Labour’s asylum plans are horribly cruel – but they’re also a mix of hype, old policy and unachievable promises | Diane Taylor

There is mounting disquiet among Labour MPs, while the vulnerable refugees at the heart of this story are living with a renewed sense of panic

If the home secretary’s twin aims in making her controversial series of immigration reform announcements this week were to receive a ringing endorsement from the far right and to make migrants quake in their boots, she has succeeded – possibly even exceeded – her own expectations.

The endorsement came on Saturday, courtesy of Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. In response to a post on X which predicted that Shabana Mahmood would announce that refugees will be granted only a temporary stay in the UK and deported if their home countries are later deemed safe, he posted: “The Overton window has been obliterated, well done patriots.” Meanwhile, asylum seekers and refugees I have spoken to are panicked, trembling and crying at the prospect of having to be uprooted once again after feeling safe in the UK, often after experiencing years of risk and danger.

Diane Taylor writes on human rights, racism and civil liberties

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