*Please don't call* I have had a number of interview requests about the asylum changes. I am dealing with a family emergency and am not at my desk. I cannot respond to messages.

"When the British government recently announced its plan to emulate Denmark’s asylum and immigration system, it framed the move as a way to restore fairness and regain control. But [...] the move raises serious ethical — and practical — questions." theconversation.com/why-the-uk-s...

"Good news, bad news" situation. It's actually good the Home Office won this one. Alternative was a raft of councils closing hotels with no suitable alternatives, meaning people were either made homeless or put in camps. Bad news, still no suitable alternatives. 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Telegraph had to correct its multiple lies about "illegal immigrants" in London at least three separate times.

Thank you, Lyse, for recommending 'Anywhere But Here'. You can buy it here: Waterstones: bit.ly/4gBxHTV Foyles: tinyurl.com/3n7p3w3h Amazon: amzn.to/3XuF7Q8

Thank you, Lyse, for recommending 'Anywhere But Here'. You can buy it here: Waterstones: bit.ly/4gBxHTV Foyles: tinyurl.com/3n7p3w3h Amazon: amzn.to/3XuF7Q8

A wave from Brussels, my diplomatic home for nearly three years, where everyone keeps asking me why Britain would want to commit another act of self-harm by withdrawing from the ECHR. It's viewed so differently here.

🔴The last year has been wild. Here's what I've learned. (And there's a special offer to mark the one year anniversary of my newsletter.) Subscribe below. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

How low will it go? @jamesbowes01.bsky.social's detailed analysis projects net migration will collapse: from its peak of nearly a million to perhaps just over 100K in 2026. ukandeu.ac.uk/the-coming-c...

MSF, which ran clinics for those at Wethersfield camp until recently: "Over 60% of our patients there experienced severe mental distress and nearly a third reported suicidal thoughts."

Around 900 men are expected to be moved to military bases in Inverness and Sussex by the end of the year. The use of large sites has been described as a "sleeper issue", likely to inflame tensions with local communities. And all to close four or five hotels. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🔴Asylum hotels are in nobody's interests. They're bad for new arrivals, bad for local communities - and it's not a great look for the government, either. So why, when it's costing £15 billion, can't they just get on with it and close them? My thoughts.👇 open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

Fascinating. Germany typically takes triple the number of asylum seekers the UK does but they manage the system well so there isn't so much waste or profiteering. An example of how Britain could do things...

🔴Asylum hotels are in nobody's interests. They're bad for new arrivals, bad for local communities - and it's not a great look for the government, either. So why, when it's costing £15 billion, can't they just get on with it and close them? My thoughts.👇 open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

The select committee report on the asylum hotel shambles highlights a point I made repeatedly - the absurd gimicks pursued by the last govt like Rwanda took resources away from running the actual system properly.

What gets me about the Kebatu case is that he's being described as a dangerous individual on the run when in fact he was a confused man (yes, a convicted one) with nowhere to go. He wanted to be deported back to Ethiopia and had asked when it would happen. Then he was released and a 'manhunt' ensued

Among other issues, this really wakes people up to how people are released from prison with no where to go. They’re just told to leave, even if they have no one meeting them, no home to go to, no safety net. I don’t think many people realise this.

It keeps getting worse for the HMP Chelmsford authorities. Kebatu went back there four or five times and attempted to hand himself in, knowing he would be deported. The authorities sent him away, telling him he had been released.

Recent events have shown how deeply flawed a politician Nigel Farage really is. It's time for his opponents to stop being so afraid and finally start taking him on. www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/how-to-def...

🔴Language matters. Rather than 'migrants', why don't we just call them 'people'? Some thoughts on how we can do better. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

One in, one out, one in again. It is demonstrably not a success for either the government or the man who has had to risk his life twice because of this ridiculous scheme.

It’s hard to convey just how much Chicagoans are mobilizing against ICE. Don’t want to downplay the harm, or make it seem like a fair fight. But in neighborhoods across this city, ICE is getting chased by people blowing whistles and shouting. People are running TOWARD ICE to protect their neighbors.

🔴Language matters. Rather than 'migrants', why don't we just call them 'people'? Some thoughts on how we can do better. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

Care workers supporting elderly and disabled people have been advised to travel to work in racially mixed groups and carry panic alarms. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Beyond chilling & far too relevant. Required departure “before 3rd February, 1940”. wow

Are we living through another wave of fascism? I met a Holocaust survivor who fears we are. More here. open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose

I was sent an advanced screener to watch this film and oh, it is SO good. It premieres this week at the London Film Festival. Tickets all sold out there, but find another way! It's worth it. youtu.be/npwmcJxgLic?...

Are we living through another wave of fascism? I met a Holocaust survivor who fears we are. More here. open.substack.com/pub/nicolake...

Sad news on entries to this year's @womensprize.bsky.social

UK travellers should expect "four-hour queues" as new EU border system comes into force. Brexit really is the gift that keeps giving www.itv.com/news/2025-10...

So, I've finished what I can only describe as a roller-coaster of tearful emotion combined with anger at the broken immigration system, but a great and informative read nonetheless. I will definitely be recommending this book. Thank you.

Now sold out!!

Can't wait for this: Cheltenham Literary Festival, Thursday, 4.30pm. See you there! Tickets: share.google/Qz0caKx5zx1U...

An excellent point. The terms migrant, refugee etc are being used to dehumanise

Every newsroom should have an immigration correspondent.

Every newsroom should have an immigration correspondent.

Telegraph admits article by Conservative immigration spokeperson Katie Lam used entirely fictional stats from Centre for Policy Studies (no, *not* the £234 bn, different ones!). Publishes entirely inadequate correction which still makes false claims about migrant wages. archive.ph/FkywM

These are some of the most extreme restrictions on immigration in years. We're told to see them as benign because they're less bad than Farage's far-right extremism. But they are still terrible.

This sort of reality collision is going to happen over and over again so long as this government chases perceptions on immigration.

Nigel Farage complained vigorously about “the UK’s readiness to criminalise merely unpleasant, challenging, or incendiary online speech" (discussing Graham Linehan and Lucy Connolly). But of course that was when violence was being urged against immigrants or trans people. A racist and a hypocrite.

Is there a reason I ask that the Times are using a picture of asylum seekers in a boat to describe rules for migrants who came on legal routes such as skilled worker visas for doctors?

Keir Starmer asks people to fight back against reform... yeah, we've been doing it for the last year mate while you've been enacting their policies.

Just fuck off with this. How about start the conversation by highlighting how much immigrants contribute to the UK - not least by propping up the NHS and social care system! Also - forced volunteering is not volunteering, it's unpaid labour.

Southwark Cathedral: you were magical, I was sleep-deprived. Thanks to the lovely 109 of you, bar the one guy who stood up to announce that everyone should be wearing St George's flags across their backs. I hope I disagreed agreeably. 🧡 @southwarkcathedral.bsky.social

Only took a week to say it.

This is tomorrow! Southwark Cathedral, 6.30, tickets are a fiver. See you there.

Great to take part in this fascinating discussion on migration in the media @theconduitlondon.bsky.social last night. You can watch back here. www.youtube.com/live/OgK4Dlw...

I’ve just finished reading your thought provoking book and informative book. Thank you. It’s a shame it‘s not compulsory for politicians of all persuasions to read your book.

Great to take part in this fascinating discussion on migration in the media @theconduitlondon.bsky.social last night. You can watch back here. www.youtube.com/live/OgK4Dlw...