Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has dodged a grilling by the opposition this afternoon over the Government’s failure to deport the Rochdale grooming gang ringleader.
Opposition Assistant Whip Katie Lam has submitted an urgent question on the matter, which she was set to pose to Ms Mahmood.
However, the Home Secretary has not appeared at the dispatch box today, with Home Office Minister and MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley, Alex Norris taking questions instead,.
Ms Lam is pressing Labour to change the law to deport Shabir Ahmed, who was released from prison this week after spending 14 years behind bars for child rape offences.
The Government so far have failed to deport the Pakistani, as he claims he revoked his Pakistani citizenship by destroying his passport.
The 73-year-old paedophile cannot be deported due to a provision in the Immigration Act 1971., which exempted Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 from removal.
Ahmed left Pakistan in the late 1960s to come to the UK, so he is currently protected under this exemption.
Pakistani ministers and officials claim the paedophile is no longer a citizen of their country, effectively blocking his return to the country.
His British passport was also taken away from him in 2016, so he could be deported after his release.
Kemi Badenoch says she doesn’t regret not staying up for World Cup match against Mexico
Kemi Badenoch said she thinks England can go ‘all the way’
| PA
Kemi Badenoch said she did not regret not staying up for England’s World Cup match against Mexico.
The Tory leader told a Politics UK event on Monday evening that if she had done so, she would “probably be asleep right now”.
Asked whether she regretted not staying up, she said: “No, no, no. I woke up, my son had been up at five watching it on catch-up and he’s so, so excited…by the time I was up, he was just over the moon.
“But I wasn’t going to stay up to 1am because if I did, then I wouldn’t be here, I’d probably be asleep right now, and I wouldn’t want all of you to be disappointed. But it’s a fantastic result.
“I was a bit worried that Mexico on their home turf would be quite tough to beat, so no, I think we can go all the way.”
Lib Dems, Greens, SNP and Plaid all write to Andy Burnham to demand PR be introduced before next General Election
MPs from five smaller parties have written to Andy Burnham to demand the Makerfield MP introduce proportional representation (PR) should he succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
The letter has been signed by parliamentary leader of the Greens Ellie Chowns, Cabinet Office spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats Lisa Smart, Westminster leader of the SNP Dave Doogan, Westminster leader of Plaid Cymru Liz Saville Roberts, and Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood.
It claims there is “no time to lose”, and that Mr Burnham should “swiftly” set up a national commission on electoral reform.
Consultants in England vote to strike
Consultants in England have voted in favour of strike action, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
A ballot by the union found 76 per cent of senior medics would be willing to walk out.
The BMA said consultants now have a mandate for strike action over the next 12 months.
Health Secretary James Murray said there is “simply no justification” for industrial action that will disrupt the NHS, and stressed that consultants are “some of the highest paid public sector staff”.
Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, co-chairs of the BMA consultants committee, said: “This is a clear message from consultants in England that they are not willing to tolerate the continued attack on their pay and professional value, and that, if necessary, they are willing to act.
“Consultants are the most senior and expert doctors working in hospitals, but by failing to recognise and support them to be the best clinical leaders, working tirelessly to improve care for patients, we risk losing them.”
Conservative MP says Labour needs to ‘frogmarch’ Shabir Ahmed to the airport
Lincoln Jopp speaking in the Commons earlier
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PARLIAMENT.TV
A Conservative MP has called on Labour to “frogmarch” Shabir Ahmed to the airport for deportation as soon as possible
The Tory MP for Spelthorne Lincoln Jopp said: “The minister has come here and said that all options are on the table. But he’s also said he needs to tread carefully.
“Can I just tell him that, according to the people of Spelthorne who’ve been talking to me about this all weekend, they don’t want him to tread carefully.
“They want him to pull on his hobnail boots and frogmarch Shabir Ahmed to the airport today.”
Alex Norris says the Tories failed to amend Immigration Act 1971 while in power
Home Office Minister Alex Norris took aim at the Conservatives, saying the Tories had not amended the Immigration Act 1971 while they were in power.
