SIR Keir Starmer was under fresh fire last night after it emerged 3,567 dinghy migrants have arrived since he signed a “one-in, one-out” deal with France — but NONE have been kicked out.
Keir Starmer was under fresh fire after it emerged 3,567 dinghy migrants have arrived since he signed a ‘one-in, one-out’ deal with FranceCredit: PA
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Since Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir agreed a deal on migrants – NONE have been kicked outCredit: EPA
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The Home Office currently houses around 32,000 asylum seekers in over 200 hotels across BritainCredit: Getty
Yesterday, ministers put a temporary halt on refugees bringing in partners and children.
Sir Keir also said he wanted to bring forward his 2029 deadline for closing asylum hotels because he “completely gets” the public’s anger.
But his positive slant was derailed by the news of the failure of the “one-in, one-out” deal with France’s Emmanuel Macron.
More than 100 people are understood to have been detained — with videos shared by No10 showing people being escorted by staff after arriving across the Channel.
Yet none has actually gone yet, officials confirmed.
The PM and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had gone on the offensive yesterday after a summer of dismal headlines.
Speaking to BBC Radio Five, the PM said: “It’s a really serious issue. We have to have control of our borders, and I completely get it.
“I’m determined that whether it’s people crossing in the first place, people in asylum hotels, or it’s returning people, we absolutely have to deal with this.”
Pressed on when illegal migrant hotels will finally shut, Sir Keir replied: “We’ve said we’ll get rid of them by the end of the Parliament. I would like to bring that forward, I think it is a good challenge.”
Small boat crossings under Labour are on brink of hitting 50,000 – one illegal migrant every 11 mins since the election
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said accommodation for illegal migrants would be dealt with “not just by shifting individuals from hotels to other sites, but by driving down the numbers in supported accommodation overall”.
Hotels would be “reconfigured” to increase room-sharing and the test for accommodation would be “tightened”.
She said the Home Office would try to “identify alternative cheaper and more appropriate accommodation”.
He also wants to establish detention centres with compulsory deportations, even for women and children.
Sir Keir said: “The difference here is between an orderly sensible way of actually fixing a problem we inherited from the Tories or fanciful arrangements that are just not going to work.
“Nigel Farage and Reform are just the politics of grievance. They feed on grievance. They don’t want the problem solved because they’ve got no reason to exist if the problems are solved.”
The PM added that Mr Farage’s plan is “not fair to put forward to the public” because it is an idea that “just isn’t going to work”.
It came as Ms Cooper announced refugees will be banned from bringing their families to the UK as part of “radical” asylum reforms announced by the Home Secretary yesterday.
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Yvette Cooper announced refugees will be banned from bringing their families to the UK as part of ‘radical’ asylum reformsCredit: Sky News
The Home Secretary vowed that new immigration rules will temporarily suspend new applications from dependents of refugees already in Britain.
She also said that the controversial Article 8 of the ECHR — which guarantees a right to family life — should be interpreted differently.
Around 20,000 people come to the UK on refugee family reunion visas per year, according to Home Office figures.
Ms Cooper told the House of Commons yesterday: “Our reforms will also address the overly complex system for family migration, including changes to the way Article 8 of the ECHR is interpreted.
“We should be clear that international law is important.
“But we also need the interpretation of international law to keep up with the realities and challenges of today’s world.”
‘Living in a parallel universe’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Ms Cooper of “living in a parallel universe”.
Labour’s own Graham Stringer said the measures “don’t really deal with the fact that many migrants are not coming from war-torn countries, they’re coming from France, which isn’t persecuting them”.
And Reform MP Lee Anderson said: “Starmer continues to open the floodgates for hundreds of illegals each day.”
The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, became a flash point for discontent this summer after two of its guests were charged with sexual offences.
Epping Forest District Council won a bid at the High Court to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.
But the Court of Appeal last week overturned the injunction after an Home Office appeal.
Lee Anderson added: “Starmer makes hollow claims while refusing to close Epping. Hypocrite.”
Carpenter Jimmy Hillard, 52, of Loughton, Essex, has been handed an eight-week suspended prison sentence by Chelmsford JPs after admitting assaulting a police officer at a Bell Hotel demo on Friday.
