We need a dose of reality in the debate about English Channel crossings
It's absurd that wave machines or volcanic islands would even be articulated as ideas, let alone the fact that ASYLUM APPLICATIONS HAVE FALLEN
Yes, there are fewer asylum seekers coming to the UK
Some useful figures from evidence to the Home Affairs Committee here
The number of asylum seekers arriving via small boats rose from 465 to 2,012 in the first 2 quarters of the year, but the number arriving by other routes dropped from 8,455 to 4,850
In a press briefing today, the National Crime Agency reiterated the fact that boats are being used more because of a fall in lorries coming via ferry and general air and sea traffic during coronavirus
They expect Channel crossings to fall as the weather worsens
It's not an invasion, it's not a crisis, it's not even a surprise
It's past time for the government to admit that publicly
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There's a lot of confusion about the counter-extremism sprint and what's happening with it. My understanding is:
🔹ministers have not made a decision on what, if any, recommendations to adopt and will announce when they do
🔹a new definition of extremism wasn't in sprint's remit
🔹according to the Policy Exchange report on the leaked review, it said a new definition announced by then-communities secretary Michael Gove last year (below) "should not be formally dropped...but should not be a major part of the Government’s approach"
🔹according to Policy Exchange report, a key recommendation is for "an approach based on behaviours that cause harm rather than one based on a definition.”
🔹areas of concern included misogyny, conspiracy theories, violence fixations, incels and the manosphere
The man who set up a Telegram account used to organise and incite riots following the Southport attack has been jailed
Andrew McIntyre, 39, started "Southport Wake Up" and attended disorder in Southport on 30 July and in Liverpool on 3 August himself. He was jailed for 7.5 years
Not only did McIntyre circulate lists of potential targets, including a list of immigration advice centres and refugee charities, he shared neo-Nazi content and explicit calls for murder, including "kill all Muslims", "every single brown cunt must die" and "burn all mosques"
Other messages posted by McIntyre on the Southport Wake Up Telegram include "get ready for war lads" and "Adolf Hitler was the only politician since Roman times to truly care for his people...THE FIGHT WILL BE LONG BROTHERS, BUT WE WILL SUCCEED. NEVER CAPITULATE"
Of the £715m spent, which does not include wider costs to the asylum system include decisions slowing and hotels rocketing:
💷£270m was to Rwanda's Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (unrelated to people being sent) and £20m was for operational spending by Rwanda
💷£95m was went on "investment to optimise capacity within the existing detention estate" and "options to increase detention capacity",which I first reported last November
There wasn't enough room to hold asylum seekers the Tories wanted to send to Rwanda inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
This is unbelievably lazy and dangerous, especially from a former solicitor running to lead the Conservative Party
Robert Jenrick gets the charges wrong then launches into "cover-up" dogwhistle while surely knowing how the law limits what information can be released before trial
"The Southport attack hit me personally," Jenrick claims. But somehow there's no mention of the actual victims or their families
Keir Starmer is unlikely to be able to directly respond to this in any depth for obvious legal and ethical reasons, which Jenrick probably knows
Merseyside Police saw this sort of thing coming and issued a direct plea today. Have Jenrick and other politicians read it and chosen to ignore it, or just not bothered?
"We all need to do the right thing by [victims and families] to ensure the justice process is not prejudiced”
Breaking: A neo-Nazi has been convicted of attempting to murder an asylum seeker at a hotel in Worcester in April
Callum Parslow launched his terror attack while on bail for targeting a black woman with racist and sexual messages online. His victim survived
Parslow's trial began at Leicester Crown Court on 7 October but the media has been unable to publish anything until now because of reporting restrictions
They were imposed until the outcome of a second trial he faced for other offences, but he just changed his plea to guilty
Parslow admitted sending sexual and racist messages online in July and August last year, which he previously denied
He was arrested in December 2023 but freed on bail and committed the terror attack on 2 April
He is expected to be sentenced in December at Woolwich Crown Court
Because of the misinformation about the horrific attack in Southport, I am going to use this thread to give factual information on how mass stabbings are investigated and what the involvement of counter-terrorism police means
These are general processes not specific to this case
In cases of all kinds, police are banned from identifying suspects who have been arrested until they are charged with an offence
If the suspect is under18, they have automatic anonymity. It lifts when they turn 18, unless further restrictions made, or when a judge orders it
Counter-terrorism police involvement in an investigation does not mean that the incident is terrorism, and they have been involved in many cases that were not e.g. the Nottingham stabbings
They are often drawn in following murders or mass killings where the motive is uncertain