The 1971 law forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.
Reports have also suggested Pakistan might not accept Ahmed because he had previously renounced his citizenship.
However, a Downing Street spokesman has confirmed it has raised the issue with officials in Islamabad.
Mr Norris added: “Nevertheless, we are where we are, and the spirit in which she offers that support I think is welcome and I think the public will want to see Parliament come together to make sure that in cases where people commit really serious crimes, we’re able to remove them from the country.”
Rochdale MP says Shabir Ahmed’s crimes are a ‘damning indictment’ of public service failures
The MP for Rochdale Paul Waugh has said the crimes of grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed are a “damning indictment” of the failure of public services.
Mr Waugh said: “Shabir Ahmed is a dangerous manipulative pedophile whose sickening crimes are a damning indictment of the failure of the public authorities to adequately protect victims of the Rochdale grooming gang.
“Does the Minister agree with me that now we have the new immigration bill we have the chance to make sure child rapists like Ahmed are indeed deported back to Pakistan?”
Home Office Minister Alex Norris said: “We are looking at all of those options…I will give him my total assurance we work day in day out with returning countries to make sure they take back their foreign offenders.”
Katie Lam says failure to deport Shabir Ahmed is ‘not just absurd but sickening’
Katie Lam slammed Labour over the plans
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PARLIAMENT.TV
Katie Lam has said Labour’s failure to deport Shabir Ahmed is “not just absurd but sickening”.
The Opposition Whip and MP for Weald of Kent said: “His victims were promised that when he got out of prison he would be deported back to Pakistan. He has been released but now we are told he would not be deported because of a provision in the 1971 Immigration Act.
“The idea he might be allowed to stay in this country due to a clause in a decades old law is not just absurd, but sickening.
“As recently as 2023, parole officers concluded Ahmed poses ‘a very high risk of serious harm to children’. How can he possibly be allowed to walk the streets again?”
In response, Alex Norris said: “I share her anger, I share her concern too of the anger of the British people who rightly expect that when foreign offenders break our laws they are removed.”
Labour minister says Home Office has ‘not given up’ on removing Shabir Ahmed
Home Office Minister Alex Norris said Labour has “not given up” on trying to deport Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed.
Mr Norris said: “The grooming gangs scandal was, and will forever be one, of the darkest moments in our nation’s history. I know for those impacted it will have been unbelievably painful to learn one of the perpetrators was due for release from prison.
“Shabir Ahmed held British citizenship at the time of these offences and action was taken to deprive him of that right, reflecting the seriousness of those offences.
“When a foreign national breaks the laws of this land, our first priority will always to get them out of the UK…the fact that this has not so far has not been possible with an individual responsible for such heinous crimes as Shabir Ahmed is unacceptable.
“I can assure the house we have not given up and we will not.”
Katie Lam up to ask urgent question
Opposition Assistant Whip Katie Lam
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PARLIAMENT.TV
Conservative MP and Opposition Assistant Whip Katie Lam is on her feet to ask a question about grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed.
Two councils in England still have no ruling party after local elections
Two councils in England are still without a leader or ruling party two months on from May’s local elections, in further evidence of Britain’s fragmented politics.
The elections on May 7 left 64 local authorities, almost half the number that held contests this year, without a single party holding a majority of seats, leaving them in what is known as “no overall control”.
Deals between local parties have seen administrations formed in almost all of those councils, with many being run by one or more groups on a minority basis.
But in Oldham in Greater Manchester, and Kirklees in West Yorkshire, repeated attempts to elect a new leader have failed.
Labour had run Oldham since 2011 but May’s elections left them as the largest party on the council with 18 seats, well short of the 31 needed to form a majority.
At Kirklees, the elections left Reform the largest party with 29 seats, ahead of Independents on 14, the Greens on 12, the Tories on nine and the Lib Dems on five.
No party has the 35 seats needed for a majority and attempts to elect a leader failed on May 20 and May 28.
Both Oldham and Kirklees are due to meet again on July 15 for another vote.
