Reform accused of ‘attack on settled families’ with new migration plan

Reform UK has been accused of launching a “direct attack on settled families” which is “fundamentally un-British” after unveiling a swathe of new proposals to tackle immigration, including mass deportations and ramped up surveillance.

The party’s new home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, will deliver a speech setting out plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain and replace it with a renewable five-year work visa and dedicated spouse visa, as well as plans to create a new agency with the capacity to detain 24,000 migrants at a time.

The speech will also see the party outline plans for a new rule mandating automatic home searches for anyone referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme by three “separate, corroborating authorities”.

Mr Yusuf will also unveil a “vast expansion” of stop and search powers, including “saturation policing” in high-crime areas.

Labour hit out at the plans, saying Britain is a “proud, tolerant and diverse nation”, which stands in opposition to the “divisive politics stoked by Reform”.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International UK accused the party of scapegoating migrants to “justify mass deportations and expanded police surveillance”.

Mr Yusuf is expected to outline the proposals in a speech on Monday in Dover, where he will focus on immigration, policing, national security frameworks and “cultural preservation”.

Other home affairs policies he will set out include:

Reform said costings would be set out at the event on Monday when asked for its calculations.

The plans for a new deportation agency would have the capacity to detain 24,000 migrants at a time and deport up to 288,000 annually, Reform said, as well as promising to run five deportation flights each day.

Ms Yusuf is expected to say: “For decades, the Tories and Labour have turned the other way while the very fabric of our society has been under assault.

“The social contract has not merely been broken; it’s been shattered. Under a Reform government, His Majesty’s Parliament will be sovereign once again.

“We will secure our borders, leave the ECHR and deport those here illegally. My message to the British people is simple: I will secure our borders and make you feel safe.”

The attack on Tories and Labour comes despite a number of high profile defections from Kemi Badenoch’s party in recent weeks, including Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick – both of whom played key roles in the previous Conservative government and were handed spokesperson roles for Reform UK last week.

Responding Mr Yusuf’s upcoming speech, Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “Reform wants to divide our country, not deliver for the British people.

“Their plan to deport people who have followed the rules, worked hard and built their lives here – our friends, neighbours and colleagues – is a direct attack on settled families and fundamentally un-British.”

She added: “The British people are right to expect firm control of our borders – with clear rules about who can come here and swift action against those with no right to be here – alongside action to make our country safe – and that is what Labour is delivering.”

Meanwhile, Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK said:“Last week the target was the Equality Act; this week it’s the ECHR.

“We are most threatened by those who seek to strip away our basic rights and protections – not the people they scapegoat to justify mass deportations and expanded police surveillance.

“Our society is built on diversity, not monoculture. Targeting vulnerable communities in the name of security puts everyone at risk.

“True national security protects rights, upholds justice, and defends our shared humanity. Sacrificing freedoms for politics driven by fear weakens the very country we all claim to defend.”

US-Iran talks to take place Thursday as Trump ‘considering’ strikes

The United States and Iran are to hold the next round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday after both sides ramped up military preparations in the region in recent days.

Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, who is helping to facilitate the discussions, confirmed the time and place on Sunday, calling the move a “positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal.”

It comes after Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi told CBS that he anticipated meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on Thursday.

Mr Araghchi said Iran was working on finalising a draft proposal, adding there is a “good chance” for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue, which remains the sole topic of the discussions.

The US and Israel have sought to address the country’s missile programme and Iranian backing of armed proxy groups across the Middle East. Iran has rejected any moves to widen the scope of negotiations.

The US has not commented on the reports of further talks.

On Friday President Donald Trump told reporters that he was considering a limited military strike on Iran continuing a pattern of barely veiled threats. Both sides have signalled their preparedness for conflict if talks were to fail.

Amid a growing US military buildup, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that President Trump was confused as to why Iran had not “capitulated”.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated’… because he [Trump] understands he’s got plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated’, but why they haven’t capitulated,” he told Fox News.

US officials told Reuters this week that America’s military planning had reached an advanced stage after President Trump ordered a massive naval buildup as talks continued.

It includes the world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R Ford, which was involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Pursuing leadership change and targeting specific individuals had also been discussed as options according to the sources. A move to impose global tariffs was struck down by the Supreme Court on Friday.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to the positioning of aircraft carriers by threatening to sink them.

