Newslinks for Thursday 25th of September 2025

September 25, 2025

Jenrick says recruitment drive for 70 part time judges has potential for migration ruling ‘madness’

“Britain’s ability to deport dangerous criminals and failed asylum seekers risks being undermined by a wave of new pro-immigration judges, Robert Jenrick has warned. The Shadow Justice Secretary criticised a recruitment drive for 70 part-time judges, claiming it could lead to more “fraudulent” asylum claims slipping through the system. Mr Jenrick said the move “will mean even more immigration madness”, adding: “The public are already sick to death of activist judges.” Confidence in the immigration tribunal system has already been shaken by a string of hugely controversial rulings that have blocked the deportation of rapists, drug dealers and violent offenders. Mr Jenrick called for a radical shake-up of the judicial appointments process, insisting on far tougher background checks for would-be judges.” – Daily Express

Bank of crooks. Foreign criminals hauled onto deportation flight are handed bank cards pre-loaded with £2,000 of taxpayers’ cash – The Sun
Giving deported criminals £2,000 ‘doesn’t look good’, minister admits – The Times

Meanwhile…family of three are first migrants sent to UK from France under Labour deal

“A family of three have become the first asylum seekers to be flown into Britain as part of the “one in, one out” deal with France. The Home Office confirmed that the family — two parents and a young child — were flown in on a passenger jet from Paris on Wednesday, paid for by British taxpayers. It follows the removal of four migrants to France over the past week who had arrived on small boats since the reciprocal returns deal came into effect on August 6. The Home Office refused to disclose the nationality of the family who arrived in the UK in order to protect their anonymity. This is despite disclosing the nationality of all four migrants who have been removed under the deal so far. The family will be housed in taxpayer-funded accommodation, although the Home Office refused to say whether they would be placed into a hotel or another form of accommodation. Last week the Home Office deported Indian, Eritrean, Iranian and Afghan migrants via the scheme. Over the same period, 1,157 migrants have arrived on small boats.” – The Times

Family-of-three are first ‘one in, one out’ migrants to arrive in Britain – Daily Telegraph
First migrants arrive from France under Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ deal – Daily Mail
Family of three are first arrivals in UK under ‘one in, one out’ immigration deal – Guardian
Shocking moment British tourists watch as migrants stream into Spanish resort – ‘before brawl leaves one dead at hotel’ – Daily Mail
Taking us for a ride. Fury as asylum seekers ferried miles in taxis costing up to £600 each to see a GP- and you pay for it – The Sun
Illegal migrant’s £600 taxi ride to see doctor makes taxpayers’ ‘blood boil’ – Daily Express

Reeves urged to remove the two child benefit cap and go for income tax rises

“Sir Keir Starmer will be told by senior cabinet ministers that lifting the two-child cap is the most effective way of alleviating child poverty amid mounting pressure from ministers and backbenchers. The Times has been told that a body of ministers and officials set up to tackle child poverty will recommend lifting the cap after concluding it is the best way to alleviate the problem. The recommendations from the child poverty taskforce are expected before the autumn budget on November 26, although it has been repeatedly delayed.It will present a significant dilemma for Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, as they attempt to balance the books and fill a £20 billion to £30 billion black hole in the public finances. Lifting the cap would cost an estimated £3 billion a year…but the Treasury is reluctant to find the more than £3 billion needed and briefed that removing the cap was “dead” after Labour MPs forced a retreat on cuts to disability benefits.” – The Times

Lift two-child benefit cap, Starmer to be told – Daily Telegraph
Reeves faces £30bn hole and pressure to break pledges on income tax, NI or VAT – The i
Mental health disability benefit claims hit 250 a day in Labour’s first year – The Times
Institute of Directors backs calls for income tax rise – Daily Telegraph
Now Reeves is ready to spend billions ‘scrapping two-child benefits cap’ while lumbering working Britons with huge tax hikes to appease Labour left – Daily Mail

McSweeny faces more pressure over donations to Starmer’s leadership campaign

“The prime minister appears to have used material from Labour Together on his party leadership campaign website, despite claiming the think tank had played no role in his election. Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of benefiting from secret donations during the contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. Analysis of a cached version of his campaign website from February 2020 suggests that some of the text, and the strategy that underpinned it, were produced by Labour Together and its director, Morgan McSweeney, who is now the prime minister’s chief of staff. One section used wording that was identical to a speech given by McSweeney in 2019. However, this help was not declared by Starmer in the parliamentary register of interests. At the time, the think tank’s activities were being funded by more than £700,000 of secret donations, which were only declared months after Starmer became Labour leader.” – The Times

