Politics latest: Shabana Mahmood warns of Trump-style visa ban and says illegal migration ‘tearing UK apart’

“This country has a proud tradition of welcoming those fleeing danger, but our generosity is drawing illegal migrants across the Channel,” home secretary Shabana Mahmood said.

“The pace and scale of migration is placing immense pressure on communities.

“This week, I will set out the most sweeping changes to our asylum system in a generation. We will restore order and control to our borders.”

She also told The Sunday Times newspaper the changes are “designed to essentially say to people: do not come to this country as an illegal migrant, do not get on a boat”.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood is to announce what she has billed as “sweeping reforms” to the UK’s asylum system.

Ms Mahmood will outline an overhaul of the way Britain grants sanctuary to those fleeing conflict and hardship abroad, in a statement in the House of Commons on Monday.

The reforms are aimed at making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and making it easier to remove them from the UK.

Many of the measures have already made it into the public domain via briefings to newspapers.

Shabana Mahmood is set to unveil a raft of wide-ranging immigration reforms to the Commons on Monday – but many of them have already been announced over the weekend.

Below, John Rentoul explains all you need to know about the plans and what they mean for asylum seekers in the UK.

The home secretary has condemned speculation around the Labour leadership as “deeply mortifying” as allies of Angela Rayner were forced to deny a bid to topple the prime minister, just days after the health secretary had to do the same.

Shabana Mahmood said the past week of Labour infighting has been “horribly embarrassing” as she called on ministers to “focus on the job” rather than engage in “tittle tattle”.

You can read the full story below…

The home secretary was warned Labour MPs that “dark forces” are stirring up anger over migration.

It comes after suggestions senior Labour figures are uneasy over Shabana Mahmood’s radical proposals to overhaul the immigration system.

In a piece in The Guardian Ms Mahmood said: “I know that a country without secure borders is a less safe country for those who look like me.

“Dark forces are stirring up anger in this country, and seeking to turn that anger into hate. We must take the opportunity we have to stop that from happening. And I know we can,” she wrote.

“The true nature of this country is openness, tolerance and generosity. We want to provide sanctuary to those in danger. We want to be a Greater Britain, not a littler England. To do so, we must restore order and control.”

Home Office officials have claimed the ECHR “is allowing large numbers of people to stay in the UK, against the public’s wishes”, and that new legislation will allow Britain to ramp up the number of removals.

But critics have hit out at the proposals, warning any move to alter how the UK interprets the rules will drive asylum seekers underground and leave them vulnerable to exploitation.

Caitlin Doherty has the full story…

In one of the other week’s major stories, shadow home secretary Chris Philp has warned sending BBC licence fee money “over to Mar-a-Lago” would not be a “smart” thing to do.

It comes after Donald Trump threatened to sue the corporation for up to $5bn.

You can read more from Caitlin Doherty below…

Nigel Farage has said Shabana Mahmood “sounds like a Reform supporter” as she laid out her plans to overhaul the asylum system.

In a post on X the Reform leader said: “It’s a shame that the Human Rights Act, ECHR and her own backbenchers mean that this will never happen.”