Foreign
Asylum seekers housed in UK hotels to have allowance cut to £1.25 a day
The change was disclosed in a form of legislation called a statutory instrument, which was quietly released by the Home Office last week.
There has been a growing backlash among Conservative backbenchers over the £8m a day cost to the taxpayer to house people seeking asylum.
Ministers promised to end the use of hotels in May 2021 but were struggling to set up the Rwanda deportation plan that they hoped would deter small boats from crossing the Channel.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the change in the rules would plunge more people seeking asylum into poverty and destitution.
“They are constantly struggling to afford even basic essentials, such as basic toiletries and paying for travel to attend Home Office appointments, at a time when the cost of living is rising. This has a real impact on the mental health and wellbeing of men, women and children who are already coping with trauma and anxiety,” he said.
“With thousands of people waiting for a decision on their asylum claim, unable to work and forced to rely on the Home Office for everything, the payments should reflect actual need and be increased to a level that makes dignified living possible so people can support themselves and their families.”
People seeking asylum are not allowed to work, pay taxes or arrange their own accommodation while their claims are being processed.
Those living in hotels do not pay for accommodation, meals and toiletries. But costs such as travel, over-the-counter medications, mobile phone data, clothes and other essentials must be met by the weekly allowance.
About 50,000 people are being forced to stay in adapted and restrictive hotels on a tightly controlled sustenance budget while waiting for a decision.
The cut in their allowance follows a decision by the Home Office to use a new method called disaggregated CPI to calculate the change in prices of goods determined to be needed to meet essential needs.
David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, who has not had his contract renewed by ministers, has raised concerns that children living in hotels were missing developmental milestones linked to poor diet, with children and babies failing to thrive.
He blamed the slow processing of asylum claims by the government as the main reason behind the use of hotels. “Speeding up decisions on asylum claims must be the medium-term objective of any government, providing hope to applicants with legitimate claims, and some level of certainty to the tens of thousands stuck in limbo,” Neal said.
The government has also resisted pressure from Conservative MPs to allow asylum seekers to work while waiting for their claims to be processed.
Dominic Raab, the former deputy prime minister, has said he would be “open-minded” about the proposal. The Tory MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, David Simmonds, has been at the forefront of a campaign to allow asylum seekers to work and aid integration.
Asylum seekers in self-catering accommodation will receive an increase in their weekly allowance from £47.39 a week to £49.18. Pregnant women and families with children aged three and under will also receive an increase.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The level of the allowance given to individuals is reviewed each year to ensure it covers essential living needs. This year weekly allowances have increased for many, including pregnant women and young children.
“We continue to meet our legal obligations by providing support and accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. “
An Australia-based Nigerian, Foluso Omole, is facing trial over his alleged role in a $5m fraud involving the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Omole was arrested by operatives of the Australian Federal Police at Adelaide Airport last Friday while allegedly attempting to flee Australia.
According to the report, Omole had allegedly “cut ties” in Adelaide and was preparing to travel to Nigeria before his arrest, a court heard.
The 38-year-old appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, where his bail application was refused following allegations that he had attempted to leave Australia for Nigeria.
The court heard that Omole, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, had “purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria” before his arrest.
A prosecutor also told the court that Omole appeared to have “sent, over the course of his offending, significant funds back to Nigeria”, where his wife resides.
The report stated that Omole was working as an NDIS coordinator and operating two businesses that employed several staff at the time of the alleged offences.
The prosecutor reportedly told the court that Omole allegedly received information “improperly” from a woman employed by the National Disability Insurance Agency over a period of six years and “used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently”.
The woman, who has also been charged in connection with the alleged fraud, was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
However, disputing the allegation that Omole intended to flee Australia, his lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told the court that his client had informed him that he planned to travel to London on a “return ticket” purchased before any raid on the woman’s home.
“The charges are denied. He has no record at all.
“My client has good reason why he should be given bail,” Twiggs said.
Omole is yet to enter pleas to one count of dealing with proceeds of an indictable crime worth more than $1m and one count of dealing with money or property valued at more than $1m that is allegedly the proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Patrick Hill, however, refused bail, citing concerns that Omole posed a flight risk.
“Whether it was a one-way ticket to Nigeria or a return ticket to London does make a difference as to the court’s assessment of whether or not Mr Omole is a flight risk.
“For the other reasons put forward by the prosecution, in any event, I remain concerned that he is a risk of flight and the bail application is refused,” Hill said.
In April, a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, were jailed in the United Kingdom for their involvement in a similar fraud scheme.
The couple reportedly used personal data belonging to Transport for London employees to carry out a tax rebate fraud scheme that cost the public purse more than £433,000.
The fraud, which was carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, was reportedly based on sensitive information belonging to at least 40 TfL workers, including passport details, National Insurance numbers and bank records. The information was used to submit 139 fraudulent tax refund claims.
Court proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court revealed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in TfL’s human resources department, had access to the personal records of about 107 employees, which were later exploited for the scheme.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
-
Crime4 days agoArmy Destroys Three Suspected IPOB/ESN Camps, Kills Three in Anambra
-
Crime4 days agoBreaking: Knight Attacks Catholic Priest After Mass in Enugu
-
News5 days agoBREAKING: Osun 2026: Adeleke In Early Lead as INEC Uploads 903 Polling-Unit Results
-
Politics4 days ago2027 Enugu Guber: NDC’s Odalije Chinyeaka Ohaa Reiterates Power of Electorates to Hire and Fire Leaders
-
News4 days agoOsun Guber: Adeleke Sweeps 19 LGAs, Oyebamiji Wins 11
-
Special Report4 days agoFederal Roads: Umahi Closing the Gap as Tinubu Addresses Years of Neglect in South-East
-
News5 days ago#OsunDecides2026: Results emerge as voting ends, collations begins in units
-
Crime4 days agoOkigwe Road: The ‘Uniformed Robbery’ Motorists Can No Longer Ignore