UK - England, Wales, N.Ireland, Scotland

[Sam the Centipede]

It is noticeable that the UK "respect the leave referendum vote" government has not suggested having a referendum on whether the UK should join that bloc. My guess is that a referendum would fail massively. But English voters are idiots, so who knows? (Scottish and Northern Irish voters are not as idiotic, the jury's out on Welsh voters as they voted "leave" but I recall some Welsh people said it's English people living in Wales who swung the vote, I dunno.)

[keith]

Prediction: what's left of the UK car manufactoring industry will move to Thailand.

[Gregg]

Prediction: what's left of the UK car manufactoring industry will move to Thailand.

Jaguar (which is Indian owned) is in trouble. Of course, Jaguar has been in trouble pretty much since WWII except for the few minutes that Ford owned it and didn't care how much it lost. We bought it for the cache, not profits.

[Sam the Centipede]

From the BelfastLive website:

Poll: 73% say change Stormont rules to restore power-sharing without DUP

Nearly three quarters of Belfast Live readers surveyed believe Stormont rules should be changed to allow a devolved government to be restored in the DUP's absence.

Almost half think the party will "never" return to power-sharing following the Windsor Framework deal on Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.

Less than 9% predict the DUP will revive the devolved institutions before May's council election, while almost 42% believe the party will resume power-sharing at some point after the election.

I don't know how reliable or representative a BelfastLive poll would be. Accepting the risk of confirmation bias, this supports my contention that the DUP are only interested in Stormont government if they can be the dominant party, appointing the First Minister. Otherwise, like RWers in many countries, they aren't interested in democracy or the will of the people.

[RTH10260]

It's UK travel season once again

Thousands queue at Dover for second day as Braverman accused of denial
Home secretary says Brexit did not cause chaos seen at port as angry customers see trips cancelled

Haroon Siddique , Pippa Crerar and Robyn Vinter
Sun 2 Apr 2023 18.47 BST

Thousands of people have faced a second day stuck in queues at Dover, as Suella Braverman denied post-Brexit checks were to blame for the chaos.

Despite extra sailings put in place overnight on Saturday, P&O Ferries said on Sunday afternoon that coaches arriving at cruise terminal 1 would likely face a total wait of over 10 hours.

Angry customers and parents of schoolchildren caught up in the delays, some of whom had their school trips cancelled as a result, bombarded ferry companies and the port, which declared a critical incident on Friday, with messages on social media.

As the government came under pressure over the situation, Braverman rejected the idea that they were linked to Brexit, although political opponents suggested she was out of touch with reality.

Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the home secretary said operations at the French border had been “very good” since Britain exited the EU.



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -of-denial

[RTH10260]

You think the Nasty American is bad ?

I felt wheelie awful in Amsterdam; no wonder they want British tourists to stay away
Hard-drinking weekenders, Airbnb and noisy suitcases are no longer welcome in cities such as Venice and Marseille

Rachel Cooke
Sat 1 Apr 2023 17.30 BST

To be British is a bit embarrassing at this point and not only because of Brexit. In Amsterdam, hard-drinking British tourists are the target of a “stay away” campaign. In “saturated” Lanzarote, plans are afoot to limit the number of UK visitors. But even for the non-British, the mini-break is increasingly fraught: a political nightmare up there with recycling or driving a car.

The people of Barcelona, Lisbon and Venice are sick of Airbnb and its effect on their cities. In Marseille, where activists may be both more stubborn and more chic than elsewhere, public enemy number one is not M Macron but the ubiquitous valise à roulettes (wheelie suitcase), without which no self-respecting weekender would even consider travelling in the 21st century.

Or would they? I used to feel smug as my dear domestic colleague slung his bag heavily over his shoulder at airports and railway stations (he considers wheels infra dig). But in Amsterdam the other day – we were there to see the Rijksmuseum’s sold-out Vermeer exhibition – I felt things shift. The sound of my plastic wheels on cobbles and tramlines was loud in my ears: a leper’s bell announcing my approach. As T sliced through the crowds, silently and stylishly, I was envious of him and embarrassed for myself. On went my sunglasses, in spite of the clouds. Into the hotel (no Airbnb for us!) I ran, as if I was an international celebrity, and all the other pitiable wheelie-draggers were paparazzi about to shame me.




https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -stay-away

[Volkonski]

Northern Ireland police warn of dissident violence ahead of Biden visit -BBC

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no ... 023-04-07/

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has warned of the potential for public disorder by dissident republicans over the Easter weekend, days before a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Disturbance by individuals who use violence to oppose Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom could be an attempt to draw officers into gun or bomb attacks, the BBC cited Chief Constable Simon Byrne as saying in a public briefing.

