Day: May 13, 2025

In today’s newsletter: Keir Starmer promises a suite of new measures will lower net migration – but a survey of immigration plans in the past suggests otherwise

Good morning. On Monday, Keir Starmer added his name to the dubious list of prime ministers who have used very forceful language to describe the impact of migration on the UK. The UK is at risk of becoming an “island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”, he said; the system “seems almost designed to permit abuse”. But while the tone echoed much of the rhetoric of the last 20 years, Starmer insisted he was doing something different.

In his speech launching the government’s immigration white paper, he accused the Conservatives of a “one-nation experiment in open borders conducted on a country that voted for control”, and said that “the experiment is over”. He also claimed that his approach was not about politics. But with Reform UK on the march, this looks thoroughly political. And even to some of his own backbenchers, his approach looks very likely to fuel racism.

Middle East | Gaza is at “critical risk of famine”, food security experts have warned, 10 weeks after Israel imposed a blockade. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said there had been a “major deterioration” in the food security situation facing Palestinians living there since its last assessment in October 2024.

Security | Counter-terrorism police are investigating after two properties linked to Keir Starmer were hit by suspected arson attacks. A blaze broke out at a home owned by Starmer in Kentish Town, London in the early hours of Monday morning, following two other fires within the last week.

Trump administration | The first group of white South Africans granted refugee status by Donald Trump’s administration has arrived in the US, stirring controversy in South Africa as the US president declared the Afrikaners victims of a “genocide”. On the same day, Trump’s government ended legal protections that had temporarily protected Afghans from deportation.

Armed forces | Former UK special forces personnel have accused colleagues of committing war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, including alleging that they executed civilians and a child. Graphic accounts of routine executions of handcuffed prisoners were handed to the BBC, which reported that weapons were planted during cover-ups.

Crime | Six Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in Britain have been jailed at the Old Bailey. The ringleader, Orlin Roussev, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months for his role in executing six “sophisticated” operations that risked national security and the safety of the public.

Continue reading…

Jacinta Allan announces $727m expansion of prison system as data shows rise in remand numbers after ‘tough new bail laws’ introduced

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The cost of Victoria’s crime crackdown is beginning to emerge, as the financially strained state government faces criticism over a $727m plan to expand prison capacity as the number of people on remand rises.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, visited the state’s new Western Plains Correctional Centre on Tuesday to announce next week’s state budget would include funding to open nearly 1,000 new adult prison beds and 88 youth justice beds, along with hundreds of new corrections staff.

Continue reading…