PM’S ‘PRIDE’ IN FLAG
PM SIR Keir Starmer yesterday declared himself a “supporter of flags” — and revealed he still proudly displays a St George’s Cross in his flat.
He dismissed claims that showing off England’s ensign should be seen as racist, telling BBC Five Live: “I am the leader of the Labour Party who put the Union Jack on membership cards.
“I always sit in front of the Union Jack. I’ve been doing it for years, and it attracted a lot of comment when I started doing it.” He said he bought his England flag for last year’s Euros football.
The flag debate reignited after councils in the West Midlands and Tower Hamlets tried to remove the St George’s Cross from lamp posts and motorway bridges over claims they intimidated minorities.
The PM added: “They’re patriotic and a great symbol of our nation. I don’t think they should be devalued and belittled.”
A CAKE shop owner can remain in Britain despite being wanted for murder in his home country.
Carlos Kassimo Dos Santos, 33, was jailed for 14 years in his absence in 2016 over a gang killing in Portugal.
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Carlos Kassimo Dos Santos can remain in Britain despite being wanted for murder in his home countryCredit: NB PRESS LTD
An extradition bid failed when the High Court upheld a decision by a district judge to allow Santos to remain here.
It was deemed Santos, who denies involvement in the 2010 murder, could not be guaranteed a retrial and it could not be proved he fled justice to come here.
He is now co-owner of Kings & Queens Dessert outlet, set up three years ago in Leeds.
It recently won The Best Dessert Shop in West Yorkshire award.
Santos was 18 when he was accused of being part of a group who killed a gang rival near Lisbon.
He then spent two years in the army before coming to Britain, where his dad lives.
He said he was unaware he was jailed and did not know he had to notify authorities of his address change.
He refused to comment when approached.
ELON RANT
ELON Musk hit out at asylum seekers being housed in £300,000 newbuild homes after The Sun exposed it.
The world’s richest man, 54, waded into the migrant housing debate on his X platform, writing alongside our story: “This must stop now.”
The Tesla chief and former aide to US President Donald Trump also accused the Government of giving away freebies, such as houses worth £1,200-a-month, to import more voters.
Another user had written: “They give them homes rent-free while British citizens have to pay. This is how Labour stay in power.”
Mr Musk, worth £306billion, shared the comments and added: “Exactly. And it will work, unless the people of Britain put a stop to it.”
FAILED asylum seekers and foreign offenders are being left in Britain for up to a year because their governments are dragging their feet over travel papers, a Home Office file reveals.
The official guide, published by the department, shows deportations are crippled by delays from overseas embassies.
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Anti migrant protesters at the Holiday Inn in SolihullCredit: SWNS
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Protesters raised St George’s Cross and Union flags outside some of the 210 hotels being used to house migrant
Egypt, Guinea and Burkina Faso are among the worst offenders — taking six to 12 months to issue the documents needed to put its citizens on a plane home.
By contrast, Italy, Belgium and Sri Lanka can turn the paperwork around in less than two weeks, while India averages one month.
But the file also shows no reliable timescale is available at all for dozens of countries — leaving removals at the mercy of slow or unpredictable foreign bureaucracies.
The delays mean some migrants remain in Britain long after their claims have failed, with taxpayers footing the bill for hotel rooms, benefits and legal fees while they wait.
Yesterday, fed-up protesters raised St George’s Cross and Union flags outside some of the 210 hotels being used to house migrants — as PM Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to overhaul the failing asylum system.
Among those targeted was the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in Birmingham.
Outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, East London, a group of protesters gathered with one holding a banner that read: “Enough is enough protect our women and girls.”
Another said: “Tower Hamlets council house homeless Brits first.”
There were also protests outside the Holiday Inn in Solihull, West Midlands, and the Manchester South Hotel.
At least 15 people were arrested at protests relating to migrant hotels on Saturday.
Migrants to be kicked out of hotel at centre of protests in landmark ruling after asylum seeker’s ‘sex attack’
Following the release of the Home Office file, Reform UK demanded ministers get tough.
Deputy party leader Richard Tice said: “Foreign countries know Starmer’s Britain is a pushover, so it’s no wonder they are dragging their feet when it comes to accepting deportations.
