Afternoon summary
Keir Starmer has told MPs that, when the international media is allowed to enter Gaza, he expects that will lead to more debate about the “full horror” of what happened there. He made the comment during a long statement in the Commons about the peace deal negotiated by Donald Trump. Starmer praised the president for his contribution, but stressed that the process had a very long way to go. But the two-state solution now had its best chance of being implemented since the 1990s, he said.
Migrants coming to the UK to work will need to learn English to an A-level standard under new rules set to be introduced, PA Media reports. PA says tougher requirements for speaking, listening, reading and writing will be needed for certain visas, as part of the government’s immigration white paper measures announced in May. The white paper seeks to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK. Those applying for skilled worker, scale-up visa routes, and graduates under the high potential individual (HPI) visa will need to reach B2 level, instead of the current B1 standard. Applicants will have to pass the secure English language test at a Home Office-approved provider in person, with their results to be checked as part of the visa process. Commenting on the move, Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, a charity working with migrants, said:
It is bitterly disappointing to see a Labour government that promised to kickstart growth and give workers a ‘new deal’, instead recycle a version of Reform’s politics that demonises migrant workers and arbitrarily move the goal posts on what counts as integration. The last thing anyone needs after a summer of far-right violence is more tough talk based on bad data.
By the government’s own admission, most migrant workers are already fluent in English. Increasing English language requirements from intermediate to upper intermediate won’t make any difference to integration - this is already happening. It will simply make migrants feel less welcome, and reinforce false stereotypes.
The government would be wiser to look to other parts of the white paper where it promised to explore making sponsored visas more flexible for the benefit of both employers and workers.
Updated
NI Troubles bill will stop Gerry Adams getting compensation over 1970s internment, Hilary Benn confirms
New legislation to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles includes provisions to block Gerry Adams from receiving compensation over being interned in the 1970s, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Troubles bill being introduced today will also give legislative effect to a range of new mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the conflict.
Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn had already signalled the government’s intent to ensure the draft legislation acted on the issue of potential compensation to internees whose detention without trial during the conflict has since been ruled to have been unlawful on a legal technicality.
A supreme court judgment in 2020 paved the way for former Sinn Fein president Mr Adams to secure compensation over his internment in the early 1970s.
Adams won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.
The supreme court ruled that his detention was unlawful because the interim custody order (ICO) used to initially detain him had not been “considered personally” by then secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Willie Whitelaw.
At the time of the case, the previous government contended that the ICOs were lawful because of a long-standing convention, known as the Carltona principle, where officials and junior ministers routinely act in the name of the secretary of state.
Adams subsequently successfully challenged a decision to deny an application for compensation for his detention.
However, the 2023 Legacy Act introduced by the last Conservative government stopped such payouts to Adams and other former internees.
The act retrospectively validated the ICOs to make them lawful and halted civil claims related to the orders.
However, in February last year, the high court in Belfast ruled that the provisions of the act related to the ICOs were incompatible with the European convention on human rights.
The Labour government did not appeal against that section of the high court judgment but Benn pledged to find a lawful means to block payouts.
The Troubles bill will seek to reaffirm the so-called Carltona principle into law – a move the government believes will prevent payouts.
While the Legacy Act’s provisions in relation to ICOs – sections 46 and 47 – were ruled incompatible with ECHR by the high court, the government is retaining those sections on the statute book until such time as the Troubles bill becomes law.
Addressing the Commons today, Benn said: “We must put beyond doubt parliament’s intention by clarifying that the relevant legislation allows such orders (ICOs) to be made by junior ministers, as well as by the secretary of state.”
