Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Illegal Migration: Sunak states his case

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a speech on illegal migration yesterday (7 December 2023):

Today the government has introduced the toughest anti-illegal immigration law ever. I know it will upset some people and you will hear a lot of criticism about it. It’s right to explain why I have decided to do this.

I’m the child of immigrants … I understand why some people take the risk of getting into unsafe dinghies to cross open waters…

…it’s because the United Kingdom is an incredible country… it offers opportunity, hope and safety.

But the difference is: my family came here… legally.

Like most immigrants, they integrated into local communities…

…worked hard to provide for their family

…built lives and businesses, found friends and neighbours…

… and most of all… they were really proud to become British.

That feeling of pride… it cascades down the generations and grows… and that’s why you see so many children of immigrants sitting around the Cabinet table.

But it’s not a given… illegal immigration undermines not just our border controls… it undermines the very fairness that is so central to our national character.

We play by the rules. We put in our fair share. We wait our turn. 

Now if some people can just cut all that out… you’ve not just lost control of your borders… you’ve fatally undermined the very fairness upon which trust in our system is based.

That’s why this legislation is necessary. 

To deliver an effective deterrent to those who wish to come here illegally…

…to restore people’s trust that the system is fair…

… and ultimately: to stop the boats.

And so, our Bill today fundamentally addresses the Supreme Court’s concerns over the safety of Rwanda.

I did not agree with their judgement, but I respect it.

That is why I have spent the last three weeks working tirelessly to respond to their concerns…

…and to guarantee Rwanda’s safety in a new legally binding international treaty. 

The Supreme Court were clear that they were making a judgement about Rwanda at a specific moment 18 months ago…and that the problems could be remedied.  

Today we are confirming that they have been…

…and that unequivocally, Rwanda is a safe country.

And today’s Bill also ends the merry-go-round of legal challenges that have blocked our policy for too long. 

We simply cannot have a situation where our ability to control our borders…

…and stop people taking perilous journeys across the channel… 

…is held up in endless litigation in our courts. 

So this Bill gives Parliament the chance to put Rwanda’s safety beyond question in the eyes of this country’s law.

Parliament is sovereign. It should be able to make decisions that cannot be undone in the courts. 

And it was never the intention of international human rights laws…

…to stop a sovereign Parliament removing illegal migrants to a country that is considered safe in both parliamentary statute and international law.

So the Bill does include what are known as “notwithstanding” clauses.

These mean that our domestic courts will no longer be able to use any domestic or international law…

…including the Human Rights Act…

…to stop us removing illegal migrants.

Let me just go through the ways individual illegal migrants try and stay. 

Claiming asylum – that’s now blocked. 

Abuse of our Modern Slavery rules – blocked. 

The idea that Rwanda isn’t safe – blocked.

The risk of being sent on to some other country – blocked.

And spurious Human Rights claims – you’d better believe we’ve blocked those too…

…because we’re completely disapplying all the relevant sections of the Human Rights Act.

And not only have we blocked all these ways illegal migrants will try and stay…

…we’ve also blocked their ability to try and stay by bringing a Judicial Review on any of those grounds.

That means that this Bill blocks every single reason that has ever been used to prevent flights to Rwanda from taking off. 

The only, extremely narrow exception will be if you can prove with credible and compelling evidence… 

….that you specifically have a real and imminent risk of serious and irreversible harm.

We have to recognise that as a matter of law – and if we didn’t, we’d undermine the treaty we’ve just signed with Rwanda.

As the Rwandans themselves have made clear…

…if we go any further the entire scheme will collapse. 

And there’s no point having a Bill with nowhere to send people to.

But I am telling you now, we have set the bar so high…

…that it will be vanishingly rare for anyone to meet it.

And once you have been removed, you’ll be banned for life from travelling to the UK, settling here, or becoming a citizen. 

But, of course, even with this new law here at home… 

…we could still face challenges from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

So let me repeat what I said two weeks ago – 

I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights.

If the Strasbourg Court chooses to intervene against the express wishes of our sovereign Parliament…

…I will do what is necessary to get flights off. 

And today’s new law already makes clear that the decision on whether to comply with interim measures issued by the European Court…

…is a decision for British government Ministers – and British government Ministers alone.

Because it is your government – not criminal gangs, or indeed foreign courts –who decides who comes here and who stays in our country.

Now of course, our Rwanda policy is just one part of our wider strategy to stop the boats.

And that strategy is working.

I’ve been Prime Minister for just over a year now and for the first time, small boat arrivals here are down by a third….

