This is utterly insane. Asylum appeals can often hinge on quite narrow points of law and require proper legal training to weigh up. What on earth is going on in Mahmood’s head that she thinks this plan is a good idea?

Rule number one of age assessment best practice is to never ever base an assessment on physical appearance alone, so obviously the Home Office introduces a flawed AI system to estimate age based on physical appearance alone.

Your reminder that this is supposed to be the good guy of British centrism, the one who’s our last chance of defeating the far right

What if racism. But with a northern accent

Well well well…

This is utterly horrific. Grabbing children to essentially blackmail mothers into not getting in a boat is scumbag behaviour and it is being directly funded by our taxes.

I want to see a photo op of her sitting down with the Taliban signing a returns agreement. If you’re gonna do this, do it openly and proudly and show us who you really are. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Trafficking and smuggling are not the same thing, but hostile immigration measures do strengthen and increase the prevalence of both.

It’s okay to admit when you’re dumb about something. My husband spends a lot of time in the Netherlands for work and I only recently found out The Hague is the name of a city, not just the criminal court based in it. Not that I’m not thinking about that for any particular reason today…

Yet more tragic, and avoidable, loss of life. Rather than wasting millions on inhumane anti-asylum measures and cutting actual safe routes, while misleading people with false claims of opening more, Labour could be genuinely making it safer and simpler to seek asylum. news.sky.com/story/two-mi...

The so-called party of labour constantly spouting this classist drivel about ‘low skilled’ workers whenever the subject of migration comes up is incredibly telling. They lionise the ‘white working class’ but show their true colours whenever the workers happen to be from another country.

There are parasocial relationships with public figures, and then there’s how I feel about Greg James. It’s so out of left field for me but I would give my life for that man. www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday/c...

Well well well. If it isn’t the exact thing people like me have been saying for years would happen, happening. Rushing out poorly made asylum decisions in a stupid attempt to clear the initial decisions backlog simply moved the backlog to the tribunal. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

My response in the Guardian to the Home Secretary's changes to asylum rules, and the utterly false claim that Labour's hostile and Inhumane anti-asylum policies reduce "pull factors".

In this current harsh world, let's warm a few hearts remembering the events of 7-8 March 1991, when the 90,000 people of Brindisi woke up to find 25,000 Albanians roaming the streets of their town. For perspective, that's roughly equivalent to 25k people suddenly landing in Hastings [Thread] >> 1

My grandfather-in-law fled Nazi Germany with his parents in 1938 and settled in the US. He refused to set foot back in Germany for over 60 years, despite all the changes made in the interim. It didn’t matter that Germany became “safe.” He wanted nothing to do with the place.

Survivors of trafficking are regularly subjected to immigration detention and retraumatised. Amid a legal aid crisis that's even worse in detention, they are trapped, with no way of getting desperately needed advice and support.

Asylum policy shouldn’t be about “appealing to people who feel that we’ve lost control.” It shouldn’t be about appealing to anyone. It should be about doing what is best and safest for the people who are here seeking protection.

🔴‘Shabana Mahmood’s Asylum Plans Will Put Lives at Risk for No Purpose’ The Government talks about wanting to reduce division and increase integration and then implements policies which will do the complete opposite, argues @danielsohege.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2026/03/03/s...

I actually don't have words as to how angry I am. Wonder what happened in these countries that people on student visas in the UK found themselves needing to apply for asylum instead of going home post 2021. UK Labour are heartless bastards & apparently have bo idea whats happening in the world.

But fundamentally Mahmood’s video is just a shocking way to speak about people. Abandoning refugees is bad! Reducing numbers is not a valid policy goal! (Until you’ve sorted out the causes of forced migration, which she seems to have no interest in.) People aren‘t a means to a party political end!

🧵 Some points about migration, asylum and 'deterrence': In order for a government to deter people seeking asylum, they must cross a 'line of cruelty'. I think that what most governments - and people - fail to realise - is how extremely cruel a government must be to actually drive people away. 1/15

Today is a dark day for anyone who believes in sanctuary in the UK. People who've fled war and torture should be able to rebuild their lives in peace and security - not live under a constant threat of removal. We must not stop fighting these appalling anti-refugee laws.