“They constantly say, ‘we have sent an aircraft carrier towards Iran’,” he said. “OK, of course an aircraft carrier is a dangerous device, but more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said negotiations had thus far involved “the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals,” but cautioned that Tehran had “made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.”

A sticking point for both side includes Iran’s right to enrich uranium, which Iran insists on. But the US demands that Iran possess no nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them, including the enriching of uranium.

Mr Araghchi claimed that US negotiators had not demanded zero enrichment, contradicting official announcements by US officials. He insisted Iran’s nuclear programme would “remain peaceful forever” in exchange for confidence-building measures and relief from economic sanctions.

The US and its allies including Israel suspect that Iran’s nuclear programme is aimed at developing weapons and is not peaceful. Israel and the US joined forces to attack nuclear sites in Iran in June last year as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. The precise extent of the damage caused is unknown as Tehran has barred international inspectors.

Talks between Iran and the US have remained deadlocked for years after the US withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.

Tensions have been heightened as economic sanctions sparked merchant protests over rising costs. The demonstrations spread across the country resulting in a brutal crackdown on dissent. Rights groups estimate that at least 7,000 people have been killed.

Arsenal showed what they are made of by thumping Tottenham

When a chastened Igor Tudor emerged after Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-1 collapse to Arsenal, the interim coach was asked whether the display said more about his team’s problems or the qualities of what he described as “the best team in the world”, the response was simply: “Both things.”

He added: “There is a big gap between the teams.”

There certainly was in the scoreline, where Spurs were fortunate the defeat wasn’t much larger. That in turn made it one of those matches where, as Tudor indicated, it told a lot about both teams. There were two major storylines, that could yet come together for an Arsenal dream.

They could finally win the title, in the same season that Spurs are relegated.

This result at least made that prospect a touch likelier. The overall performance was meanwhile of such a nature that it was impossible not to start thinking that it was potentially as important for the relegation battle as it was for the title race.

That’s how bad Spurs got.

That made it an even better day for Arsenal. Almost everything went for them.

Had it stayed a mere 2-1, after all, the major discussion would probably have been about Viktor Gyokeres.

This may have been an arrival moment, in what felt like his first really big moment for Arsenal. People could no doubt quip that this was more flat-track bullying against lower-table opposition, but the context of the goal was huge. Arsenal badly needed a victory in what had by then been an emotionally intense derby. Gyokeres produced when needed. That is what he has been signed for.

If Gyokeres was the match-winner, though, Eberechi Eze was the player who ran it.

That’s now five goals in two games against his club’s greatest rivals.

And from that, when the teams were announced before the game, it was easy to understand why Arteta put the playmaker in midfield. Eze’s earlier hat-trick amplified a good record against Spurs, and a good feeling he has when facing them, something to continue.

Arteta further elaborated on that afterwards.

“I could see that he wanted to prove something. He was upset, even with me, because I didn’t play him the other day from the beginning, and some of the decisions that I made. And I just have to understand how we’re going to get the best out of him now.”

While Eze’s goals offered the headlines on his performance, the nature of his play felt even more significant. He can make Arsenal better, too, as seen with how proactive he was.

Eze’s passes were constantly speeding play up and moving Arsenal further up the pitch.

That is crucial because it has been an element badly missing from the team over the past few games. Arsenal have felt more constrained, while lacking that fluency and perceptiveness in attack. They were missing a dimension.

Eze offered it all.

Some of that problem had obviously been linked to the angst surrounding the team over this very title race, which was why the win was as important as anything.

It was just as telling that, on being asked about the victory, Arteta first talked a lot about the 2-2 draw with Wolves.

“I cannot be prouder and happier for what I’ve seen out there, but especially the way we lived the last 72 hours, because I think this game in particular needed some context, and after what happened against Wolves and the manner that we lost two points in the last kick of the game, it was tough. But that’s the beauty of this game, I mean, there is no explanation watching the game back, how the hell you draw that game.

“But it happened, and then you have to lift yourself up because you’re feeling angry, upset, [and] ashamed at some point. And we are all different nationalities, we all have different feelings, and then you have to bring everybody together. And it’s been a joy to spend that time together with them, to align everybody and to say, ‘OK, what is going to be happening in the next chapter? This one is gone, how do we use it to be a turning point and to make ourselves better?’”

There were a number of other headline quotes, so relevant to a race that is starting to turn into the run-in.

“It feels like we show what we are made of but then you have to show it again and again and again,” said Arteta. “This is not a job. When you are disappointed about what you’ve done in your job, you don’t feel that way.

