Newslinks for Sunday 28th December 2025

Migrants 1) Labour imposes visa crackdown for country refusing deported migrants

“Labour has for the first time imposed visa restrictions on a country refusing to take back criminals and illegal migrants. Diplomats and ministers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will no longer receive preferential visa treatment, and its citizens will be barred from fast-track entry to the UK. The central African nation has been branded “obstructive” by the Home Office after refusing to take back migrants, including violent criminals and sex offenders. Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has threatened the Congolese government with a full visa ban on anyone travelling from the country, including its president, if it continues to refuse deportees.” – Sunday Telegraph

Migrants 2) Reform could strip pensions from civil servants

“Civil servants who have knowingly let foreign sex offenders into Britain would be prosecuted under a Reform UK government, and face losing their jobs and pensions. Nigel Farage’s party said it would legislate to create a new criminal offence of “dishonestly determining an asylum claim”, punishable by up to two years in prison. Under the policy, civil servants found to have committed the offence would also face a number of potential sanctions, including being forced to give up their civil service pension, and dismissal for gross misconduct.” – Sunday Telegraph

• Farage: I’ll strip pensions from civil servants who let in foreign rapists – Mail on Sunday
• Farage vows to strip pensions from civil servants who let in sex offender migrants – Sunday Express
• Ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims – Observer

Comment

>Today:

Starmer welcomes ‘extremist’ to Britain

“Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed an alleged Islamist extremist, who labelled British people “dogs and monkeys” and called for Zionists to be killed, into the UK. The Prime Minister said he was “delighted” that Alaa Abd el-Fattah had arrived from Egypt on Friday evening after a travel ban imposed by Cairo was lifted following lobbying by ministers. Mr Abd el-Fattah, an activist with dual British-Egyptian citizenship, previously said that it was heroic to kill Zionists “including civilians”. He urged Londoners to burn Downing Street, told his supporters to kill police and said he hated white people. Ministers are facing calls to revoke his British citizenship, which he was granted in 2021 while imprisoned in Egypt, where campaigners described him as a “prisoner of conscience”. – Sunday Telegraph

• PM faces backlash after expressing ‘delight’ at return of Egyptian activist – Mail on Sunday
• Fury as Starmer welcomes British-Egyptian ‘extremist’ back into UK – Sun on Sunday

Comment

>Today:

Tories demand probe into finances of No 10 spin doctor

“The architect of Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to scrap afternoon press briefings has come under fresh scrutiny over his ownership of shares in a lobbying firm. The Conservatives have demanded an inquiry after claiming that the financial affairs of Tim Allan, the No 10 director of communications, posed a conflict of interest risk. Mr Allan owns shares in Strand Partners, an advisory firm that has major businesses as its clients. However, Government officials denied suggestions of any conflict of interest and insisted that the Prime Minister’s chief spin doctor had forfeited his right to receive dividend payments.” – Sunday Telegraph

• Aide given peerage by PM campaigned for paedophile – Sunday Times

Zelensky heads to Florida for talks with Trump amid fresh strikes on Kyiv

“A third of Kyiv is without heating after a Russian drone and missile barrage on the Ukrainian capital cut off power supplies, leaving hundreds of thousands of people facing freezing temperatures. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Moscow had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the overnight attack. “The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on X. The intense overnight strikes lasted 10 hours and killed one person and wounded two dozen others. They came as the Ukrainian leader headed to Florida for a face-to-face meeting on Sunday with Donald Trump, who has proposed a plan to end nearly four years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands.” – Observer

Comment

How Badenoch wants to put Britain’s decline into reverse

“Britain risks becoming a “country of people on benefits, living in social housing” if the dream of a property-owning democracy dies on Labour’s watch, according to Kemi Badenoch. The Conservative leader does not believe Labour will hit its target of building 1.5million new homes before the next election and warns that a UK where people cannot own a home of their own is a “nation in decline”. The 45-year-old is spoiling for fights with Labour on a host of issues in 2026 and will put the party’s pledge to scrap stamp duty at the heart of her message to voters in May’s local elections. Describing how she wants the Tories to be the party of “hope”, she says: “Conservatives don’t accept decline. We reverse decline.” – Sunday Express

• Starmer’s future thrown into chaos with election ‘battering’ predicted – Sunday Express
• ‘Secret’ method could be used to oust Starmer – Sunday Express

Comment

Other political news and comment

• Voting begins in Myanmar elections under junta stranglehold – Observer
• ‘Unavailable’ Johnson forced MI6 to change how it spies – Sunday Times
• Swedish lessons: our Covid inquiry is costing 131 times more than theirs – Paul Goodman, Sunday Telegraph
• The end of the BBC is nigh – Editorial, Sunday Telegraph
• Populists attack London because it is ‘progressive and successful’, says Khan – FT
• We must throw off the comfort blanket of state regulation – Daniel Hannan, Mail on Sunday
• Fury as schools cut teachers while being forced to blow money on installing solar panels – Sun on Sunday
• Labour must ensure we have enough teachers before spending another penny on school solar panels – Editorial, Sun on Sunday

News in Brief