“Britain needs to start using its diplomatic and economic power.
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Failed asylum seekers are being left in the UK for up to a yearCredit: AFP
“Countries that refuse to take their criminals back should not get off scot-free but instead face serious sanctions.
“Unfortunately, with this meek Labour Government, we will continue to be seen as a meek nation on the global stage.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also hit out, saying: “Countries that do not fully and promptly co-operate should suffer visa sanctions — where we don’t give visas to citizens of those countries to come here.
‘TOO WEAK’
“Then, they would pretty soon fall into line.
“The legal power exists to do that but this Labour Government is too weak to use it.”
There is currently a 106,000-strong backlog of asylum claim cases, including at least 51,000 appeals.
Last week, official statistics showed a record 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK during the first year of Labour coming to power.
The Government has said its latest plans would introduce independent panels to hear appeal cases to speed up the process and deport failed asylum seekers quicker.
A new commission will prioritise cases of those living in costly asylum hotels and foreign national offenders.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited, which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer.”
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Protesters outside The Bell Hotel in EppingCredit: Reuters
She added: “Overhauling the appeals system so that it is swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place, is a central part of our Plan for Change.”
But the new scheme could take months to implement and record numbers of people continue to cross the Channel on small boats.
Tory Mr Philp said: “The Government is too weak to do what’s really needed — such as repeal the Human Rights Act for all immigration matters and deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival.”
The Home Office said: “For some countries receiving returnees from the UK, establishing their identities and nationalities can take time.
“Where that is the case, we work with their respective governments closely to drive timings down to the minimum possible.”
THERE was a party atmosphere at an anti-migrant protest in Epping yesterday — with at least 150 dancing and cheering as drivers hooted their car horns in support.
Some shouted at police who stood outside the Bell Hotel, the focus of demonstrations but now set to stop housing asylum-seekers.
One man yelled: “Unfortunately Starmer has turned you into stormtroopers — or rather Starmtroopers.”
Other protesters held banners reading “deport foreign criminals” and chanted the name of the far-right’s Tommy Robinson.
Residents across the UK are hoping they will see their own asylum hotels shut after the High Court granted the Essex town’s council a temporary injunction.
STUDENT accommodation, colleges and disused tower blocks may replace migrant hotels as councils continue to revolt.
The move is part of Labour’s pledge to stop using hotels to house migrants by 2029,
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The Bell Hotel in Epping, which was used for housing migrantsCredit: Alamy
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Security keep guard for trouble at the Brittania International Hotel in Canary WharfCredit: Gary Stone
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Anti-immigration demonstrators display Union Jack and England flags as they gather outside the Cresta Court hotel, in AltrinchamCredit: Reuters
However, nearly 200 hotels are still in use, putting up more than 32,000 people, according to recent figures.
Labour said it no longer wants to house migrants on large sites like military bases.
Instead, it is reportedly planning to use sites which are easier to make habitable and not as expensive to refurbish.
According to Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security, the plan is to use “medium-sized” sites like “voided tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation”.
This is because the Tories’ plans to use large sites like former military bases and the Bibby Stockholm barge would be too expensive.
She said the effort of tackling “asbestos-filled buildings and poisoned land” would be too pricey.
“I think that there are different, better ways of trying to achieve this kind of service than the ones that we’ve inherited,” she said.
But authorities are poised to follow Epping Forest council in Essex after it won a High Court injunction to halt asylum accommodation.
Now, it has been revealed that asylum accommodation contractors working for the Home Office “reached out” to property specialists earlier this month, seeking 5,000 residential units, reports the Telegraph.
Insiders told the outlet that each flat would likely have two bedrooms on average, with space to house four migrants.
ASYLUM SEEKER HOTEL PROTESTS
This Bank Holiday weekend, around 30 migrant hotels are bracing for a wave of protests as campaigners are bolstered by this week’s landmark ruling.
The High Court ordered the removal of migrants from the hotel in Essex, which has become the face of the row over asylum seeker accommodation.
It was the centre of protests after a migrant being housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl – which he denies.
Several other demonstrations cropped up around the UK as communities rebelled against the migrant hotels in their area.