The PSNI has made temporary changes to work shifts to put more officers onto frontline duties, he said.

Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the PSNI had "very strong community intelligence" that attacks were being planned in Londonderry, a city near the border with the Republic of Ireland, the BBC reported.

The Police warning comes ahead of President Biden's visit next week and after British intelligence agency MI5 increased the threat level from domestic terrorism in Northern Ireland to "severe".

[RTH10260]

Cultural appropriation?

UK hopes to emulate Japan with cherry blossom tourism plans
Increasing number of trees draw large crowds as National Trust plans 4m blossoming trees across England

Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent
Fri 7 Apr 2023 14.00 BST

Tourists have long travelled to Japan to see its famous cherry blossom in spring.

But the UK could soon have its own industry as the increasing number of the trees in the country draw large crowds each year when in bloom.

The bank holiday is expected to see large numbers of visitors from home and abroad heading to cherry blossom spots, with recent weather conditions creating a bumper year for the trees. On Thursday, dozens of people flocked to Battersea park to take pictures under the blooming row of cherry blossom trees.

The National Trust has vowed to plant 4m blossoming trees across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2030 as part of its wider tree-planting mission, as well as its Blossom Watch campaign, which encourages people to embrace the fleeting beauty of the trees each year.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... rism-plans

[RTH10260]

When the UK immigration policies f*** up --- yeah we are Sovereign --- no need to listen to those Brussels EU directives any longer

Student faces deportation from UK after arriving early for course at university’s request
A mix-up on dates meant Rasikh Aziz travelled from Pakistan too soon. Now the University of Law has reported him to the Home Office

Shanti Das
Sat 8 Apr 2023 16.00 BST

An international student who travelled to the UK two months early after being given the wrong enrolment date by his university is facing deportation after it reported him to the Home Office.

Rasikh Aziz was incorrectly told by the University of Law that he must arrive by October 2022 for a postgraduate course beginning in January 2023, according to documents seen by the Observer. He subsequently flew to the UK and presented himself at the university’s Birmingham campus, where he had an induction, underwent an ID check and was issued with a student card. In January, he began attending classes without a problem.

It was only the following month, when he contacted the international admissions team over a separate matter, that he says he was told by officials that he had arrived several weeks earlier than he should have.

Emails show he was then told that he would need to return to Pakistan and apply to recommence his studies at a later date, or finish the course online. He was initially given one day to confirm his decision. In a subsequent email, he was told that, because he had arrived ahead of the January start date, he was “not considered a student under the student route” as he did not immediately have classes to attend.

As a result, the university said it had withdrawn its sponsorship and reported him to the Home Office. Aziz has now been told he has until 22 May to leave at his own expense, or face being deported.

“It’s not a mistake from my side but I am paying for it,” he said. “I feel disheartened, hurt and very worried about my future. It feels as though I am being treated as though I have done something wrong.”

Aziz, 31, who is from Lahore, is being helped by a charity and immigration experts, who describe his treatment as unfair and say he is being penalised for an administrative error by the university.



https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ys-request

[RTH10260]

frosty climate for sure

UK insulation scheme would take 300 years to meet government targets, say critics
Exclusive: National Energy Action says progress on energy efficiency is too slow and not well targeted at fuel-poor households

Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent
Sun 9 Apr 2023 14.34 BST

The government’s home insulation scheme would take 190 years to upgrade the energy efficiency of the UK’s draughty housing stock, and 300 years to meet the government’s own targets to reduce fuel poverty, according to industry calculations.