“It’s much bigger than that. That’s our passion, it’s the purpose that we have, the objective that we have, it’s what we love doing, and then it’s very painful. But as well it can be very rewarding. And today, football shows you that, keep going, whatever you do. You win, keep going. If you lose, keep going. Because it is worth it, especially with the people that we have in this club.”

Finally, there was a line that will be so relevant to Spurs.

“And when it’s really on the edge and people are doubting, that’s when you have to stand up.”

Some at Spurs would bristle at taking any advice from Arsenal, but it’s become a recurring theme. Tudor was just the latest coach to talk about how good their great rivals are, as he admitted a game like this made him more deeply realise the scale of the challenge.

“You never know because this is a situation that I never saw,” he said.

It is remarkable to think now that the build-up around this game had been about whether a Spurs change of coach would restore an edge and take advantage of Arsenal at a vulnerable moment. Some in the visiting side had even taken note of the pre-game gee-up by the Spurs stadium announcer.

“Sometimes there’s a fire to be lit,” it went. “They’re nervous as hell. We’re calm. We’re ready…”

They were ready to be hammered. While Spurs did initially play with the necessary emotional intensity, that naturally dissipated, as the team was dissected. By the end, they could barely muster proper challenges, and an Arsenal under less pressure could well have claimed a victory of a historic scale.

That’s what made the second half so alarming. Spurs fans have rightly been screaming for months about their concerns, but for so long it was hard not to feel they have too much quality – especially with injuries.

Now, we’re arguably past that. It might well be about psychology, and the type of “negative spiral” once mentioned after one of these fixtures.

One of key elements of Thomas Frank’s departure, after all, was supposed to be the long-awaited removal of so much toxicity. And that was the case at the start of this match. But it absolutely wasn’t the case by the end.

The toxicity was arguably worse, because there are no obvious solutions. This team has a battle.

It was so good for Arsenal, meanwhile, that Arteta could joke about the hold-ups when the referee communications failed.

“Every time we are late out of the dressing room, we get huge fines!”

Here, they’ve got a huge win, that may have considerable impact in multiple ways.

‘I gave them 21 years, now they want my soul’: IPP prisoner who stole £20 may be deported in days

A father who has spent almost 20 years in prison for stealing £20 has begged the government to halt plans to deport him within days, fearing he faces homelessness in a country he does not know.

Sheldon Coore, 47, has lived in Britain since he was 16 months old, when he arrived with his mother to join his Jamaican grandparents who settled during the Windrush era.

He was handed a controversial imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail term in 2005 after he put a man in a headlock and stole £20 from his pocket, having already racked up a string of previous convictions when he turned to crime in order to fund his drug addiction.

Despite originally being handed a minimum tariff of two years and 65 days, Coore languished in prison for two decades under the widely discredited open-ended jail term, which has since been scrapped.

But rather than releasing him into the community to rebuild his life with his five daughters in Huddersfield, the Home Office has decided to deport him to his country of birth.

In January, he told The Independent he felt he was being punished “twice and thrice and even tenfold” for his crimes after losing his last appeal against his removal.

On Friday, he was moved to Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport, where he is being held in segregation. He described the transfer process as “heavy handed” after officers dressed in riot protection gear put him in a body belt restraint device for the journey.

He was originally told he would be put on a flight to Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city, on Monday, but his legal team is battling to halt this and seeking a judicial review.

Coore has only ever visited the Caribbean country once in his adult life. If he is deported, he has no idea where he will stay, if he will have any money or a phone to contact his family in Britain.

In desperate messages from inside HMP Erlestoke, a category C prison in Wiltshire, before he was transferred, he revealed had not been able to eat or sleep since receiving the news of his imminent removal.

“I am scared, in fact I am petrified,” said Coore, who says he has recently been diagnosed with autism. “I do not know what my future holds, do not know if I will make it through the night of my deportation.”

He continued: “Since this news, I have not slept or eaten and just keep on having all these thoughts going through my head. It is unbearable.

“If this was to go ahead, l am worried about everything. Where am I going to sleep, eat, drink? How am I going to be able to survive without any money or job? Who is going to be there to help me as an autistic man?”

He fears he will be left destitute with no family in Jamaica to support him after spending decades in prison.

He pleaded: “I am asking the government to stop all of this once and for all and give me a break.