It is understood that there is a fresh wave of protests – at least 27 – planned outside of hotels this Bank Holiday weekend.
However anti-racism groups have warned towns and cities could experience the most disruption since last year’s summer riots.
Councils are also pushing back, following the lead of Epping Forest Council, which argued for the hotel to be closed to reduce the threat of “violent protests” and for the safety of those living nearby.
Mr Justice Eyre ruled the owners may have breached planning rules by housing migrants rather than paying customers.
The Home Office argued that granting this application risks “acting as an impetus for further violent protests”.
The High Court ruling threatens Labour’s asylum seeker plans, as more and more councils express an intention to follow suit.
If more councils take action, ministers are unsure where more than 30,000 people in hotel rooms would live.
However Brighton and Hove City Council refused to launch a legal bid, saying it was a “proud city of sanctuary” and will continue to welcome and support asylum seekers.
Jacob Taylor, the local authority’s deputy leader, said “We will not comment on the location of hotels being used by the Home Office to provide temporary accommodation to people seeking asylum.
“I believe to do so in the current climate is irresponsible and risks causing division and unrest in our communities at a time when more than ever we need to bring people together.”
While some county councils will push for the closures, the legal steps to challenge the use of hotels falls to district and borough councils.
The Local Government Association called on the Home Office to work “much more closely” with authorities on asylum accommodation decisions.
The Home Office is scrambling to find accommodation for up to 138 men housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping before the September 12 deadline to empty it.
Pressed to give details of these contingency options, Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis said: “With respect, the legal judgment was only handed down yesterday.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has written to Yvette Cooper to demand that those in the Bell Hotel are not moved to apartments, houses in multiple occupation, or social housing which is “much needed for British people”.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office – which has a legal obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute – can move people to alternatives such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases.
Amid hotel protests, campaigners including Rape Crisis and Refuge have warned conversations about violence against women and girls are being “hijacked by an anti-migrant agenda” which they argued fuels divisions and harms survivors.
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Protesters outside of The Bell Hotel in EppingCredit: n.c
RECORD NUMBERS OF MIGRANTS
It comes after it was revealed that a record number of people claimed asylum in the UK in the last year – with a massive 32,000 currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels.
Home Office data shows that 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year ending June 2025 up 14 per cent on last year.
It is higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 which was set in 2002.
The number of people claiming asylum in this country has almost doubled since 2021.
And just under half of all those applying for protection in the UK are granted it at the initial decision stage – 48 per cent.
It is lower than in 2022 when 77 per cent of those applying were given the green light.
In the year up to March, the UK was the fifth biggest recipient of asylum seekers in the UK after Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
The sky-high figures come as the number of migrants being housed in hotels has INCREASED since Labour came into power.
A total of 32,059 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government up 8 per cent on the same point 12 months ago.
Around 210 hotels are currently open across the UK despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to end their use.
In the year to June, the top five nationalities of people arriving in Dover were Afghan, Eritrean, Iranian, Syrian and Sudanese.
The High Court judgement explained
HIGH Court Judge Mr Justice Eyre has ruled that the owners of The Bell Hotel – Somani Hotels Limited – might have breached planning rules by housing migrants at the site, rather than paying customers.
After a hearing in London’s High Court last week, Mr Justice Eyre said Somani Hotels Limited had “sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation” by not applying for planning permission for the migrant hotel.
In his judgement, he said that while the council had not “definitively established” that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction.
He said the fear of crime being committed by those accommodated there was a “relevant factor”, albeit one with “limited weight”.
In his judgement, he said it is “understandable” that recent arrests “form a basis for the local concern”.
He added: “The arrests have occurred in a relatively short period and have arisen when no more than 138 asylum seekers are accommodated in the Bell at any time.
“The consequence is that the fear said to be felt by local residents cannot be dismissed as solely speculation based on fear of what might happen from an activity which has not yet begun.”
The judge also said that had the hotel owners, Somani Hotels Limited, applied for planning permission, it would have given Epping Forest District Council and local residents a chance to air their concerns.
Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was “wholly unacceptable” and provided a “feeding ground for unrest”.
He said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.”
Mr Coppel continued: “It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully.
“It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.”
He added: “It really could not be much worse than this.”