‘We will see if Andy Burnham is serious’ – Chris Philp sizes up incoming Prime Minister over grooming gang ringleader deportation
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has sized up Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham after the Conservatives “developed a solution” to deport grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed.
Writing on X, Mr Philp said: “We have developed a solution to close the legal loophole preventing child gang rapist Shabir Ahmed from being deported back to Pakistan.
“We will see if Andy Burnham is serious and accepts our amendment – or, better, passes it as emergency legislation.”
The Conservatives put forward draft changes which would enable the Government to deport the Pakistani-born Rochdale grooming gang leader, who was released from prison last week.
Britain slaps Russia with fresh sanctions on chemical weapons developers behind Novichok poisonings
Lawyers for Palestine Action argued that the decision by Yvette Cooper was ‘novel and unprecedented’ | GETTY
The UK Government has imposed fresh sanctions on the scientists and institutions behind the development of a Novichok nerve agent used in the 2018 Salisbury assassination plot.
Dawn Sturgess died during the incident after coming into contact with the poison used in an attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The new sanctions announced by the Foreign Office also targeted the Russians involved in the development of the Epibatidine toxin used against Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition leader and critic of Vladimir Putin.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Russia’s repeated use of chemical weapons is a sickening violation of international law and a direct threat to global security.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Shadow Defence Secretary highlights Labour’s defence failings after British forces encounter Russian provocation in Arctic
A Russian maritime patrol aircraft’s encounter with British forces in the Arctic “underlines once again that the threat from Russia is real”, the Conservatives have said, pointing to Labour’s defence failings.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “Russia’s provocative actions are totally unjustified, and we back our brave service personnel in facing them down.
“But this underlines once again that the threat from Russia is real, and why Labour must set out exactly how they are going to fund their shambolic defence investment plan.
“Only by prioritising defence spending over a bigger welfare state can the Government hope to deliver the funding our forces need.
“That’s why we’ve repeatedly offered to support the Government, and work together in the national interest, to take the tough decisions necessary to cut welfare and back our armed forces with the resources needed to keep us safe.”
Fears Andy Burnham set to push ahead with Keir Starmer’s £35billion Chagos surrender deal
Wannabe Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing to complete Labour’s Chagos Islands giveaway, sources have claimed.
The handover of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which played a substantial role in the downfall of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, is expected to cost taxpayers around £35billion.
Multiple sources familiar with Mr Burnham’s thinking have claimed the ex-Greater Manchester Mayor is heavily influenced by Sir Keir’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell.
Mr Powell, who Guido Fawkes expects to keep his role after Mr Burnham secures the keys to No10, referred to Britain’s vital strategic territory as “very tiny islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean where no one actually goes”.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Foreign Office staff cull looms as department left leaderless during pivotal period
Sir Olly Robbins delivered his damning evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee this morning | PARLIAMENT TV
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is in turmoil after the sacking of Sir Olly Robbins in April over Peter Mandelson’s security vetting, leaving behind a restructuring plan and a proposed 25 to 30 per cent cut in the department’s wage bill.
The job of permanent under-secretary was advertised last month but, for now, the FCDO is leaderless as a staff cull looms with few staffers safe.
Olly Robbins left behind a contentious restructuring programme known as FCDO2030, which proposes slashing the department’s wage bill by between 25 and 30 per cent.
In the most severe scenario outlined by Mr Robbins himself, up to 1,885 UK-based employees could find themselves out of work.
A year ago, the department employed 8,152 staff in Britain, but the restructuring will see Westminster-based directorates reduced from 43 to 34, with those working domestically bearing the initial brunt of cuts.
Hannah Keenan, associate director of the Institute for Government, described the proposed reductions as “an incredibly sharp amount of cuts” carrying “all sorts of risks”.
Staff describe witnessing colleagues reduced to tears as they face the prospect of reapplying for their own positions, and competing for others’ roles too.
“It’s like a horrible game of musical chairs,” one anonymous FCDO official remarked.
