Natasha Clark

Vaughan: "You don’t win back public confidence in the asylum system by threatening to forcibly remove refugees who have lived here lawfully for 15 or 20 years. That just breeds insecurity and fractured communities."

He says Govt plans undermine the government’s integration and cohesion objectives, risk worsening child poverty, unfairly shifting settlement “goalposts”, and would harm the UK’s economic competitiveness by exacerbating skills shortages

NEW: Labour MP Tony Vaughan coordinates private letter to the Home Secretary, which has been signed by 100 Labour MPs, expressing concerns

First 150 families with be piloted. Home Office says it's part of successful Danish model

Controversially, children *will* be included as part of these plans

Borders minister Alex Norris says it will be a "targeted pilot" to cut down the £158k average cost per year

Each person could get up to £10k each - capped at £40k per family.

Govt says this would save £20million overall on hotel costs if it's rolled out wider

Failed asylum seeker families to be paid up to £40k to leave UK within 7 days under radical trial | LBC Families of failed asylum-seekers will be paid up to £40,000 to leave the UK voluntarily within seven days, LBC can reveal.

Exc: Failed asylum seekers and families to be paid up to £40,000 to leave the UK within 7 days

www.lbc.co.uk/article/fail...

Insiders insist no final decisions on the sum made, but it will be more than the current £3k. Critics will say it could be a pull factor.

From today, asylum seekers will only get temporary refugee status and will have to reapply every 30 months

Home Secretary braced for 40-strong rebellion

Britain to pay migrants 'more than £3k' to leave UK as Home Secretary faces 40-strong MP migration rebellion | LBC The Home Secretary refused to rule out paying up to £30,000 for families to leave willingly as an incentive, in a bid to save the taxpayer money.

EXC: Shabana Mahmood refuses to rule out paying failed asylum seekers & other migrants up to £30,000 as the Danes do, to encourage people to cooperate with the Home Office and leave UK earlier

www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...

Update into review of alleged misconduct in public office Met Police Commander Ella Marriott gives an update on a review of alleged misconduct in public office.

NEW: Met confirm they're looking at Epstein files in relation to reports to them about possible misconduct in public office

news.met.police.uk/news/update-...

PM's chief secretary, Darren Jones, tells MPs in Commons that the Govt believes Lord Mandelson "lied" on his disclosure and vetting before he became ambassador to the US:

"when someone lies in their declarations of interest, there must be a consequence.... removal from the HOL and loss of peerage."

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch tells @lbc.co.uk @fraserknight.bsky.social the Epstein files show "potential evidence of corruption in public office" & she’d support a criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson

McDonald scathing about Mandelson for leaking information straight to Epstein: "This sets alarm bells ringing and short of national security, I can't think of anything more grievous for a secretary of state to be disclosing ...
"I am staggered by this. It's disloyal and disrespectful."

Labour MP Andy McDonald calls on PM to go further re. Lord Mandelson, tells @shelaghfogarty.bsky.social he should have his peerage stripped: "If it does require primary legislation if he will not go, let's get on with these things." @lbc.co.uk

Rachel Reeves tells LBC student loan system is 'fair' amid fury as graduates rack up thousands of pounds of debt interest | LBC 5.8 million people who took out a student loan between 2012 and July 2023 are on a Plan 2 repayment plan, which sees interest at RPI inflation - plus up to three per centage points depending on earnin...

EXC: Rachel Reeves tells LBC student loan system is 'fair' amid fury as graduates rack up thousands of pounds of debt interest

www.lbc.co.uk/article/rach...

Rachel Reeves pledges to 'stand by pubs' as Tom Kerridge insists Government support package 'not enough' | LBC Pubs and music venues in England will get 15 per cent off their business rates next year

Full interview here:

www.lbc.co.uk/article/pub-...

Reeves also:

- Opens up possibility for later opening hours for events like Eurovision
- Won't say if Treasury did impact assessment of rates changes

Exclusive interview with Rachel Reeves at a pub in South East London last night, revealing:

- Hotels business rates will also be looked at as part of pubs re-evaluations
- Reeves partly blames working from home in Covid for why boozers are struggling

MAHMOOD:
- Anti semitism is rising and we will do more
- Gov will continue to fight Shamima Begum to stop her from being able to return to the UK
- Not aware of reports re China hacking government phones - "I can reassure you our national security arrangements are very strong"

MAHMOOD:

- ICE: Incredibly worrying and horrifying set of circumstances... huge concerns there, our approach in the UK is very different
- Protest: admits need to make changes in legal framework here - accepts postcode lottery across country for policing chants

MAHMOOD:

- Updated one in/one out figures: 350 people come in from France, and 281 removed
- People smugglers are using adverts of hotels to draw people to Britain - military camps will end that
- Burnham - I know people are upset but let’s pull together

NEW: Shabana Mahmood Call the Cabinet with
@LBC

- Police reforms: We have learned lessons with police Scotland, hope to be still here to implement all in next parliament
- Parents were shop workers - had their till stolen twice: 'We were victims ourselves, this is close to home for me'

Andy Burnham to me this morning: "What's my message to MPs? Come up to Manchester. There's a by-election about to happen. We need your help. The Greater Manchester way is built on togetherness. We don't ever here, have a politics that's about pitting people from another."

YouTube video by LBC Robert Jenrick: 'Why I quit'

Full interview with Robert Jenrick here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2nv...

Robert Jenrick lifts the lid on dramatic defection and tells LBC what Kemi Badenoch really thinks of him | LBC The former Tory leadership candidate reveals how he decided to defect over Christmas dinner

NEW: I spoke to Robert Jenrick about his defection, admitting he really did leave his speech lying around, what Badenoch really thinks of him, and political regrets:

www.lbc.co.uk/article/robe...

Stephen Kinnock tells @NickFerrariLBC "Michael Gove has done huge damage to this country, he's one of the architects of having a Brexit with no plan, which led to the botching of the deal, he's been at the heart of some really damaging policies... look at the mess we ended up in."

Calls for police chief to apologise after mother arrested and held in cell for ‘confiscating child’s iPad’ A mother-of-two has told LBC of the “unspeakable devastation and trauma” she has experienced after being arrested for “confiscating her child’s iPad”.

www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/surr...

"I think Trump did too much too soon, rather like Liz Truss did."

Nigel Farage tells @nickferrarilbc.bsky.social he has 'never agreed' with the President's tariff policy.

Wuh oh! Tory MP Richard Fuller distances himself from Badenoch's comments re Labour MPs detained going into Israel: "On this, my personal view is, parliamentarians should be allowed free passage to other countries, to our allies. We should look at that in a poor light. We should be supporting them."

... "When some of her Conservative counterparts had similar relations in relation to their work in China, it was right we stuck by the idea they should not have their work interrupted in that way... the way they've been treated is unacceptable." @lbc.co.uk @lewisgoodall.com

On two Labour MPs detained after trying to get into Israel, Darren Jones says "I'm not sure it's a very responsible answer from the LOTO, British politicians all travel internationally to meet their counterparts, we expect them to be able to go about their business without interruption...