(1145) Thus closeth the morn. (1145)

 

15. What to do with Obama?

14. Moo corner

13. How it might have been confessed

12. Lord Toby’s site

“The Green Party has attacked the BBC for exposing the lies that migrants are telling about their personal lives in order to have their asylum claims approved. The Mail has the story.

In a surprise attack on the corporation, the Greens on Thursday accused it of worsening the already “hostile environment” faced by those claiming asylum.

It followed the BBC revealing that migrants are falsely claiming to be gay, victims of domestic abuse or to have bogus medical conditions to stay in the UK.

In some cases, law firms and advisers are charging thousands of pounds to advise migrants how they can claim to be gay and in fear for their lives if they return to Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Immigration services commissioner Gaon Hart, who oversees the regulation of immigration advisers, said there was “abhorrent abuse of the system” and a minority of advisers were damaging the reputation of the sector.

The Government has launched an investigation into asylum seekers lying about their sexuality or being victims of domestic abuse, branding the practice “shameful”.

But the Greens turned on the BBC for trying to “heighten the hostile environment facing those claiming asylum” through its reporting – despite a third of Britons thinking the broadcaster has a Left-wing bias.

“We are disappointed the BBC failed to put this report in context, showing the challenges those genuinely claiming asylum face,” a Greens spokesman said.

“When it gives so much prominence to the report, stretching it out over multiple days of reporting, it ceases to be in the public interest and instead serves to heighten the hostile environment facing those claiming asylum.”

The spokesman added that the report “gives an entirely false impression of a system which is, in reality, stacked against people seeking asylum”.

Worth reading in full.”

11. TPA report

https://taxpayersalliance.com/town-hall-rich-list-2026/

Setting a new record, 4,733 local bureaucrats enjoyed six-figure pay deals in 2024-25, up more than 20 per cent on the year before. Rubbing salt in the wound, those getting over £150,000 hit 1,255. There’s no getting away from the simple truth of these numbers – as your taxes go up, those who are meant to be delivering services are laughing their way to the bank.

Topping this year’s table was an unidentified individual at Staffordshire council who had total remuneration of £457,000 while Westminster once again took the prize for most employees getting over £100,000 with 92. 

Though the rich list focuses on total remuneration, including things like employer pension contributions, bonuses payments and benefits in kind, even basic salary entitlements are surging. While the prime minister had a salary entitlement of £172,153 in 2024/25, 320 council employees got even more. We know councils are complex organisations but do those running them really have more responsibility than the prime minister?