Peter Kyle did not dispute Times’ report that under a ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ supermarkets might start running out of some items Reform UK has said that it would tighten the law to make it easier to prosecute lawyers and advisers who help people make bogus asylum claims. Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, announced the proposals in response to a major BBC investigation illustrating the extent of fraud in the asylum advice industry. Anyone abusing protections for people fleeing persecution over gender or sexual orientation is beyond contempt. Let me be clear: try to defraud the British people to enter or remain in the UK and your asylum claim will be refused, your support cut off, and you will find yourself on a one-way flight out of Britain. A Reform UK government will put a stop to the legal-industrial complex exploiting the generosity of the British taxpayer. We will criminally prosecute unscrupulous immigration lawyers by creating a new strict liability offence. We will also end legal aid for illegal arrivals and visa overstayers. Those who break into our country will no longer get taxpayer funds to fight their removal. Reform will ensure our borders are secured, illegal migrants deported and British taxpayers are no longer defrauded in this manner. A Reform government will make facilitating a false asylum claim a ‘strict liability’ criminal offence. There will be no requirement to prove intent in prosecutions, and this serious crime will be punishable by up to 2 years in jail. Lawyers defrauding the British people in this way will not be tolerated. Similar duties already apply to law firms and lawyers to prevent bribery and tax evasion and it’s reasonable to also apply this to immigration law firms. Currently head teachers have the power to ban smartphones in their schools, with a number of councils in Scotland having acted. However Swinney said that the SNP will now seek to “ensure a full national ban in Scotland’s classrooms”. Continue reading...