‘Mission critical’ to hit spending targets, says Defence Secretary from HMS Prince of Wales
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has raised concerns over alliance spending targets en route to this week’s Nato summit aboard the HMS Prince of Wales.
He said it was “mission critical” to deliver as soon as possible, adding: “Those were the assurances that I was giving to Nato partners when I was in Brussels a couple of weeks ago. That’s what I will be saying to people in Ankara.”
Last week, the Treasury confirmed Andy Burnham will have to find £4.7 billion in savings during his first budget to fully fund the Defence Investment Plan, raising the possibility of further cuts to public services.
Mr Jarvis added: “Other government departments aren’t necessarily going to get the money that they want to do everything that they need to do.”
Labour Party Chair blasts Nigel Farage as ‘pathetically weak’ amid George Cottrell controversy
Chairwoman of the Labour Party Anna Turley has urged Nigel Farage to stop “blaming the media” and answer questions about the support from long-term associate George Cottrell.
The Cabinet minister and Redcar MP said: “Reform’s excuses for the scandals engulfing Nigel Farage are getting pathetically weak. His top team must be wondering how many more times they will be wheeled out to defend the indefensible only for the rap sheet against him to grow just hours later.
“This latest revelation appears to pour cold water on Farage’s claims that the gifts and support he received from a convicted criminal were not in support of his political activities.
“Nigel Farage must come out of hiding and level with the public. It’s time he stopped blaming the media and took responsibility for his actions.”
The Sunday Times said Mr Cottrell recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.
Nigel Farage has ‘serious questions to answer’ says Education minister
Nigel Farage has “serious questions to answer”, a minister has said as the Reform UK leader faces calls for an investigation into financial support given to him by a convicted criminal.
Education minister Olivia Bailey said she was shocked at the Clacton MP’s reaction after he claimed he is the victim of an “establishment hit job”.
She told LBC: “I think he’s got really, really serious questions to answer, and to be honest, I’m really shocked to see the reaction from him, from Robert Jenrick on the telly yesterday, trying to obfuscate, trying to say there’s nothing to see here, trying to accuse the Times of being a Labour-supporting newspaper.
“I did chuckle at that one. I think it’s ridiculous, I think it’s offensive to the British public. I think there are serious questions to answer, and I hope that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner proceeds with their investigations.”
Education minister urges children to get into school this morning after late nights for England vs Mexico
Education minister Olivia Bailey has said children should be in school this morning despite staying up late for the England vs Mexico match of the World Cup overnight.
Ms Bailey told Sky News: “Well, it’s definitely acceptable for them to have stayed up late. Of course, children can stay up and watch it, but get themselves into school this morning.
“Might feel a bit tired, but it’s important you’re there. And of course, you can celebrate with your mates as well, because what a great game it was.”
She added that, as the England team showed resilience, it’s important for children to learn resilience by going to school after a poor night’s sleep.
“It’d be a great time to enjoy your lunch break in a kickabout with friends to celebrate the result.”
Government crackdown on overseas political donors after Nigel Farage’s controversial £5m gift
Overseas donors to political parties will have to wait a year after moving back to the UK before being able to give more than £100,000 a year, the Government is to announce today.
These new rules could potentially hit two of Reform UK’s biggest donors – cryptocurrency tycoons Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo – who have both announced plans to return to the UK.
A £3m donation from Thailand-based crypto-billionaire Harborne was the largest single donation Nigel Farage’s party received between January and March 2026, placing the leader under much public scrutiny.
The Electoral Commission figures also showed that Ben Delo, another cryptocurrency magnate based in Hong Kong, donated £4m to Reform in two £2m lump sums in January and March.
Additionally, only legitimate UK-linked businesses will be able to donate, and these will be assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years, rather than revenue alone.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “British democracy is not for sale. These tough new rules will shut down dodgy funding, stop foreign money influencing our elections and keep our democracy strong.
“By holding overseas donors to tougher standards and requiring candidates to prove where their funding comes from, we are taking world-leading action to protect the integrity of our elections and tackle the threats we face from abroad.”