UK politics – live: Backlash as thousands of children to be detained under new Labour borders bill

Downing Avenue has condemned a Russian arrest warrant issued for a UK journalist, calling it an instance of “determined rhetoric” from Vladimir Putin’s administration.

A courtroom in Russia’s Kursk border area has issued an arrest warrant for Jerome Starkey, defence editor at The Solar, and put him on a global needed record.

The Kursk regional courtroom accused him of illegally crossing the border into Russia.

Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) had petitioned the courtroom saying a British citizen had entered Russia from Ukraine to movie a report in August final yr.

“It’s simply one other instance of determined rhetoric from Putin’s authorities. In fact, we condemn it,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman mentioned.

British journalists “shine a lightweight into a few of the darkest corners of the world, uncovering atrocities”, he added.

“Jerome Starkey’s award-winning reporting from inside Ukraine, exposing the small print of Russia’s unlawful battle for thousands and thousands of readers, isn’t any completely different.

“And if the Kremlin can’t stand up to the British newspaper highlighting Ukraine’s courageous defence of its freedom, then frankly, Putin ought to roll again his tanks, withdraw his forces, and finish the struggling of Ukrainian and Russian individuals.

“We’ll at all times stand with Ukraine, we’ll at all times stand by our free and fearless press.”

Ministers should be “daring” and set up a nationwide fee to assist reform the “unrepresentative” voting system used for UK parliamentary elections, based on a Labour MP.

Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley), who helps proportional illustration, mentioned the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system is “not working” and is “desperately in want of an improve”.

He mentioned a nationwide fee for electoral reform would act as a “first step” to discovering a consensus on the system for use in future, amid issues that 85% of MPs had been elected by lower than 50% of the voters who turned out in 2024.

Beneath the prevailing FPTP system, voters choose their most popular candidate and the candidate with probably the most votes wins.

Options embody the one transferable vote system through which voters rank candidates so as of choice.

Opening a debate on proportional illustration for basic elections, Mr Sobel instructed the Commons: “I need to encourage the Authorities to be daring and to be sincere about how unrepresentative British basic elections have develop into.”

Labour’s new borders and safety invoice, which retains controversial elements of Tory laws, dangers “stoking divisions”, charities have warned.

The invoice will permit longer detention for some migrants, together with kids, and deny assist to some trendy slaves trafficked to the UK. It’ll additionally introduce a brand new felony offence referred to as endangering lives at sea, that can see individuals jailed for as much as 5 years for helping small boat crossings.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief govt of Refugee Motion, mentioned: “Framing migration as a ‘nationwide safety’ subject to make use of counter terrorism-style legal guidelines will irreparably hurt refugees, a lot of them kids, and stoke divisions as we have now seen in final summer time’s racist riots.

“Most individuals who search asylum listed below are racially minoritised and laws geared toward deterring, detaining and criminalising them perpetuates racial injustice each in our techniques and on our streets.

“The federal government desires to repeal the Security of Rwanda Act and elements of the Unlawful Migration Act. However in its present kind, this invoice is a missed alternative to enhance the asylum and immigration system and construct unity.”

1000’s of kids shall be held in immigration detention for greater than 28 days underneath Labour plans, which fail to repeal powers introduced in underneath the Conservatives.

Beneath a brand new borders invoice proposed to parliament right this moment, Labour will maintain laws that permits unaccompanied asylum looking for kids, whose age is disputed, to be held for a minimum of 28 days in immigration detention.

Authorities statistics for the primary half of 2024 present that 1,419 kids had been topic to an age-dispute investigation and had later been decided to be underneath 18 – which means that hundreds of kids may very well be affected by this laws every year.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty Worldwide UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, mentioned: “Selecting to now maintain this Act, or any a part of it, to hammer somewhat than safeguard adults and kids who’ve suffered the trauma of human trafficking, torture and battle can be rank hypocrisy”.

Specialists have warned that plans to disclaim some victims of human trafficking entry to authorities assist may very well be incompatible with UK and worldwide regulation, and can embolden criminals.

Beneath a brand new invoice introduced to parliament, Labour is reportedly planning to retain Tory plans to stop victims of contemporary slavery who arrived within the UK illegally from accessing assist.

Human trafficking victims who enter the UK this fashion won’t be able to get assist from the UK’s nationwide referral mechanism (NRM) – the system for supporting and figuring out victims, it has been reported.

Dr Marija Jovanovic from the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights on the College of Oxford, mentioned: “The proof is obvious: the fashionable slavery measures eradicating protections from sure classes of victims of human trafficking are incompatible with home human rights regulation and worldwide legal guidelines the UK has signed as much as.”

She referred to as on the Labour authorities to repeal the fashionable slavery provisions within the Unlawful Migration Act, which was introduced in by the Conservatvies.

Jakub Sobik, from the Fashionable Slavery and Human Rights Coverage and Proof Centre, mentioned that conserving this laws dangers “rising trafficking and trendy slavery within the UK”.

He added: “If applied, they’d deny doubtlessly hundreds of individuals safety from trafficking and would strengthen the hand of traffickers, in addition to our potential to prosecute traffickers”.

A former colleague of Sir Keir Starmer when he headed the Crown Prosecution Service has taken her seat within the Home of Lords.

Alison Levitt KC served as principal authorized adviser to the then director of public prosecutions.

The 61-year-old was was amongst 30 new Labour friends nominated by the Prime Minister.

Baroness Levitt wore the standard scarlet robes for the brief introduction ceremony, the place she swore allegiance to the King.

She was supported by main lawyer and impartial crossbencher Lord Carlile of Berriew and Lords chief whip Lord Kennedy of Southwark.

Woman Levitt was referred to as to the Bar in 1988 and took Silk in 2008.

She labored on the CPS from 2009 to 2014 earlier than changing into a associate on the regulation agency Mishcon de Reya, the place she led its enterprise crime group.

She returned to the Bar in 2018 and have become a circuit choose in 2021.