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STORY

The Government has announced changes to the Immigration Rules which will allow Skilled Worker visa holders who are recognised as victims of modern slavery to take employment in any occupation for the remainder of their existing visa. Migration and Citizenship Minister Jo White said the measure was intended to prevent victims remaining dependent upon employers who had exploited them and encourage people to report abuse. She told Parliament that UK Visas and Immigration had revoked more than 7,500 sponsor licences, including 1,800 in the care sector.

Further changes will prepare the immigration system for the UK’s return to the Erasmus+ programme. State funded schools and academies will be permitted to host Erasmus+ participants for study placements lasting up to six months, while visitors will be able to attend workshops, debates and skills competitions. Erasmus+ participants will also be permitted to undertake courses, training, traineeships and coaching assignments at eligible organisations.

The Student route will be amended to accommodate Erasmus+ courses which do not lead to an approved qualification and to provide greater flexibility for programmes containing work placements. State funded schools and academies will be able to obtain sponsor licences for incoming Erasmus+ students, while a new Government Authorised Exchange scheme will support eligible placements and internships. The modern slavery and Erasmus+ provisions are due to take effect on 8 October 2026, with other changes in the wider package being introduced on later dates.

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Reform UK and France’s National Rally have signed an agreement intended to allow the UK to return people arriving in small boats to France if both parties enter Government. Nigel Farage and National Rally president Jordan Bardella signed the memorandum at Reform UK’s conference in Birmingham.

Under the proposal, people reaching Britain from France would be detained and returned to French territory before being repatriated to their countries of origin. The two countries would also establish a mechanism for sharing the cost of border security operations.

The agreement would depend upon Reform UK winning power in Britain and National Rally taking control in France. The present French Government has rejected Reform UK’s earlier proposals for unilateral returns, arguing that sending people back without French agreement would breach the country’s sovereignty.

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The UK Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Falkland Islands after Argentinian President Javier Milei claimed that international opinion was moving in favour of Argentina’s sovereignty claim. Milei said the “winds of change” were blowing around the world and argued that Argentina should continue its efforts to secure control of the islands.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK’s position remained unwavering and that the right of Falkland Islanders to determine their own future was paramount. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the islands were British because their inhabitants had chosen to remain British, describing the Government’s commitment to them as absolute.

The exchange followed comments from US President Donald Trump questioning whether Britain remained prepared to defend the territory. Milei also warned that companies developing oil near the islands without Argentinian approval would be prevented from operating in Argentina. British and Argentinian forces fought over the islands in 1982.

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The Government has confirmed that it will not intervene in Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery after accepting legally binding commitments intended to protect media plurality and editorial independence in the UK. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the assurances provided sufficient protection for the continued availability and separate identities of broadcasting, streaming and news services.

Paramount has undertaken to retain the distinct editorial identities of its television channels and streaming services. Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network will remain editorially separate and continue commissioning and acquiring original British children’s programmes. Channel 5 News will remain independent from CBS News and CNN International, while CNN International will continue to be available in the UK. Channel 5 will also retain its public service broadcasting role and maintain a UK focused commissioning strategy.

Most of the commitments will apply for five years after the acquisition is completed, although those concerning Channel 5 will remain in force until the end of its current broadcasting licence in December 2034. Paramount must provide annual statements showing its compliance and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has said it will monitor implementation. The Competition and Markets Authority has separately cleared the transaction, while Nandy said there were no reasonable grounds at present for intervention under the foreign state influence regime.

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The Foreign Office has summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires following an alleged attempted drone attack on Leipzig Halle Airport in Germany. The diplomatic action followed a statement from the German Government attributing the incident to Russia.

A UK Government spokesperson expressed solidarity with Germany and described the alleged attack as egregious and reckless. Ministers said the incident formed part of a broader pattern of Russian activity intended to undermine European security and weaken the unity of countries supporting Ukraine.

Russia denied involvement and described the allegations as fabricated. Its embassy in London accused Britain and other European countries of pursuing a coordinated provocation and warned that further action would receive what it called a proportionate response. The dispute adds to already strained relations between London and Moscow over the war in Ukraine and security threats across Europe.

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Two senior Reform UK officials have stepped down while the party investigates allegations concerning the funding of opinion polling. James Orr, the party’s head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a longstanding aide to Nigel Farage, were named in an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News.

The programme alleged that three polls costing £32,500 were paid for by a United States company after discussions involving people whom the officials believed represented a wealthy American donor. Reform UK said it had been targeted by a hoax and denied wrongdoing. Orr said no money had reached the party and described the polling as public work arranged by an independent individual who paid an independent pollster.

Reform UK said Orr and Jukes had stepped down to allow an independent and impartial internal inquiry to proceed. The allegations have also been reported to the police. The Electoral Commission said that information about any potential attempt to evade controls on political donations was a matter for the police to consider. No regulator, prosecuting authority or court has made a finding of wrongdoing against the party or the individuals involved.

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at Downing Street, with migration across the English Channel, support for Ukraine and European security among the principal subjects. Macron is the first European Union leader to meet Burnham at Downing Street since he became Prime Minister.

The two leaders discussed cooperation intended to reduce small boat crossings and agreed that measures which had proved successful in the Channel should be expanded through wider European collaboration. Defence, energy security and continued assistance for Ukraine were also included in the discussions.

The meeting represented an early opportunity for Burnham to establish his approach to relations with European partners. Macron said Britain and France shared responsibility for the continent’s future and would continue working towards what he called a stronger, safer and more sovereign Europe.

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The Conservative Party has proposed increasing annual defence expenditure by £10 billion as part of a plan to spend 3% of gross domestic product on defence by the end of the decade. Kemi Badenoch said the additional resources were needed in response to a growing threat from Russia and wider international instability.

The Conservatives said the increase would be financed principally through reductions in welfare spending. Badenoch argued that defence had to take priority in a more dangerous international environment and said the Armed Forces required firm financial commitments rather than expressions of support.

Labour disputed the Conservatives’ costings and accused the party of relying on savings which could not be delivered as claimed. The dispute leaves defence and welfare spending at the centre of a broader argument about the choices facing the Government as it prepares its future fiscal plans.

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Reform UK has set out proposals which it says would reduce public spending by more than £100 billion following a general election victory. Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick said an emergency Budget would be introduced during the party’s first 100 days in office, with the savings used to support reductions in taxation.

The plans include a stated ambition to remove £50 billion from welfare spending and between £20 billion and £30 billion from departmental budgets. Reform also anticipates £28 billion in lower debt interest costs, while proposing reductions in spending associated with net zero policies, overseas aid and arm’s-length public bodies.

Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson described the proposals as reckless and questioned how cuts of that scale could be delivered without damaging public services. The figures are expected to face further scrutiny over their assumptions, the timescale for achieving them and the consequences for people receiving disability and other welfare payments

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Reform UK accepted more than £5.3 million in reportable private donations during the second quarter of 2026, placing it ahead of Labour and the Conservatives. Electoral Commission figures showed Labour receiving approximately £3.59 million and the Conservatives £2.81 million in private donations during the same period.

Approximately £4 million of Reform UK’s total came from Ben Delo, the British co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. Delo pleaded guilty in the United States in 2022 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act over failures to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering programme at the exchange. He was subsequently pardoned by US President Donald Trump.

The donation accounted for roughly three quarters of Reform UK’s private fundraising during the quarter. The figures are likely to intensify the political debate about large donations and the influence of wealthy individuals, with proposals to tighten eligibility rules and limit some donations already under consideration.