…even as illegal crossings of the Mediterranean have soared by 80 per cent.

Let me just repeat that: small boat arrivals here are down by a third.

To help achieve that, we’ve signed returns and co-operation agreements with France, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, and Georgia. 

Illegal working raids are up by nearly 70 per cent. 

50 hotels are being returned to their local communities and we are housing people in a new barge and in former military sites. 

The initial asylum backlog is down from 92,000 to less than 20,000.

We’ve returned over 22,000 illegal migrants.

And as our deal with Albania shows – deterrence works.

Last year, a third of all those arriving in small boats were Albanian. 

This year we have returned 5,000 people and cut those arrivals by 90 per cent.

And Albanian arrivals have far more recourse to the courts than anyone under this new legislation.

That’s why I’m so confident that this Bill will work.

Lord Sumption, the former Supreme Court Judge, believes this Bill will work. 

We will get flights off the ground.

We will deter illegal migrants from coming here.

And we will, finally, stop the boats.

AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS

The UK has given Rwanda a further £100m this year as part of its deal to relocate asylum seekers there.

The payment was made in April, the Home Office’s top civil servant Sir Matthew Rycroft said in a letter to MPs, after £140m had already been paid to Rwanda.

THE LETTER READS:

07 December 2023 

Migration and Economic Development Partnership Funding

Dear Dame Diana and Dame Meg, 

At the evidence sessions on 29th November and 4th December respectively, you and your Committees asked me about payments the UK Government had made to the Government of Rwanda for the purposes of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.  

As I said then, the total the UK Government paid in the financial year 2022-23 was £140m. This comprised an initial investment of £120 million through an Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF) which is for the economic development and growth of Rwanda. A separate payment of £20 million was also paid in this timeframe to support initial set up costs for the relocation of individuals.  

I set out why Ministers had decided to announce payments in the 2023-24 financial year in our Annual Reporting and Accounts next summer, for reasons of balancing the public interest.  I fully recognise the public interest in transparency and accountability of public authorities for expenditure and the broad public interest in furthering public understanding of the issues with which public authorities deal.  However, this must also be balanced against public interests which work the other way.  For example, you will recognise the importance of respecting commercial confidence and the maintenance of confidence between international partners.   

Since then, Ministers have agreed that I can disclose now the payments so far in the 2023-24 financial year.  There has been one payment of £100m, paid in April this year as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund mentioned above. The UK Government has not paid any more to the Government of Rwanda thus far. This was entirely separate to the Treaty – The Government of Rwanda did not ask for any payment in order for a Treaty to be signed, nor was any offered. Any additional funds will be announced in our Annual Report and Accounts in the usual way. 

In the 2024-25 financial year, we anticipate another payment of £50m as part of the ETIF as agreed with Government of Rwanda when the Migration and Economic Development Partnership was signed.  

All of these payments are covered by the Ministerial Direction of 16th April 2022. Given the public interest, this letter will be published on GOV.UK.

Yours sincerely,  

Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE

Support 61,000 jobs in Scotland with a Christmas pint

  • Scots raising a Christmas pint in pubs and at home should enjoy the taste of supporting 61,000 local jobs, which pay almost £1 billion in wages and contribute £1.7 billion to the economy, data from the Scottish Beer and Pub Association (SBPA) shows. 
  • The brewing and pubs industry is one of the UK’s biggest employers, supporting almost one million jobs across the regions. 
  • Pubs have an equally vital social contribution. Across Scotland, 78% of people say pubs are important in bringing people together, while 60% think pubs help combat loneliness and isolation.
  • The Long Live the Local campaign invites pubgoers who can afford it to buy an extra round to support the brewers, delivery drivers, farmers and thousands of people behind the pint.

Scots raising a Christmas pint should enjoy the taste of supporting 61,000 local jobs in breweries, bars and supply chains which pay almost £1 billion in wages and contribute £1.7 billion to the economy, data from the Scottish Beer and Pub Association (SBPA) reveals.

The SBPA’s Long Live the Local campaign is shining a light on the nearly one million people behind the pint who make the festive season merry. 

As Scottish pubgoers raise a local brew, they support hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country: including farmers growing hops, brewers developing new recipes, scientists working on quality control and logistics teams managing deliveries.

