Overview
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out temporary refugee status with 30‑month reviews, faster removals, a 20‑year wait for settlement, tighter family reunion rules and discretionary support.
- The Home Office confirmed children born in the UK to refugee parents could be required to leave with their parents if status is revoked, unless the child has British citizenship.
- Roughly 20 Labour MPs publicly criticised the plans and Lord Alf Dubs condemned using children in removal policy, while Kemi Badenoch offered conditional Conservative support and Robert Jenrick said the measures do not go far enough.
- Ministers are preparing a 2026 legislative push and dispatching officials to Strasbourg to pursue changes and political declarations affecting how Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR constrain removals.
- Official data show a record 111,084 asylum claims in the year to June 2025, with 39% linked to small boats, 11% to other illegal routes and 37% from people who entered on visas; Mahmood denied reports she planned to seize jewellery from claimants.