1 year ago
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In today’s newsletter: The special unit meant to reform the Home Office is to be closed – leaving many to wonder what comes next
Good morning. In late 2017, the Guardian started publishing a series of stories that highlighted numerous cases of mistreatment from the Home Office towards Caribbean-born UK residents who had migrated during the Windrush era, between 1948 and 1971. For six months the investigation quietly rumbled on, revealing how people’s lives were destroyed after they were incorrectly classified as illegal immigrants, rendering them unable to stay employed, or to access housing or other public services. Many were deported to countries they had not lived in since they were children – 24 of those people died before the government could contact them to apologise for its error.
By the time of that apology, the issue had become a political scandal that resulted in the resignation of the home secretary, Amber Rudd. An independent review found uncovered “profound institutional failure” that had destroyed hundreds of people’s lives.
Titanic | Search and rescue teams have been in a race against time to find a tourist sub that went missing in the north Atlantic while on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic. One of those on board is Hamish Harding, a British explorer. US and Canadian ships and planes have been conducting an intensive search. The five-person craft has 96 hours of oxygen on board and can dive to depths of 4km.
Politics | Boris Johnson faces being blocked from obtaining special access to parliament after only seven MPs voted against the damning Partygate report, dwarfed by the 354 who voted for it.
Environment | Scientists have warned that an “unheard of” marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species. Data shows that sea temperatures are several degrees above normal, smashing records for late spring and early summer.
Housing | Rishi Sunak has ruled out extra help for UK homeowners struggling to pay soaring mortgage costs, as the average two-year fixed-rate loan rose above 6%. The prime minister said the government should “stick to the plan” to halve inflation in its attempts to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Health | David Cameron has admitted failures in his government’s preparations for a pandemic but defended the austerity drive that he and his chancellor, George Osborne, imposed, saying “your health system is only as strong as your economy”.
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