‘The local’ is often the heart of community life and a major source of local employment and economic growth. Its social value is most apparent at Christmas, bringing people together and combatting loneliness during the festive season. Recent YouGov polling in Scotland found:

  • 69% of people feel pubs have a positive effect in communities
  • 78% say pubs are important in bringing people together
  • 60% think pubs help combat loneliness in their local area

Pubs and brewers have faced major increases to their costs over the last few years while struggling to limit price rises. The Autumn Statement provided vital support with an extension to business rates relief and the freeze on beer duty, but the next budget must provide surer footing for brewers and pubs by:

  1. Cutting tax on beer in the next Budget and pledging to bring beer duty down to the European average over the course of the next Parliament. The EU average duty on a pint of beer is currently 20p, whereas in the UK it is 54p for draught beer and 59p for packaged beer- nearly triple the European average and 12 times more than Germany.
  2. Reforming business rates so pubs and brewers can invest in the future, with the 75% relief maintained and a cap to the planned increase in the 2024 business rates multiplier until this is implemented
  3. Lowering VAT rate to 12.5% for pubs to help publicans and customers with cost of living increases

The Long Live the Local campaign invites Scots to buy an extra round this Christmas to support the people behind the pint and join the campaign to secure the future of their local.

Craig Macleod, owner of Innes Bar in Inverness, says: “There aren’t too many places where 18 and 80-year-olds come together to share a pint and connect. I love creating experiences that bring people together and we pride ourselves on being a hub for the community.

“We do a lot for charity as well. Right now we’re preparing for our annual Santa’s Grotto, which raised £1,200 pounds for the local food bank last year.

“As a business, we’ve weathered a lot of storms over the past few years with the energy price rises and the cost of living hitting people’s pockets. We’re very lucky to still be here and going strong when so many other venues have had to close their doors. That would be a real loss for the community, as there’s nowhere else people can go to experience that sense of togetherness.”

Emma McClarkin, CEO of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, says: “So many of life’s milestones are marked by sharing a beer, whether in commiseration or joy. Behind the glass, there are nearly a million people across the cities and regions who make this possible: including brewers, technicians, delivery drivers, farmers and the pub staff at the counter.

“The great British pint is woven into the fabric of our communities, economies and regional identities. Local pubs are some of our most beloved tourist attractions, while our breweries produce some of the finest beers in the world.

“But the industry needs our support to survive. Scotland remains one of the most expensive places in the world to have a pint, with beer duty more than double the average across Europe.

“The next Parliament must make bringing beer duty in line with Europe a priority – taking at least 34 pence off the price of a pint – as well as reforming business rates so that brewers and pubs can continue investing in the future, providing quality jobs and training for people across the country.”

Patients are being left waiting by SNP failure at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, says Boyack

Lothian Labour MSP, Sarah Boyack, has criticised the Scottish Government’s failure to address woeful waiting times at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The latest figures published by Public Health Scotland, show that only 46% of A&E Patients at the Royal Infirmary, are seen within 4 hours. This is compared to 62% across the whole of NHS Lothian Health Board, and 68% across the whole of Scotland.

The number of patients seen within 4 hours, has plummeted almost 10% since July – falling from 55%.

The Royal Infirmary figures are well short of the Scottish Government’s target of 95% of people seen and discharged within 4 hours of arrival in A&E.

Commenting on the statistics, Sarah Boyack said: “The latest A&E wait time figures illustrate that patients at Edinburgh’s largest hospital are left waiting by the SNP/Green Government.

“Royal Infirmary staff work incredibly hard to deliver services for patients, but the Scottish Government has not provided the resources to ensure local hospitals can deliver the care and treatment local residents deserve.

“Edinburgh residents need the Scottish Government to step up its game and provide the Royal Infirmary with the support it needs reduce waiting times rapidly.”

Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland launches #MISSEDatChristmas fundraising campaign

Leading charity Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland (PCAS) has launched a new fundraising campaign #MISSEDatChristmas to help ensure more people aren’t missed at Christmas.

Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland is inviting people across Scotland to join them this festive season in remembering their loved ones lost to pancreatic cancer. 

PCAS is inviting people to donate and share a dedication to their loved one. Participants will receive a special purple heart to display in their loved one’s memory this Christmas. All donations will help PCAS fight for earlier diagnosis. 

Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest of all common cancers, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 8%. Each year over 900 people in Scotland are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Around 26 people die from pancreatic cancer every day in the UK. With early diagnosis, pancreatic cancer can be survived.  

Debbie Rutherford, 30, is missing her Mum Rachel this Christmas. Rachel passed away in 2022, aged 62, from pancreatic cancer. Debbie, her brother Craig and sister Kirsty, were at her bedside as she took her last breaths. 