The judge granted a temporary injunction in his ruling, meaning the hotel has to be cleared of its occupants by September 12.
MIGRANTS arriving in Britain by small boat were immediately detained yesterday under the new “one in, one out” deal with France.
The first to be held under the pilot scheme were picked up in Dover on Wednesday – just hours after the new treaty kicked in.
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A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to the Border Force compound in Dover, KentCredit: PA
Photos showed arrivals in life jackets being led off Border Force vessels at the Western Jet Foil facility.
An unspecified number were held on the spot and taken to immigration removal centres — with swift deportation to France now expected.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France.
“That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crimegangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.”
The Home Office says it will not be disclosing figures at this stage for fear it would be exploited by smugglers.
But just around 50 people a week are expected to be returned under the deal, a tiny number compared to the 25,436 who have already crossed this year.
Just hours after the “one in, one out” scheme came into force, footage showed a French warship escorting a boatload of migrants towards Britain without stopping it.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, filming just off Calais, said: “I’m on the Channel today just off Calais to see if the Government’s new deal with France is working. It isn’t.
“There is a boat full of illegal immigrants crossing right in front of me.
“The French warship is escorting it and making no attempt at all to stop it.”
The scheme allows Britain to return small boat arrivals in exchange for taking in the same number of approved asylum seekers still in France.
But legal rows broke out within hours of the plan taking effect – as ministers gave conflicting accounts on whether deportations can be blocked by human rights claims.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC small boat migrants sent back across the Channel could have their human rights claims heard in France.
She said: “I know that the Conservative Party has been saying that this is a loophole. It isn’t and we’re really confident about that.”
But the full agreement, published on Tuesday, states clearly the UK must confirm a person has no outstanding human rights claim before returning them.
It also says Britain “shall not seek France’s participation in legal proceedings to which this article applies”.
The Tories insist the text of the treaty provides an “easy loophole” for lawyers of migrants to exploit.
And it is understood the Home Office is preparing for a wave of judicial review challenges from migrants set to be deported – meaning legal battles could drag on for weeks.
Officials insist migrants will be removed “when there is no barrier to removal” – even if they have made a human rights claim, so long as it’s been ruled “clearly unfounded”.
That is 49 per cent higher than this time last year – and a record for this point in the calendar.
Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle wrote on X: “It will take time, and it will be hard, but as we get it up and running, it will make an important contribution to the all-out assault we are waging against the business model of the smuggling gangs.”
PEOPLE smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prison, under a new crackdown.
The Home Office is scrambling to beef up their laws after a record 25,000 illegal migrants landed on Britain’s beaches so far this year.
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Yvette Cooper said: ‘We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs’Credit: PA
The grim milestone piles massive pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – who has vowed to “smash the gangs” and stop the boats.
But the Government has been accused of woefully failing to restore control to UK borders.
Ministers will introduce a new criminal offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament.
This will make it a crime to publish material which promotes breaking immigration laws – like flogging small boat crossings, dodgy passports and visas or promising black market work.
These things are already illegal, but ministers say the new law will help beef up the power of the cops and prosecutors.
Anyone caught flouting the law faces five years behind bars or a massive fine.
Ms Cooper said: “Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral.
“These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.
“We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs.”
A staggering 80 per cent of migrants arriving on small boats used social media sites like TikTok to plan their journey, according to the Home Office.
Small boat migrant found dead riddled with bullets on French coast after being gunned down ‘by people smugglers’
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People smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prisonCredit: PA
Passengers who are not on their best behaviour could face jail time or a fine, according to a campaign led by the country’s biggest airports
Passengers have been warned (stock image)(Image: WSFurlan via Getty Images)
Brits jetting off have been warned to be on their best behaviour or their summer holidays could “ruined” this year, officials have warned. A nationwide campaign going around the UK’s airports is encouraging holidaymakers to “fly responsibly” or risk “paying the price”.
With experts predicting this summer to be one of the busiest ever for air travel, the One Too Many campaign is cautioning travellers that having too much alcohol before flying out could result in serious consequences. Promotional material even warned Brits they face jail time if they flout any rules.
