Newslinks for Sunday 17th August 2025

Ministers can’t say how much it costs taxpayers every day to house asylum seekers

“Ministers are unable to say how much it costs the UK taxpayer every day to put up asylum seekers in houses and flats. Home Office minister Lord David Hanson said the info was not available and could be gathered only at a “disproportionate cost”. He was responding to a parliamentary question on the daily bill to house thousands of asylum seekers who are not in hotels. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Either Labour don’t know, or they don’t want to admit it, and both are a disgrace. If you can’t count the cost, you can’t control it.” At the end of March, 66,683 asylum seekers were living in so-called dispersal accommodation, usually houses or flats in residential areas, according to Home Office figures. They cost about £15 a night each, compared with £120 for a hotel, but the daily total bill could still be £1million a day. Some 32,345 asylum seekers were in hotels, costing about £5.77million a day.” – The Sun

• Judge who let blade-carrying migrant remain in Britain revealed as former asylum aid executive – GB News
• The dad and daughter who have stopped hotel in their UK town taking in more migrants – Daily Express
• ‘Send in the Navy’: Small boats panic grips Labour – The i
• Portsmouth blindsided by hundreds of hidden asylum seekers – The Sunday Times
• Starmer under new pressure over migrants after 700 protestors stage angry demo at Scots asylum hotel that housed rapist – Daily Mail
• MPs to debate doubling skilled worker visa residency requirement amid backlash at new immigration rules – The Standard

Comment:

• Keir Starmer’s leadership ‘to blame’ for UK’s stagnant economy and rocketing immigration – Andrew Griffith, Daily Express
• ‘British women and girls are paying the price for Labour’s lax immigration laws’ – Laila Cunningham, Daily Telegraph
• Does anyone know whether migrants really commit more crimes? – Tom Calver, The Sunday Times

> Today: Leaked messages reveal internal Tory row over asylum perks tweet

Trump backs Putin’s land grab in Ukraine

“Donald Trump supports Vladimir Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender its most valuable region to Russia in order to end the war. The Russian leader wants full control of Donetsk, the mineral-rich eastern oblast, including parts that are currently held by Ukraine within the wider Donbas region. In return, Putin said he would freeze the front line and promised not to take any more territory. Putin relayed his demands at a high-stakes meeting in Alaska with Mr Trump, who will meet Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, in Washington on Monday to discuss the offer. Mr Trump will tell Mr Zelensky that giving up land is part of the price for peace and the quickest way to end the war. A source with knowledge of the matter said Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas”, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. “Trump is inclined to support it,” the source said. In return, the United States president has offered security guarantees to Ukraine if a peace deal is secured. As with Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, such guarantees would mean the US and Ukraine’s European allies would be obliged to respond to a future Russian attack. While the proposed protections stop short of making Ukraine a Nato member, it marks the first time Mr Trump has indicated he would join the Coalition of the Willing, led by Britain, France and Germany. A Republican source close to Mr Trump told The Telegraph: “The president wants to stop the killing and end the war. That’s the bottom line. Negotiations over territory are part of that process. The ball is in Zelensky’s court.”” – Daily Telegraph

• ​​Putin demands Ukraine surrender the Donbas as price of peace – The Sunday Times
• Starmer to host Ukraine war talks today with European leaders… before Trump and Zelensky’s Washington showdown – The Sun
• Trump and Putin’s Alaska meeting begins and ends with one clear winner – The i
• Europe says it’s rearming, but does it have the stomach to face Putin? – The Sunday Times
• First Lady Melania Trump’s ‘peace letter’ to Putin: ‘It is time’ – Fox News
• Putin ‘immediately’ read Melania Trump’s letter in front of delegates at Alaska summit – The Independent

Comment:

• It’s the most vomit-inducing episode in all the tawdry history of international diplomacy but it will have taught Trump this vital lesson… – Boris Johnson, Daily Mail
• Putin has cemented Russia’s status as a great power. Europe should be terrified – Richard Kemp, Daily Telegraph
• Putin has laid cunning trap that makes Zelensky’s White House visit a minefield… Russian leader knows the peace he wants – Mark Almond, The Sun
• Plenty of admiration and no deal in sight – Trump’s summit was a failure – Sarah Baxter, The i
• Trump’s astonishing gamble may pay off spectacularly – Samuel Ramani, Daily Telegraph
• We have failed Ukraine in every way, even with the words we use – Matthew Syed, The Sunday Times
• The true master of the art of the deal is Putin, not Trump – Owen Matthews, Daily Telegraph

Labour launches attack ad on Farage’s praise for Andrew Tate, sparking new Reform row over women’s safety

“Labour will accuse Nigel Farage of supporting the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate in a new attack advert and claim his promise to scrap online safety rules leaves young boys vulnerable to radicalisation. When it goes out on Sunday the advert will seek to exploit comments made by Farage in the Strike It Big podcast last year, when he praised Tate for defending “male culture”. The podcast, hosted by three young male influencers, offers listeners the chance to “connect with the 1 per cent”. Topics covered by the show include “who controls the world and money” and “how to escape the system”. Farage told the hosts: “Tate fed into that by saying, ‘Hang on, what’s wrong with being a bloke? What’s wrong in male culture? What’s wrong in male humour?’ He fed into those things. His was a campaign of raising awareness. His was a campaign of giving people, perhaps, a bit of confidence at school or whatever it was to speak up.” Featuring a photograph of the two men together, the Labour advert states: “Nigel Farage says Andrew Tate is an ‘important voice’ for men. Andrew Tate said women should ‘bear responsibility’ for being sexually assaulted.” Tate is a self-proclaimed “misogynist” and “sexist” who has described women as “intrinsically lazy” and said there was “no such thing as an independent female”. He faces 21 charges in the UK, including rape, actual bodily harm, and human trafficking. In Romania, the influencer, who has more than ten million followers on X, faces similar charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Tate denies all charges.” – The Sunday Times

• Rayner accuses Farage of fuelling revenge porn culture – Daily Telegraph
• Labour accuse Farage of wanting a ‘Wild West’ internet over ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ plans to scrap online safety laws – Mail on Sunday
• Labour and Reform UK row erupts over women’s safety – Daily Express
• The 19-year-old ‘fogey’ who hasn’t voted in a general election or had a serious girlfriend, but he’s running a £400million budget as Britain’s youngest council leader – Daily Express
• Labour’s new ‘dark arts’ strategy – The Spectator

News in brief:

• The Conservatives must clean their rooms – Henry Hill, The Critic
• JD Vance doesn’t get England – Cosmo Adair, Unherd
• How Ireland became a haven for Hezbollah’s cocaine – Liz Walsh, The Spectator
• What JD Vance was really doing in Britain this week – Freddie Hayward, The New Statesman