Overview

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer moved Yvette Cooper to Foreign Secretary and elevated David Lammy to Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister as part of the shake-up.
• Mahmood takes over the Home Office during record Channel crossings, protests over asylum hotels and mounting pressure to increase removals.
• As Justice Secretary, she this week introduced major prison reform legislation after managing overcrowding with early-release measures.
• She has pressed for reform of the UK’s ‘maximalist’ application of the ECHR, with proposals to narrow Article 8 use in immigration cases scheduled for the autumn.
• The appointment is viewed as an effort to rebuild public confidence on immigration, while refugee advocates call for ending hotel use, quicker asylum decisions and expanded safe routes.