Travellers who cause disruption on flights may find themselves denied boarding, hit with a lifetime band or fines of up to £80,000 should their conduct force an aircraft to change course mid-journey. “One too many is all it takes to ruin a holiday, cause a delay, land YOU in jail, cancel a flight, [and/or] divert a plane,” one of the campaign’s warnings said.
The One Too Many campaign resources have been deployed across more than 20 UK airports including London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Bristol, reports the Liverpool Echo. The campaign said on its website: “The industry is committed to tackling disruptive behaviour through a voluntary Code of Practice.
“Signatories to the Code work together to prevent and minimise the number of disruptive passenger incidents, and promote a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour; the identification, pre-emption, management and reporting of disruptive incidents; the responsible sale and consumption of alcohol; and education and communication with passengers.”
Karen Dee, the chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: “UK airports are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all passengers. We urge travellers to enjoy their journeys responsibly and not ruin their holidays or the holidays of others. Airports will continue to monitor and act against any disruptive behaviour to ensure everyone’s safety.”
The One Too Many campaign was first launched in 2018, with support from the Government and includes endorsements from the Department for Transport and the Home Office. The campaign came just days after police in the north launched their own campaign to curb boozy Brits who came back from their holidays.
Officers stopped drivers leaving Teesside Airport as part of ‘Operation Take Off’, which targeted passengers who had flown into the airport and had struggled to control their boozing during their flights.
Warnings have been placed in airports such as London Heathrow(Image: Ceri Breeze via Getty Images)
Only one person out of the more than 100 checked was found to have alcohol in their breath. The amount found was below the legal limit, according to police, who gave the person a warning after they admitted to having one glass of wine on board.
Earlier this year, Ryanair called for airports to limit passengers to having no more than two drinks before they board, claiming it would lead to “a safer travel experience for passengers and crews”.
At the time, a spokesperson for Ryanair criticised governments across Europe for what it saw as their “repeated failure to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert”. They added: “It is time that European Union authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports.”
It’s been 20 years since Dan Biddle fatefully missed his stop on the Circle Line train. Twenty years since Mohammad Sidique Khan looked him in the eye and reached inside his backpack. And 20 years since Dan’s cosy happy life was, quite literally, blown apart.
16:16, 03 Jul 2025Updated 16:18, 03 Jul 2025
It’s been 20 years since Dan Biddle fatefully missed his stop on the Circle Line train. Twenty years since Mohammad Sidique Khan looked him in the eye and reached inside his backpack. And 20 years since Dan’s cosy happy life was, quite literally, blown apart.
On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be among 400 people in St Paul’s Cathedral paying their respects to the 52 killed and more than 770 injured in the London suicide bombings of July 7, 2005.
But for Dan – 7/7’s most severely-injured survivor – the day will also mark another anniversary. It’s been 19 years since Dan left hospital and he’s been fighting for an inquiry into what was known. He and countless others want and need answers.
Now instead of tears and platitudes from Britain’s great and the good on Monday, Dan, who can be seen in new Netflix series Attack on London Hunting the 7/7 Bombers, is calling on Starmer to put right what Tony Blair once did wrong – and finally grant the 7/7 victims their long called-for public inquiry.
Dan Biddle lost both his legs during the terror attack(Image: Supplied)
He says: “We don’t need tears. We don’t need platitudes. We need our public inquiry. And we need answers to the questions we still have. It’s been 20 years – Now is the time to do it.”
Meanwhile there’s one person Dan won’t be wanting to speak with, if, as expected, he attends: Tony Blair. He was prime minister at the time of the attack and blocked the initial plea for an independent public inquiry. The War in Iraq was also cited as one of the motivations for the bloodbath in the bombers’ confession videos.
“I don’t think I could sit in a room with him [Blair] and not use a large amount of expletives, because the anger is always there,” explains Dan, now 46. “I firmly believe 7/7 could have been prevented, and I’ve got to live it with that knowledge. And I cannot believe Blair would be so naive to think that if we go to war, there’s not going to be repercussions in this country. When I think of the money he earns giving talks about it”
Casualties of the London terrorist bombing attack (Image: Mirrorpix)
The 46-year-old first renewed appeals for Starmer to reconsider an inquiry through the Mirror last month. But he’s vowed to keep on asking.