Critics of the Great British Insulation Scheme, which aims to insulate 300,000 homes a year over the next three years, have raised concerns that the plan does not go far enough to reach the 19m UK homes that need better insulation.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ay-critics

[RTH10260]

Ukrainian orchestra’s key members refused visas to play in UK
Promoter claims ‘catastrophe’ has cost it more than £88k and accuses British government of hypocrisy

Helen Pidd
Thu 13 Apr 2023 22.56 BST

Key members of a Ukrainian state orchestra were refused visas to play a series of concerts in the UK this month in a “catastrophe” that the promoter claims cost it more than €100,000 (£88,000).

The Khmelnitsky Orchestra was due to tour the UK this month with two shows: The Magical Music of Harry Potter, and The Music From the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit andThe Rings of Power.

The shows had been promoted on the UK government website as an example of British-Ukrainian relations. After the orchestra played the Harry Potter show in Belgium last year, the deputy British ambassador in Brussels, Chloe Louter, hailed it as “an incredible honour to have such an iconic part of British culture being performed by a Ukrainian orchestra”.

The promoter, Star Entertainment, has accused the UK government of hypocrisy.

“They made a big deal out of supporting the Ukrainians but when it came to giving them visas to play in the UK, they didn’t want to know,” said its chief executive, Jaka Bizilj, who is known in the UK entertainment industry after working with Richard Curtis on two film projects and with Bob Geldof on the Cinema for Peace Foundation, which evacuated the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny from Siberia to Berlin in 2020.

He called on the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, to stand down if artists keep being treated like this, saying the immigration difficulties experienced by an increasing number of foreign artists “damages UK citizens, culture and the relationship to Europe”.



https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... as-play-uk

[Volkonski]

Brexit.

[Suranis]

Ya. I read a few weeks ago that the costs of Visas for performers has tripled and more since Brexit. It costs something like £1,600 and more PER PERSON if you want to bring a performance into England now, so if you want to bring an Orchestra, forget it.

It reads like these people wanted Visas for free, and while I am sympathetic to their argument based on the ludicrous costs to come in, there is no way the Tories are going to let that happen.

[RTH10260]

Ya. I read a few weeks ago that the costs of Visas for performers has tripled and more since Brexit. It costs something like £1,600 and more PER PERSON if you want to bring a performance into England now, so if you want to bring an Orchestra, forget it.

It reads like these people wanted Visas for free, and while I am sympathetic to their argument based on the ludicrous costs to come in, there is no way the Tories are going to let that happen.

My guess is that this number includes the mandatory health insurance cost. The absurd part is that each person needs to apply separetly and the UK have obviously no way of creating a package deal for performers where all get approved at once or rejected as a group. That said, the additional cost of supporting staff has not yet been considered nor the cost to get a carnet for all assets getting moved in and oud of the country.

[RTH10260]

London (the real deal - the UK one) is inviting to tourists ...

EU driver slapped with London emissions fines totalling £25,000
Thousands being caught out by little-known requirement to pre-register vehicle with TfL

Anna Tims
Sat 15 Apr 2023 07.03 BST

A French driver has been handed fines totalling nearly £25,000 for driving in London’s low-emissions zone, even though his minibus was exempt from the emissions charge.

Fernando Neiva, who runs a transport service for French tourists to the UK, has received 12 fines of £2,000 each after one of his drivers entered the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) and three fines totalling over £700 for breaching Ultra Low Emissions (Ulez) rules after visits to London last October and November.

The schemes, introduced by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, require vehicles that do not meet current emissions standards to pay a charge to enter the capital. Drivers who fail to do so face fines of up to £3,000 a day. Since Neiva’s vehicle complied with the standards, his company did not pay the fee.

Neiva is one of thousands of EU drivers caught out by a little-known requirement to pre-register their vehicles with Transport for London (TfL). Those who fail to do so have their vehicles classified by default as high emission.

The minibus, registered to Neiva’s company, JD Limousine, and driven by his associate, Jayson Bachubira, was erroneously classed as a heavy diesel vehicle in breach of the LEZ and also held liable for Ulez charges levied on smaller, older vehicles.

Last year, TfL’s collection agency, Euro Parking Collection (EPC), gained access to driver records in Germany, France and the Netherlands, and thousands of motorists have since received fines for trips up to a year ago.

Owing to postal and processing delays, most have missed the option of an early payment discount by the time they receive the PCNs. In many cases, the fine has doubled because it was not received within the 28-day payment deadline.

