attacks as the trans community.
"We hope LGBT+ Labour will disavow this group as antithetical to the aims of the LGBT+ rights movement and the Labour Party."
Co-chair of the Pride for Labour group Jamie Strudwick called on the Labour leadership to "act immediately to protect trans people before we go past the point of no return".
"Pride in Labour exists to champion LGBTQIA+ rights within the Labour Party. We are utterly appalled that a new splinter group, Labour LGB, is seeking to capitalise on the vile transphobia which is so deeply embedded within our society.
"We will always be extremely clear on this ‒ there is no LGB without the T.
"We are at an extremely dangerous crossroads where trans people and their right to exist is being brought into question, and we cannot allow this sickening cycle to continue.
"Be under no illusion ‒ the vast majority of gay, lesbian and bisexual people stand firmly with trans people, because they have always been, and always will be part of our family."
In response, McCullough said: "We are proud to be Labour and proud to be LGB. Our aim is to represent people who are same-s*x attracted."
LGBT+ Labour gave no comment when approached by LabourList.
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We Used to be a Proper Society… pic.twitter.com/GjzmgrG00R
— 𝕰𝖒𝕲 (@Emilio2763) February 12, 2025
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Evidence about child's picky eating helps convince immigration tribunal that being forced to leave UK would be unduly harsh
An Albanian criminal was allowed to stay in Britain partly because his son will not eat foreign chicken nuggets, The Telegraph can reveal.
An immigration tribunal ruled that it would be "unduly harsh" for the 10-year-old boy to be forced to move to Albania with his father owing to his sensitivity around food.
The sole example provided to the court was his distaste for the "type of chicken nuggets that are available abroad".
As a result, the judge allowed the father's appeal against deportation as a breach of his right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), citing the impact his removal might have on his son.
The case, revealed in court documents, is among a record 34,169 outstanding asylum appeals. The number represents a five-fold increase in two years from the 6,386 appeals outstanding at the same point in 2022.
The legal challenges, largely on human rights grounds, threaten to hold up Labour's efforts to fast-track the removal of thousands of migrants with no right to remain in the UK.
They also risk undermining the Government's efforts to appear tough on immigration in the face of the rise of Reform.
The revelations come as the Government launches a campaign to counter claims that Britain is a soft touch for migrants by announcing the results of a blitz on illegal working.
Data to be published on Monday show there were 609 arrests last month for illegal working, 73 per cent up on January 2024, and a 48 per cent rise in raids from 556 to 828.
The Home Office will also publish pictures and videos of migrants being deported from the UK and forcibly placed on planes.
It comes as both Labour and Tories are trying to head off the electoral threat from Nigel Farage's Reform UK, whose hardline "freeze" on non-essential immigration and turn back the boats plan has helped his party overtake both Tories and Labour and top the latest opinion polls.
Commenting on the chicken nuggets case, Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said it was "mind-boggling" that food was being used as an argument to prevent deportation.
"It's ludicrous that a judge would entertain it. Cases like this make us a laughing stock.
"It's an insult to the British public that our immigration laws are being abused in such an outrageous way," he said.
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said: "This case shows how bogus asylum seekers and foreign criminals are ruthlessly exploiting human rights laws and weak judges to stay in the UK when common sense clearly shows they should be kicked out."
A Home Office spokesman said: "Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain's streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
"Since the election, we've removed 2,580 foreign criminals, a 23 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior."
Sir Keir Starmer and his Attorney General have said that they will not withdraw from the ECHR and that the Government is committed to upholding the rule of international law.
Albanian Klevis Disha, 39, came to the UK illegally in February 2001 as a 15-year-old unaccompanied child. He used a false name and falsely claimed to have been born in the former Yugoslavia.
Although his asylum claim was rejected, he secured UK citizenship in 2007 after being granted exceptional leave to remain, and then indefinite leave to remain.
He met his partner, another Albanian who had gained UK citizenship, in 2006, with whom he had two daughters and a son.
However, in September 2017, he was jailed for two years after being caught with £250,000 cash, known to be the proceeds of crime.
Dame Priti Patel, then home secretary, ordered he should be deported to Albania and stripped of his UK citizenship as it had been acquired through deception.
Disha appealed and was backed by a judge at a lower-tier immigration tribunal. The judge ruled that it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son -- known only as C -- to remain in the UK and be separated from his father, or to be forced to go with him to Albania.
The case centred on C's "additional" needs, which were supported only by evidence from a trainee educational psychologist for whom, the court noted, no CV had been supplied, as well as evidence from a neighbour and a family friend.
The court was told there was no formal diagnosis of special educational needs for the boy, but he did have an educational plan to deal with his "emotional regulation, independence; reading and writing."
Child has difficulties with socks
Disha's lawyers said that the needs of C, whose first language was Albanian, also included "sensory difficulties" with some clothing, such as socks in particular, and certain types of food which meant he would seize up and "refuse to do anything."
Disha's appeal was granted. However, a judge in the upper tribunal disagreed with the assessment that his additional needs could not be met if he was returned to Albania.
The judge, David Merrigan, said the only example of why the boy could not go to Albania was that he "will not eat the type of chicken nuggets that are available abroad".
"We are not persuaded that the addition of this sole example approaches anywhere near the level of harshness for a reasonable judge to find it to be 'unduly' so," he said.
He remitted the case to be reheard by a different judge in a lower tribunal to decide the "sole issue" of whether the consequences of deportation would be unduly harsh on the 10-year-old boy. The case is ongoing.
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#CHARGED | Martin Frost (10/03/1977) from Trafford has been charged with causing racially & religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm, distress
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) February 3, 2025
He's been remanded in custody & will appear at Manchester Magistrates Court today (03/02/25)
More: https://t.co/TTgTwRTxT8 pic.twitter.com/V4hmx6UYNc