“I have given them 21 years of my life on this IPP, and now they want my soul. What have I done to the British government so bad that they want to act this kind of revenge on me?”

His lawyers are understood to be fighting his removal. An immigration expert told The Independent that, without friends or family to stay with, those deported will likely be directed to a homeless shelter on arrival in Kingston.

Campaigner group United Group for Reform of IPP (UNGRIPP), who have been supporting Coore in prison, compared his treatment to modern day penal transportation.

“By forcibly removing a man who has lived here since infancy, the government is reviving the colonial practice of shipping ‘undesirables’ out of sight and out of mind,” a spokesman added.

“Sheldon is a victim of the IPP sentence, a discredited, indefinite sentence abolished 14 years ago that has kept him trapped long past his original tariff. To use this failed sentence as a catalyst to deport him to a country he does not know is a cruel double punishment.

“UNGRIPP has supported Sheldon for years; it is heartbreaking to see the government discard a man they failed to rehabilitate, rather than taking responsibility for the broken system they created.”

IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, but not retrospectively. The flawed sentence has left thousands incarcerated indefinitely, with some trapped for up to 22 times longer than their original minimum term, including for some minor crimes.

Almost 2,400 were still languishing on IPP sentences in December 2025, including 924 who have never been released. The majority have served at least 10 years longer than their original minimum term.

Coore served 10 years on his IPP sentence before he was released in 2015, but was recalled indefinitely around 18 months later over allegations in respect of which he was never charged.

He was further convicted of affray and sentenced to 15 months after he ran out with a knife when police came to arrest him, but he insists he only had the weapon to take his own life. He has been in prison ever since.

Coore, who says he has always considered himself British, has only visited Jamaica once on a two-week holiday 26 years ago.

Being removed would mean leaving behind his five daughters – a nine-year-old, twins aged 10, and two in their twenties. He also has a granddaughter, aged four, and another on the way.

At an immigration tribunal hearing last August, Coore argued that deporting him would breach his human rights, but the judge ruled that – although he remains in close contact with his family – he has achieved “no realistic or effective integration” into British society because he has been in prison for so long.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government will not allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to exploit our laws, which is why we are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system, allowing us to scale up deportations.

“All foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.”

Ex-defence secretary accuses Farage of ‘Maga stunt’ in Chagos mission

Nigel Farage has been accused of “performing Maga stunts” by a former defence secretary, after his plan to deliver aid to the Chagos Islands was blocked.

The Reform UK leader had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation carrying food and medicine to support four Chagossians who were attempting to set up a permanent base on a deserted island, as part of a mission to establish a colony in their former homeland.

Mr Farage had boarded a boat carrying food and medicines preparing to make the 24-hour trip to Ile du Coin, which sits 300 miles from the Maldives.

But sources told The Telegraph the plans failed because UK authorities insisted that only trained crew should be on board.

The newspaper reported that Mr Farage, who had been due to return to the UK on Saturday night, had received a phone call from a senior source in the Maldives government warning him that British officials wanted him to be prevented from setting foot on the island.

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace hit out, saying that no MP can visit the archipelago without pre-clearance and accusing him of performing Trump-style stunts.

Posting to social media platform X, he added: “It is a serious Military base which does serious work. It doesn’t need a pub bore like Nigel (who didn’t even appoint a defence spokesperson this week) performing MAGA stunts.”

Sir Ben – who served as defence secretary under the previous Conservative government from July 2019 to August 2023 – was referring to Mr Farage’s unveiling of his top team this week, which included spokespeople for education, home affairs, the economy and business.

No spokesperson for defence has yet been appointed by the party.

In the wake of the incident, the Reform leader said: “The British government has made every effort to prevent me heading towards the Chagos Islands. They have asked the Maldives government to stop me from leaving here and setting foot on the boat.

“This was information conveyed to me by a senior figure in the Maldives government. I cannot believe such an attempt has been made to stop a British citizen from reaching British territory.

“My source told me the British were ‘very concerned’ about me and wanted to know why I was here. This trip is a humanitarian mission and I don’t want my presence to jeopardise that.”

The four Chagossians travelled to the island on Tuesday to protest the government’s deal to hand sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

The agreement has faced intense criticism both domestically and abroad, with Donald Trump throwing the deal into doubt this week after he launched a fresh attack on the plans.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump urged Sir Keir Starmer not to “give away Diego Garcia” – an island on the archipelago which is home to a joint UK-US military base – despite Washington signalling its official backing for the deal on Tuesday.