This week the Guardian revealed that a French driver was fined nearly £11,000 after he attended his son’s wedding in London in an emissions-compliant car. A group of drivers in France is planning legal class action against TfL after receiving large fines without being given the option of proving compliance.




https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... alling-25k

[RTH10260]

Labour glitch put voting intentions data of millions at risk
Exclusive: experts say sensitive information could potentially have been harvested and used for targeted election interference

Pippa Crerar Political editor
Sun 16 Apr 2023 11.53 BST

The voting intentions of millions of Britons in local authority wards across the country could have been at risk of misuse as a result of a glitch in the Labour party’s main phone-banking system, the Guardian understands.

Experts had warned that the sensitive data could potentially have been harvested via an automated program and used for targeted election interference by campaign groups or even hostile states.

More than half a million Labour party members have access to the Dialogue system, used by activists to make calls to the public for a variety of reasons, including to ascertain how they are planning to vote.

However, within just a few clicks, the glitch meant that they could also access sensitive information including postcodes, which – when combined with voting intentions – would potentially have allowed them to generate a list of millions of people across Britain.

The Guardian alerted Labour, which is believed to regularly monitor the programme to make sure it is not misused, to the potential breach, and the Dialogue system was taken down for 48 hours while additional security measures were put in place.

A Labour party spokesperson said: “As soon as this question was brought to our attention, the system was taken down for investigation. The party takes the security of all personal information for which it is responsible extremely seriously.”

The phone-banking system is believed to limit the pool of data in each local authority ward that individual members can access, which would also limit the scope of any nationwide list that they may be able to compile. However, it has been suggested that this restriction could be bypassed by the glitch.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ns-at-risk?

[RTH10260]

Cost of British food basics increases by up to 80% in a year
Cheddar and budget sausages sold by Asda were highest risers, with supermarkets’ prices for oats and skimmed milk also soaring

Sarah Butler
Tue 18 Apr 2023 00.01 BST

The price of staple foods such as cheddar cheese, white bread and pork sausages has soared by up to 80% in some shops over the past year, in further evidence of how inflation is hitting those on the tightest budgets the hardest.

Porridge oats topped the price increase ranking among a basket of British basics measured by the consumer group Which?, with prices up by an average of 35.5% followed by skimmed milk, which was up by 33.6%, and cheddar cheese, which rose by 28.3%.

However, an 180g pack of Dragon cheddar cheese in Asda was priced 80% higher than a year before – putting it top of the study’s inflationary list for individual product lines. The same retailer’s own-label cheddar sticks were up by just under 79%. Asda’s budget Just Essentials pork sausages were up by 73%, a similar increase to Tesco’s Woodside Farms best-value pork sausages.

Sue Davies, the head of food policy at Which?, said: “Our latest supermarket food and drink tracker paints a bleak picture for the millions of households already skipping meals of how inflation is impacting prices on supermarket shelves, with the poorest once again feeling the brunt of the cost of living crisis.

“While the whole food chain affects prices, supermarkets have the power to do more to support people who are struggling, including ensuring everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, particularly in areas where people are most in need.”




https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -in-a-year?

[Volkonski]

Are EU prices seeing similar increases?

[RTH10260]

Are EU prices seeing similar increases?

Need to look for numbers, but speaking for Switzerland I have observed an overall price increase on food and services by 15%. Businesses needed to roll over the increased energy costs, especially electricity.

[Volkonski]

UK inflation, highest in western Europe, falls only a little in March

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-inf ... 023-04-19/

Britain was the only country in western Europe with double-digit inflation in March after it fell less than expected, data showed on Wednesday, bolstering bets that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again in May.

Consumer prices rose by an annual 10.1%, the Office for National Statistics said, down from 10.4% in February but above the 9.8% forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, continued to eat into the spending power of workers whose pay is rising by less, as the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks jumped 19.1% in March - the biggest such increase since August 1977.

Milk, sugar and olive oil prices were around 40% higher than a year ago.

Britain's headline March figure was the highest in western Europe and the only one at 10% or above. Austria recorded a higher inflation rate in February.

The reading underlined expectations that Britain will suffer higher inflation for longer than its peers due to a diminished workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic, heavy reliance on natural gas for power and heating, and trade and labour market frictions caused by Brexit.

