Last Updated:
Her comments follow a proposal from Reform UK, which pledged to deport 600,000 people over five years.
Mahmood is expected to announce further measures this week, including relocating asylum seekers (Reuters)
Britain’s Newly appointed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned that the UK government will consider suspending visas for countries that refuse to take back their citizens who have entered the country illegally. The warning came just three days after Mahmood assumed her post, signalling an aggressive new stance on illegal immigration.
Setting out her approach, Mahmood pledged to go “further and faster” than her predecessor Yvette Cooper and vowed to do “whatever it takes” to stop small boat crossings across the English Channel.
Recommended Stories
“I’m not the sort of person that hangs around,” she said, underscoring her urgency in tackling the issue.
She condemned the “utterly unacceptable” number of migrants arriving in small boats, after Channel crossings this year exceeded 30,000 in record time. The Home Secretary revealed she had already held discussions with the UK’s “Five Eyes” allies, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, about the potential use of visa suspensions to pressure non-cooperative countries into accepting deported nationals. During her meetings, Mahmood also spoke with Donald Trump’s secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem.
Her comments follow a proposal from Reform UK, which pledged to deport 600,000 people over five years, partly by leveraging visa policies to enforce returns agreements. The UK currently has such agreements in place with countries including India, Pakistan, Albania, Iraq, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Somalia, among others. A recent agreement was also reached with France, though its future remains uncertain amid political instability.
Mahmood stressed, “There has to be a strong approach to maintaining our border, and that does mean saying to countries who do not take their citizens back that we’re not simply going to allow our laws to remain unenforced.”
She also said ministers are reviewing domestic legislation and guidance related to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), arguing the current “balance” between protecting human rights and securing borders “isn’t in the right place at the moment.” While she voiced support for ID cards, she declined to confirm whether they would be made compulsory to manage immigration.
Additionally, Mahmood is expected to announce further measures this week, including relocating asylum seekers from hotels to military barracks, a move anticipated after a summer of growing protests over migration.
London, United Kingdom (UK)
September 09, 2025, 03:22 IST
Loading comments…
Read More