Rachel began experiencing symptoms in June 2020. It started with bloating, which she put down to the fact she had eaten a curry for dinner. When the feeling persisted, she contacted her GP. With the country in the grip of the Covid -19 pandemic, it proved difficult to get a face-to-face appointment.

Rachel was prescribed indigestion medicine and was told by doctors that no further investigations were needed.  

Rachel’s symptoms continued and Doctors then agreed to refer her for a scan. In October 2020, a scan showed a mass on her pancreas. The tumour was restricted to her pancreas, with no spread. Her oncologist was hopeful it would be operable, and the plan was to go ahead with six rounds of chemotherapy and a (Whipple?) operation.  

The reality of living on The Isle of Mull meant Rachel’s medical appointments involved a lot of travelling, ferry journeys, hotel stays, early starts and late nights arriving back home.

In January 2021, Rachel began her first round of chemotherapy. She suffered multiple side effects and ended up in hospital with life-threatening sepsis. More rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed as well as a serious bowel infection, a stomach ulcer and another bout of sepsis. 

In August 2022, Rachel started to deteriorate. She passed away on 14th September 2022 with her three children and her sister by her side. She died at her home on the Isle of Mull, a place she loved. 

Debbie Rutherford said: “Mum was the centre of our world. She always made Christmas special for me, my brother and my sister. It is hard to believe that another year is ending without her. She is missed every day but is especially missed at Christmas. 

“Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland’s new #MISSEDatChristmas campaign provides me and my family with a way to pay tribute to Mum this Christmas.”  

Joe Kirwin, Chief Executive of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: “Our #MISSEDatChristmas campaign offers an opportunity for people to remember their loved ones lost to pancreatic cancer.

“We’ve had special purple hearts made for people to display in their memory, and we’re sending these out to everyone who supports the campaign.  

“In the UK, around 26 people die every day from pancreatic cancer. For just £10, you could help us get patients and their families vital information and support. All the money raised will go towards fighting for earlier diagnosis to help ensure that more people aren’t missed at Christmas.”   

Learn more about Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland’s #MISSEDatChristmas campaign: https://pancreaticcanceraction.org/missedatchristmas/ 

Appeal to trace victims in Edinburgh city centre robbery incident

Police in Edinburgh are investigating a reported robbery which took place in the city centre and are urging two victims of the crime to come forward.

At around 8.20pm last night (Wednesday, 6 December, 2023), a woman witnessed a physical altercation between two male suspects and a man and a woman, described as being an older couple, which took place on South St Andrew Street.

One of the men has assaulted the older man and the suspects have stolen the man’s rucksack during the incident.

A number of witnesses and bystanders are reported to have helped the couple, however the pair have not been traced and no reported incident has come directly to police from the victims.

Officers are reviewing available CCTV in the area and are asking anyone who saw what happened to come forward.

Acting Detective Sergeant Mike Campbell from Gayfield CID said: “This incident happened in a busy area at the junction of St Andrew Square and West Register Street, outside a number of restaurants.

“It is imperative we trace the couple involved to ensure their welfare and I would ask them to get in touch with police.

“The suspects are reported to have been aged in their mid to late teens, dressed all in black, and may have left the scene in the area towards Waverley Steps.

“I’d ask anyone who saw what happened, or possibly the suspects leaving the area with a rucksack along Princes St towards Waverley Station, to get in touch.”

Those with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 3450 of 6 December 2023. Information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111.

Spartans Pop-Up Shop & DJ Event

WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER from 5 – 6.30pm at SPARTANS

In September this year, our young people held a successful Art Exhibition at the arts venue Out Of The Blue Drill Hall. At the opening event of CREATE TO ESCAPE, the young people sold prints of their artwork and raised just over £600 for for the charity Turn The Tables DJ, which offers workshops to improve mental health for those affected by homelessness. 

 Following on from the success, there will be an ART POP UP SHOP & DJ evening where some of our young people will be doing a DJ set, demonstrating the fantastic work they have been doing with their Music teacher Hope, here at the Alternative School. There will also be a chance to purchase some of the incredible Artwork by young people.

 Wednesday 13.12.23 5-6:30pm

Spartans at 94 Pilton Drive, upstairs in the Robinson Trust Suite

Please come along and support our young people in their final fundraising effort for this worthwhile charity which they chose to support!

Social Security in an independent Scotland

Plans to deliver a fairer system with more positive outcomes if Scotland becomes an independent country

Independence would give Scotland the opportunity to take a new approach to social security designed to be fairer, more dignified and more respectful according to a new paper published by Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville.