This stinks at every level. What refugees desperately need after their claims are accepted is the stability to rebuild their lives. This change will cause immeasurable stress and anxiety to some of the most vulnerable people in the country

Deaths in channel are preventable, but require governments to focus on ensuring people can seek asylum. It's repeatedly shown that hostile measures increase death tolls. Labour's decision to halt family reunification alone is already putting more children at risk. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

In my entire adult life, I’ve never once woken up after a vote to hear that the thing I wanted to win had won. It’s nice! I’d like it to happen more often please 💚

But it should now be clear that we can have a progressive conversation on migration if people are BRAVE. So if you’ve ever wondered before if it was time to step in - it is. We must not lose momentum, things do not have to be this way. By the next election, everything could be different.

Today’s win in Gorton and Denton shows such an utter rejection of that idea. But we still have a long way to go. The language and hate for migrant communities has been set and will continue. Charities are still under-resourced and under physical/political attack.

A reflection from the leader of a migration charity. We have been told over and over again by politicians - even from “partners” and “allies” that we will not win on our policies unless we concede. Throw some migrants under the bus - they’re too unfavourable. Public doesn’t agree with us.

A very excellent thread. Call things what they are. It’s important.

Wrote this for @migrantvoice.bsky.social on hostility of this government's changes to immigration rules for "earned settlement". We hear politicians talk about "British values", "integration" and "fairness". Labour destroys any concept of all three with its treatment of migrants through this policy.

Once again, people demanding an “open debate” on things we’ve been forced to debate for fucking ages are simply demanding the right to be vile and bigoted without pushback

If no one hears from me again, it’s because I spent time helping 3 separate people last week who all had terrible colds and I seem to have picked up all of their germs and they’ve combined to form a sort of super cold and I don’t think I’m gonna make it. Tell my family I love them ⚰️

How to tell a real Christian from a fake-ass JD Vance pretender: ask them about their stance on immigration. I’m not what you’d call a hardcore believer these days, but I can say for certain that the values I live by now are profoundly linked to my Catholic upbringing.

Do they understand how mad they sound? As if anyone has ever decided to cross the Channel in a small boat because, if they make it, they might get to take a free taxi to a doctor's appointment? "Pull factors" on steroids. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Labour is creating a vulnerable migrant underclass @zoejardiniere.bsky.social

How do I convince Spotify that, no, I don’t like generic male indie singer-songwriters and don’t want to fill my ‘for you’ playlist with them. I just really like Sam Fender, okay? He’s the exception, not the rule! Stop trying to make me listen to Noah Kahan!

"They don’t just delay settlement, they delay recovery. They delay stability. They delay family life. They delay healing. They delay dignity." A brilliant explanation of everything that's wrong with the horrifying 'earned settlement plans': righttoremain.org.uk/if-you-are-l... "

The paperback's here! Lighter in weight, lighter on your wallet, with an update to boot. Wild that it's been out in the world for nine months. Best thing I've ever done (professionally, certainly!). Out 12 March, pre-orders wherever you usually get your books. 🧡

The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions. It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.

A week and a bit into the job search, so obviously going to keep re-upping this. Pretty sure that this is the worst time of year to be looking for jobs in my area, but if you are looking for a Comms, policy, advocacy person, or know someone who is, please do let me know or share. 1/4

Whether Labour or Tory, the approach to immigration is policy-making by headline rather than by speaking, let alone listening, to experts who understand the human and practical consequences of ever crueller and counter-productive immigration laws.

"Congratulations, we are cutting migration. But we have persistently high NHS waiting lists, a shortage of social care, collapsing universities, missed housebuilding targets, lower economic growth and higher taxes." My new column for @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/opinion/fall...

During the passage of every piece of new immigration legislation since the NABA 2022, those of us who work with survivors of trafficking have told the government again and again that they will cause greater harm to survivors and embolden traffickers. They ignored us. Now we’re seeing the proof.

Long delays in the tribunals are one of the greatest areas of anxiety for my young people at the moment. Having non-legally trained people making the decisions, likely adding more and more cases to the more complex UT, is only going to make the stress of the whole system even worse.

Prescriptions for ADHD medication being invalidated if you don’t pick them up within a set (relatively short) timeframe is the absolute devil’s work.

It would be good if the dehumanising and abusive way migrants still get treated in the UK got even half the coverage and attention as what is happening under Trump in the States bylinetimes.com/2026/01/09/1...

Every time I say that the Home Office is the most anti-family government department in the UK, this is what I mean.