[RTH10260]

UK to ignore ECHR rulings on small boats ‘after Sunak caves in to Tory right’
Backbench rebels push prime minister to harden illegal migration bill to ignore court’s interim rulings

Rajeev Syal and Nadeem Badshah
Wed 19 Apr 2023 23.45 BST

Rishi Sunak has caved in to demands from hard-right MPs to allow the UK to ignore rulings from the European court of human rights on small boat crossings, government sources have said.

Backbench rebels have been pushing the prime minister to harden the illegal migration bill so ministers to can ignore interim rulings. One of the Strasbourg court’s rule 39 injunctions blocked the government’s first attempt to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda last year.

These so-called interim measures are typically used to suspend an expulsion or extradition, often by asylum seekers who fear persecution if they are returned to their home country.

Between 2020 and 2022, the ECHR granted 12 of 161 applications for interim measures against the UK government.

After days of wrangling with rightwing MPs, government sources claim that an amendment to the new law will empower the home secretary to “disregard” interim rule 39 orders. Suella Braverman, the home secretary, was a key figure in landing the breakthrough, according to the Times.

Another proposed change to the legislation will enshrine in law that the only way to stop a deportation of refused asylum seekers or criminals is by persuading a British judge that it would lead to “serious and irreversible harm”, the sources claimed.




https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... tory-right

[RTH10260]

Looks to me like post-Brexit UK does not want to have any foreign visitors

‘Chilling’ arrest of French publisher by UK counter-terrorism police condemned
Éditions la Fabrique says foreign rights manager Ernest Moret was held for several hours and asked ‘disturbing questions’ about his political opinions

Sarah Shaffi
Thu 20 Apr 2023 12.27 BST

The French publishing house whose employee was arrested on terror charges on his way to London book fair has said it is “chilling” that he was asked by British detectives about the authors published by his company.

Ernest Moret was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station on Monday evening, after arriving by train from Paris. He was arrested, after six hours of questioning, for alleged obstruction in refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer.

In a joint statement his employer Éditions la Fabrique, based in Paris, and the London-based publisher Verso – whose senior editor Sebastian Budgen’s house Moret was to stay at – confirmed that Moret had been released on bail but expressed concern about the questions he was asked by police.

The foreign rights manager was “interrogated for several hours and asked some very disturbing questions”, said the publishers, including about his view on pension reform in France, as well as his opinion on the French government and president Emmanuel Macron.

Macron has faced protests over the use of his constitutional executive powers to push through an unpopular increase in the pension age.

“Perhaps most seriously, during his interrogation he was asked to name the ‘anti-government’ authors in the catalogue of the publishing house La Fabrique, for which he works,” said the statement from the publishers.

“None of these questions should be relevant to a British police officer.”




https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/ ... nest-moret

[RTH10260]

with more details

MEPs condemn Suella Braverman over arrest of French publisher
Ernest Moret was interrogated by UK counter-terrorist police when he arrived in London on Tuesday

Matthew Weaver and Dan Sabbagh
Thu 20 Apr 2023 16.24 BST

Suella Braverman has been condemned by a group of MEPs over the arrest in London of a French publisher who was interrogated by counter-terrorist police about his political views and “anti-government” contacts.

Twelve MEPs wrote to the home secretary to express their outrage at the “scandalous treatment” of Ernest Moret, who was detained for almost 24 hours and whose iPhone and laptop remain in the hands of the British police.

The European politicians accused the British government of infringing basic human rights and abusing anti-terrorism laws.

The French government is also being urged by French MPs to explain its role in the arrest of Moret in London on Tuesday.

Moret, 28, a rights manager at the radical publisher Éditions la Fabrique, had travelled to London for a book fair. He was quizzed by police about participation in a recent protest in France and asked if he supported Emmanuel Macron, in what his lawyer, Richard Parry, condemned as an “abuse of power”.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... nest-moret

[RTH10260]

UK secretly deported 100 Nepali guards who protected staff in Kabul
Exclusive: People who risked their lives and were evacuated to Britain were forcibly removed to Nepal days later

Diane Taylor
Tue 25 Apr 2023 14.00 BST

More than 100 Nepali guards who risked their lives to protect British embassy staff in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized back control were secretly returned to Nepal against their wishes shortly after being airlifted to safety in the UK, the Guardian can reveal.