Starmer’s top aide was told by electoral watchdog that donations had to be declared but kept gifts totalling £739,000 secret – Daily Mail
Labour says Starmer’s 2020 leadership campaign paid McSweeney salary – Guardian
Eco-tycoon Dale Vince backs Powell for deputy Labour leader with £15k donation – The i

Burnham lays out his agenda in a ‘will he, won’t he’ challenge to Starmer

“Andy Burnham has said that MPs are privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour Party leadership. Giving the clearest hint yet that he is considering a return to Westminster, the Mayor of Greater Manchester declined to rule out challenging the Prime Minister before May’s local elections. Mr Burnham set out a broad manifesto of policies he said would “turn the country around”, including higher council tax on expensive homes in London and the South East, £40bn of borrowing to build council houses, income tax cuts for lower earners, as well as a 50p rate for the highest-paid. He also criticised Sir Keir directly, warning that Number 10 had created a “climate of fear” among MPs, and accused his administration of creating “alienation and demoralisation” within the party. Mr Burnham’s intervention comes after weeks of speculation that he is looking for a parliamentary seat in order to launch a challenge to Sir Keir. Polling shows he is more popular than the Prime Minister among both Labour members and the public.” – Daily Telegraph

Roll up, roll up for the will-he, won’t-he Andy Burnham Show – The Times

Shadow Ministers accuse UK of two tier justice after knife attacker escapes jail

“A protester who was slashed with a knife by a Muslim man furious that he was burning the Koran has slammed the ‘disgraceful’ decision not to jail him, claiming it shows Britain has a ‘two-tier justice system’. Activist Hamit Coskun, 51, shouted ‘f*** Islam’, ‘Islam is religion of terrorism’ and ‘Koran is burning’, as he held a flaming Islamic text aloft outside the Turkish consulate during a protest in Knightsbridge on February 13. Moussa Kadri, 59, then came out of a residential building and told Mr Coskun ‘I’m going to kill you’, before returning and slashing at him with a bread knife. He later told police he was protecting his religion. But despite the horrific attack being caught on camera, Judge Adam Hiddleston handed Kadri a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail from his home in the Midlands, Mr Coskin blasted: ‘We are faced with double standards when it comes to dealing with Islamists in the UK. This decision was a morale boost for Islamists. It’s a disgrace to the rule of law. ‘There is a two-tier justice system in place. This situation is causing serious fractures in society.’ Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he has written to the Director of Public Prosecutions to ask why tougher charges were not brought against the attacker. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho added: ‘Slashing at someone with a knife because they offended your religion by burning the Quran. No jail time. ‘Posting nasty words on Twitter. Jail time.’” – Daily Mail

Comment

The Quran knife attack is a travesty of justice – David Shipley, Spectator

Ukraine offered a boost as Trump calls for victory against double dealing Putin

“In the eyes of Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky was once the wartime leader without any cards to play. Yet after a private meeting between the two presidents on Wednesday, the American proclaimed Ukraine “is in a position to fight and WIN”. A short time earlier, Mr Zelensky said he had some “good news” from the battlefield to share with Mr Trump. The US president appeared to agree, describing a Russian economy in freefall and praising the strength of Ukraine’s armed forces for resisting an invasion that should have ended in victory within four days. What happened next, after the cameras left the room, has been described as the biggest foreign policy shift since Mr Trump took control of the White House for the second time. Most believe his view of the war has been shaped by his numerous and lengthy interactions with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who believes his side is nearing victory. Moscow has lost close to 1,000 men – killed or wounded – every day for months on end, according to Ukrainian estimates, which are often cited by Western intelligence agencies. The total number of Russian casualties stands at 1,104,500 since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb 24 2022. It’s a high price considering Moscow has managed to capture only 0.5 per cent of Ukraine’s total territory since the beginning of this year.” – Daily Telegraph

Trump’s change in tone is valuable to Ukraine but more than words are needed – Guardian
Kremlin issues furious first response to Trump after Don suddenly backs Ukraine to win back ALL land seized by Putin – The Sun

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