The ninth paper in the Building a New Scotland series – Social Security in an independent Scotland – sets out how the UK Government holds the majority of social security powers including low income and working age benefits. 

It evidences negative impacts of the UK Government’s current welfare policies on poverty levels, outlines the progress the Scottish Government has already made in creating a fairer system with limited powers, and demonstrates how an independent Scotland could go even further.

These include:

  • supporting and protecting everyone who needs financial help and support at any point in their lives
  • introducing early reforms to Universal Credit – removing the bedroom tax, benefit cap, two child limit, ‘rape clause’ and young parent penalty which have all been introduced by the UK Government
  • working alongside wider labour market, health and social policies to create a stronger and more dynamic economy like comparable European countries
  • stopping the rollout of changes to the delivery of reserved ill-health and disability benefits introduced as a result of the UK Government’s Health and Disability White Paper
  • moving towards a new system grounded in adequacy, such as a Minimum Income Guarantee, to ensure that everyone could have a decent level of income and live with dignity

Ms Somerville said: “With independence, we believe Scotland can do better. With limited powers, the Scottish Government has already demonstrated that things can be done differently with an approach to social security that treats people with dignity, fairness and respect.

“An estimated 90,000 fewer children are expected to live in relative and absolute poverty this year as a result of actions we have taken.

“With the powers of an independent nation, Scotland could do more to make our system fairer and move away from the UK Government’s system of benefit freezes, caps and punishment.  We could move away from the UK Government’s system that offers inadequate levels of financial support and is pushing people into poverty.

“The best-performing independent countries comparable to Scotland demonstrate that a strong social safety net is a foundation of a dynamic, innovative and productive economy, rather than a barrier to it.

“We can become a stronger, fairer and more prosperous country – this government believes that independence is the best route to getting there.”

Shapps visits Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories to ‘explore options to boost humanitarian aid’

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will push for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinians faster – including by sea directly into Gaza – when he visits the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel this week.

The trip will see him discuss options with leaders to provide civilians in Gaza with more aid and how the UK can support the Palestinian Authority, as well as efforts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

He will also discuss progress in recovering hostages – including a number of Britons – who were taken by Hamas terrorists during the 7 October attacks.

With Palestinian civilians experiencing a growing humanitarian crisis, the Defence Secretary will address options for providing Gaza with more medical and humanitarian aid, including potential routes via land, sea, and air. To date, four RAF flights carrying over 74 tonnes of aid have landed in Egypt with aid bound for Palestinians.  

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: ”My visit this week is an important opportunity to discuss efforts to accelerate the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance into Gaza and efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages.

We are working to find the best way to get aid and support to those in desperate need in the quickest and most direct route. That includes options by land, sea and air.

We have deployed an extra 1,000 military personnel in the Middle East and our forces are there to support the humanitarian aid effort and help in stabilising the area.

“The events of 7 October horrified the world and I personally want to offer my support and condolences to Israel and its people.

“We fully support Israel’s right to defend itself, but it is important their fight against Hamas terrorists remains within international law.”

In the OPTs, the Defence Secretary is expected to meet the Interior Minister of the Palestinian Authority, General Ziad Hab Al-Reeh, to address the urgent need for measures to improve security for Palestinians in the West Bank.  

In Tel Aviv, the Defence Secretary will meet Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to address the current security situation and Israel’s next steps.The UK has made clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against terror, restore its security and bring the hostages home, but it must abide by international humanitarian law and take all possible measures to protect civilians.    

Since Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023, the UK has increased its military presence in the region in order to support contingency planning, monitor the evolving situation, and to be ready to react and respond to regional threats. 

This included the deployment of a Royal Navy task group to the eastern Mediterranean, including RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Argus, three Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines.

In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the UK Ministry of Defence is also conducting unarmed surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including operating in airspace over Israel and Gaza.

In total, the UK has deployed an additional 1,000 personnel to the Middle East, bringing the total number of Armed Forces personnel deployed to the region to around 2,500 – including those deployed for counter-Daesh operations, training, and maritime security. 

Last week, the Defence Secretary also announced that HMS Diamond is deploying east of Suez to join HMS Lancaster on Operation Kipion, the UK’s longstanding maritime presence in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, following increasing concerns about the security of important maritime trade routes.  

On Wednesday, the Defence Secretary also travelled to the Republic of Cyprus and the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. During this visit, he met with the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos and discussed the importance of humanitarian support for Gaza, the war in Ukraine, and shared security interests.