Hundreds of Nepali nationals and a smaller number of Indian nationals who protected key institutions in Kabul were brought to the UK on an RAF flight during the chaotic evacuation of the Afghan capital by western countries in August 2021, as victorious Taliban forces closed in.

It has now emerged that days after they arrived in the UK, more than 100 of these evacuees were forcibly removed to their home countries even though many had been issued with six-month visas on arrival.

The Guardian has interviewed some of the deported guards, who believed their lives were in danger in Nepal. Some were forcibly removed from hotel rooms in the UK in areas including Northampton, Reading, Oxford and Swindon before completing what at the time was a mandatory 10-day period of Covid-19 pandemic hotel quarantine for new arrivals in the UK.

Nepal was designated as a red-list country, with UK government instructions that people should not travel there, when the former guards were flown back in 2021.

Some have managed to find their way back to the UK since 2021 and have claimed asylum.

In March, at least 10 Nepali guards who protected the British embassy staff in Kabul and were still living in the UK were arrested in a raid at their west London hotel and detained by the Home Office.

After the detentions came to light, the Home Office issued a statement saying that the removals of those detained had been paused “pending further review”. It said the evacuees were flown from Kabul as “a gesture of goodwill” with the understanding that they were expected to return to their home countries.

More than 100 of those forcibly removed from the UK have written to Rudra Dhakal, a British resident of Nepali heritage who is supporting them, with the Home Office, Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, Nepalese government and UNHCR copied in, in a letter titled “Urgent appeal for further humanitarian protection in the UK”.

The deported guards wrote: “We were misled by the UK border security force. Therefore they forcefully deported us to Nepal against our will. At the time of our deportation we were never given the choice of staying in the UK for further humanitarian protection.”

Dhakal, who is continuing to support the guards, said: “These bravest of the brave veterans said they provided frontline security … but they were left behind in the end. They were used as proxies on the frontline of the war.”

One of those deported is Deepak Punmagar, 42. “We were always under threat in Afghanistan,” he told the Guardian. “We didn’t know if we would survive. When I arrived in the UK I felt safe but I was deported to Nepal on 17 August.”

Some of the Nepali guards evacuated from Kabul in 2021 who were doing almost identical work in Afghanistan as those forcibly removed were granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, including two of the 10 arrested in March, who remain in immigration detention.

Jamie Bell, of Duncan Lewis Solicitors, who is representing some of those currently detained, said: “These brave men were evacuated from Afghanistan and thereafter had their applications for permanent leave prepared and processed in the UK. They were never told of a gesture of goodwill and there was no understanding that they were liable to removal, let alone detained after a morning raid on their hotel. It is deeply concerning now to hear how many have been affected by this appalling situation.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far we have brought around 24,500 people to safety in the UK.

“A number of Nepalese nationals who were not deemed eligible for consideration under ACRS [the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme] were evacuated from Afghanistan as a gesture of goodwill. This came with the understanding that once in the UK, these individuals would arrange and be offered support for onward travel to the country of their nationality.”

The Nepalese embassy has been approached for comment.





https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... fghanistan

[RTH10260]

People need to accept they are poorer, says Bank of England
Unwillingness to recognise Britain’s decline is fuelling inflation, says Huw Pill

Eir Nolsøe
25 April 2023 • 8:36pm

British families must "accept that they’re worse off" after a surge in inflation and stop pushing for a pay rise, a senior Bank of England official has said.

Huw Pill, the Bank's chief economist, warned that rising prices have made the whole country poorer and said that attempts to bid up wages were merely prolonging the agony.

It came just hours after another senior Threadneedle Street official insisted that the Bank would have been powerless to bring inflation under control even if it had acted faster on interest rates.

Speaking in an interview on the Beyond Unprecedented podcast by Columbia Law School in New York, Mr Pill said: “[People] need to accept that they're worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices, whether [through] higher wages or passing the energy costs through onto customers.”

Demands for higher pay were only driving prices up further and “generating inflation” as a result, he said.




https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... -huw-pill/