Thousands of people were forcibly removed from the archipelago in the 1960s and 70s to build the air base.

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MP calls for treason probe into Andrew as Royal Lodge searches continue

Prince William has admitted he is not in a “calm state” as the fallout from his uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor‘s arrest continues.

The royal family is facing its greatest crisis in decades after the arrest of the former prince on his 66th birthday on Thursday.

Appearing together with Princess Kate at the Baftas on Sunday for the first time since the arrest, William was asked if he had seen the film Hamnet.

“I need to be in quite a calm state and I am not at the moment,” he told reporters. “I will save it.”

It comes as senior MP and former Tory cabinet minister Tom Tugendhat called for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to face a treason investigation over allegations he leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein.

Police searches at Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home of Royal Lodge entered their fourth day and are to continue into Monday.

Royal sources told The Guardian on Saturday that Charles would not stop Parliament from enacting legislation that would prevent Andrew from ever ascending to the throne.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told The Independent that the issue is “a matter for Parliament”.

Mainstream schools to receive extra funding to support Send children

More funding will be given to mainstream schools to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) as part of a £4bn package to make the system more inclusive, the government has announced.

Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major overhaul to be announced by the Department for Education (DfE) on Monday.

Some £1.6bn over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.

Another £1.8bn over the same period will go towards creating an “experts at hand” service, made up of specialists such as Send teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.

Schools will be able to draw from this bank on demand regardless of whether pupils have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to – the Department for Education (DfE) said.

Unions broadly welcomed the commitment to reform but warned they would be scrutinising the detail when the Schools White Paper is released to see whether the changes are enough.

A further £200m will be invested in Send outreach teams for communities, and another £200m for local authorities to “transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services”, the DfE said.

Sir Keir Starmer claimed that “tailored support” for families would bring an an end to the “one size fits all system”.

“I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need,” he said.

“But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given.”

Meanwhile, the education secretary said the government was “fiercely ambitious for children and young people with Send”, who deserve a system that “lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on to achieve”.

She said: “These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this Government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child.”

But public service union Unison said the money “has to go where it’s needed” and “exactly how that will happen under these new plans is not clear”.

Head of education at the union Mike Short said: “The broad themes in the White Paper are encouraging and cutting the disadvantage gap is key if every child is to achieve and thrive.

“Any reforms must ensure there’s enough funding to support all children and pay staff properly for the work they do.”

He added: “Ministers and schools must properly recognise and reward the vital role support staff play in delivering for children with Send.”

It comes amid concerns that Send children will have plans setting out their right to support reviewed as part of the reforms.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said she has some “big concerns” about “what is being floated” in proposals to reform special education provision in schools, amid reports that children with a legal right to special needs support will face a review when they move to secondary school.

Ms Trott told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “For too many parents … they’ve had to fight for the support and the idea that they’re going to be reassessed will be genuinely frightening, and I do worry about that.”

Ms Trott said it has been “way too hard” for many parents to get support, adding: “Once that support is in place, for many young people that has actually been very effective.

“So, it’s important that that is not taken away. The stress that this system has meant for so many parents up and down the country, they’ve been worried for about a year now, because there was a leak that EHCPs (education, health and care plans) were going to be taken away.

“Now we’ve got the education secretary on here saying that they might be reviewed. I mean, it’s just too much for parents. They need to just take away this anxiety and we would absolutely oppose any support being withdrawn.”

The National Association of Headteachers welcomed the “principle” of more support for pupils in mainstream schools and said “along with this significant investment, we will be scrutinising the details closely and speaking to school leaders to weigh up whether it is sufficient”.

“There will always be some pupils whose needs are so great that they require support in a special school, and it’s crucial the government’s plans ensure all children get the support they need at the right time in the right setting,” Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the union, said.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: “The move to make mainstream schools more inclusive is welcome news.

“Families must have their children’s needs identified early and for them to be given the right help straight away, backed by services fully funded to do the job, and rights underpinned by law.”

The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said “no plan will be perfect” but that reforms to the system should not become the next “political flashpoint” in Westminster.

“The costs of delay are already being felt,” associate director Avnee Morjaria said.

“This must now be a moment for everyone to get behind a serious programme of reform.”

The White Paper, set to be published in full on Monday, will also set a target to halve the disadvantage gap by the time children born under this government finish secondary school, as part of a plan to improve the education system in England.