UK and US sign landmark Data Access Agreement – Home Office

‘Home Secretary Priti Patel last night (Thursday 3 October) signed an historic agreement that will enable British law enforcement agencies to directly demand electronic data relating to terrorists, child sexual abusers and other serious criminals from US tech firms.’

FUll press release

Home Office, 4th October 2019

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

‘Devoted’ Windrush sisters face separation because of birth dates – The Guardian

Posted October 7th, 2019 in citizenship, deportation, families, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘Two Windrush sisters who describe themselves as “inseparable” face being split up by the Home Office because of their different dates of birth.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 6th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nearly all Home Office misconduct inquiries relate to immigration – The Guardian

Posted October 4th, 2019 in complaints, government departments, immigration, news, professional conduct by tracey

‘Almost all of the investigations into alleged serious misconduct by Home Office staff relate to immigration matters, the Guardian has learned. Although the department also has responsibility for policing and counter-terrorism, 96% of its internal investigations focus on immigration matters. Scores of these investigations have substantiated allegations against staff made internally or by the public.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 4th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home secretary to order review into VIP abuse investigation – BBC News

‘Home Secretary Priti Patel is to order a third inquiry into the Met’s widely criticised investigation into allegations of a VIP paedophile ring.’

Full Story

BBC News, 3rd October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Home Office reverses deportation threat to Liverpool doctor – BBC News

Posted October 3rd, 2019 in deportation, doctors, government departments, immigration, news, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office has reversed a decision to order a young doctor to leave the country.’

Full Story

BBC News, 2nd October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family courts hearing FGM cases do not have jurisdiction to injunct Home Secretary on asylum matters, rules senior judge – Local Government Lawyer

‘There is no jurisdiction for a family court to make a FGM (female genital mutilation) protection order against the Home Secretary to control the exercise of her jurisdiction with respect to matters of immigration and asylum, the President of the Family Division has concluded.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 30th September 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Home Office faces court challenge over allowing asylum seekers to be interrogated by countries from which they are trying to flee – Independent

Posted September 30th, 2019 in asylum, government departments, news, Zimbabwe by michael

‘The Home Office is to be challenged in court over its practice of inviting foreign government representatives to interview political asylum seekers after The Independent exposed the “corrupt” exercise.’

Full Story

Independent, 30th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tory minister admits UK breached court order banning arms sales to Saudi Arabia again – The Independent

‘The government has again admitted breaching a court order banning arms sales to Saudi Arabia over concerns they could be used in the Yemen war.’

Full Story

The Independent, 26th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office ‘doomed to repeat the mistakes of Windrush’ – The Guardian

Posted September 19th, 2019 in asylum, burden of proof, government departments, immigration, news, statistics, torture by tracey

‘The mistakes made by the Home Office over the Windrush scandal are doomed to be repeated unless the department completely overhauls its systems, according to a report about its approach to processing immigration applications.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Staggering’ Home Office disregard for innocent people saw thousands lose visas in cheating scandal, MPs say – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2019 in delay, examinations, fraud, government departments, news, universities, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office showed “staggering” disregard for innocent people during the visa scandal that saw more than 50,000 overseas students accused of cheating and cost taxpayers nearly £20m, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee found that hundreds of people were still protesting their innocence at “great personal cost” more than five years after being accused of fraudulently passing English language tests due to the Home Office’s delay in responding to indications that some may have been wrongly caught up in the probe.’

Full Story

The Independent, 18th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Terms of reference for independent review of Prevent announced – Home Office

Posted September 17th, 2019 in crime prevention, government departments, press releases, terrorism by tracey

‘The terms of reference setting out the purpose and structure of the independent review have been published today.’ Full press release Home Office, 16th September 2019 Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Home Office to fund use of AI to help catch dark web paedophiles – The Guardian

‘Artificial intelligence could be used to help catch paedophiles operating on the dark web, the Home Office has announced.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Government apologises for breaching court ruling against arms sales to Saudi Arabia – The Independent

‘The government has apologised for breaching a court ruling against the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the Yemen conflict.’

Full Story

The Independent, 16th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Watchdog questions collection of public’s Gov.uk data – BBC News

‘The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office is questioning the UK government about the collection of personal data on its Gov.uk platform.’

Full Story

BBC News, 12th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

No 10 request for user data from government website sparks alarm – The Guardian

Posted September 11th, 2019 in brexit, consent, data protection, government departments, human rights, internet, news, privacy by tracey

‘Data privacy campaign groups and Labour have expressed alarm after it emerged Downing Street has ordered departments to centralise the collection and analysis of user information from the government’s main public information website ahead of Brexit.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 10th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum-Seeking Children Might Not Be Able To Reunite With Their Families After Brexit, Campaigners Warn – Rights Info

‘The Home Office is looking to end the current system which reunites asylum-seeking children with their families if a no-deal Brexit goes through.’

Full Story

Rights Info, 2nd September 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Home Office faces legal battle over Prevent reviewer – The Guardian

Posted August 29th, 2019 in conflict of interest, government departments, human rights, news, terrorism by tracey

‘Human rights campaigners have threatened the Home Office with legal action over its appointment of Lord Carlile as the independent reviewer of its anti-radicalisation programme Prevent.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 29th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Investigation prompts rapid upgrades to asylum seekers’ homes – The Guardian

‘Hundreds of asylum seekers crammed into a network of “guest houses” provided by a Home Office contractor that are overrun by cockroaches, rats and mice have seen a raft of improvements in the past few days after the Guardian exposed their dire living conditions.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ad telling EU citizens how to stay in UK after Brexit banned for being ‘misleading’ – The Independent

‘A Home Office campaign informing EU nationals how to confirm their UK status after Brexit has been banned by the advertising watchdog for being “misleading”.’

Full Story

The Independent, 27th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Courts to get anti-knife crime powers with Asbo-style orders for children as young as 12 – The Independent

‘Courts will be given extra powers to impose rules and curfews on anyone aged 12 or over who may be carrying a knife, the Home Office has announced. The Asbo-style powers, called knife crime prevention orders (KCPOs), are civil orders that can be imposed on people who the courts believe pose a threat to the public through the use of a bladed weapon. The powers will be introduced as part of the Offensive Weapons Act, which is attempting to tackle knife crime and serious violence.’

Full Story

The Independent, 18th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk