Sharp increase in modern slavery during the pandemic

Amid the pandemic, reports of sexual and criminal exploitation have severely increased, as stated in new figures calculating the extent of modern slavery and trafficking in the UK. Compared with the preceding year, cases of sexual exploitation, which includes people held captive in brothels and those strong-armed into prostitution, increased by a quarter in 2020. Almost a quarter of cases concerned children.

Home Office scheme to deport non-UK rough sleepers relaunched

A contentious program that employs councils and homelessness charities to glean personal data has been quietly reinstituted by the Home Office, potentially causing the deportation of non-UK rough sleepers. Since the relaunch six months ago, two charities and six councils have enrolled in the scheme, as reported by Liberty Investigates, a journalism group of the human rights organisation Liberty.

Priti Patel abandons refugee women

It has been revealed that the Home Office is secretly planning another network of immigration detention units for women, despite their pledge to reform the system and decrease the amount of vulnerable people detained. This autumn, the first detention centre in this plan will open where a former youth prison stood in County Durham. In addition to this facility and others alike, the Home Office has informed asylum groups that they were considering smaller units for women around the UK. There’s no guarantee that children will be spared from detainment in these facilities.

Airstrikes on Syria show USA never strayed off course

Donald Trump’s defeat in September’s election was celebrated by liberals around the world as a return to normalcy. One month on into Biden’s presidency, gone is the vulgar language, the constant tweeting, and the … Was that all of the important matters heads of state should refrain from? Judging by mainstream media sources, one could be forgiven for thinking that the USA has recently undergone deep change and is set on a new course.

Sensationalist Media coverage of Channel crossings

Over the last week, Nigel Farage, former leader of UKIP and Far Right Brexiteer has launched a campaign to “declare an emergency in the Channel” amid reports that ‘illegal’ crossings are at an all-time high.