Hundreds of families were affected that day in 2005 when four suicide bombers, led by primary school assistant Mohammad Sidique Khan unleashed the deadliest terror attacks in Britain since Lockerbie.
Armed with backpacks filled with homemade explosives, Khan, 30, and Shehzad Tanweer, 22, both from Beeston, Leeds, and father-of-one Germaine Lindsay, 19, from Aylesbury, Bucks, boarded three morning rush hour tube trains. Around 8.49am they set off the explosives on circle line trains near Edgware Road and Russell Square stations and a Piccadilly Line train near Aldgate station, killing six, seven and 26.
A fourth bomber, Hasib Hussain, 18, also from Leeds, detonated his device an hour later on the top deck of the Number 30 bus, which had been diverted via Tavistock Square, killing 13. It’s believed his device initially failed.
Dan Biddle and his wife Jem, who live in Abergavenny(Image: Wales on Sunday)
On the morning of July 7 2005, Dan boarded a circle line train towards Edgware Road, a 26-year-old 6ft4in football-mad construction manager. Then in a flash of the explosion, everything changed. Dan lost both legs, an eye and his spleen and had a pole speared through his abdomen after being one to the victims of the Edgware Road blast.
He perforated his colon, burst his eardrum, lacerated his liver, was covered in burns and spent eight weeks in a coma. He now faces a daily battle with Complex PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, and survivor’s guilt.
Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the suicide bombers(Image: Getty)
It later emerged Khan was known to intelligence services but was not considered a high priority. The Government’s internal 2009 Intelligence and Security Committee review concluded the decision was “understandable” given “the information available” at the time.
Dan and Adrian Heili, the hero Army medic who saved his life against the odds that day, meanwhile maintain there are still vital questions not answered by either the committee’s 2009 report, their earlier report in 2006 or indeed, the latter 2011 Coroner’s Inquest, which identified a number of failures and missed opportunities by MI5 – but ultimately ruled they would not have prevented 7/7.
Former construction manager Dan says: “The inquest was more about ascertaining time of death, place of death, perpetrator, that type of thing. A public inquiry looks at what was known. It looks at ‘was there any point where there could have been an intervention to stop it’?”
Unanswered questions remain that Dan can’t ignore(Image: Press Association)
“The guy that did this is dead. I don’t get a trial. I don’t get my day in court. But why can’t we have the same disclosure around what led up to 7/7 as other atrocities got?”
Dan has a long list of questions, including: how long Khan was on MI5’s radar, why a telephone recording discussing an attack was not acted upon and why Khan was not made a high priority, despite alleged photos of him at a suspected extremist training camp. It was also reported that the US National Security Agency had looked into disturbing emails from Khan the year before the attacks. These are just a few of many.
“A public inquiry won’t give me my legs back,” says Dan, now an accessibility consultant in Abergavenny. “It won’t give me my eye back. But I’d have a sense of justice that somebody has been held accountable.
“Some 52 people lost their lives, why doesn’t that warrant one[an inquiry]? Jean Charles de Menezes was tragically shot a couple of weeks after 7/7, he got a public inquiry. Why is his one life worth more than 52? If they really think it’s not possible, then please just explain to me why – and I’ll get back in my box.”
Dan is pleading for a public inquiry(Image: Humphrey Nemar)
Dan has recently spent days reviewing all the previous Government reports line by line while writing his first book Back From the Dead, which was released in June.
The 2006 Intelligence and Security Committee Report had originally been sent to Dan while he was still in hospital. It came with a covering letter from the then-Committee chairman The Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP. It referred to the attacks of “July 7, 2006.”
“Talk about adding insult to literal injury,” says Dan, who married the love of his life Gem, 42, in 2015. “How can you put much credence in the report if they can’t even get the date of the attack right?”
A public inquiry could also be a financial lifeline to those, like Dan, with life-changing injuries. Dan received just shy of £116,000 from the Government’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
It’s a fund which gives a standardised payout, calculated by which body part is injured, to all victims of violent crime, with no regard as to whether it was a street mugging or a terror attack. Dan says he was also instructed he could only claim for three injuries.
He says an inquest simply isn’t enough
“The money’s gone,” he says. “It barely lasted five years.”
If an inquiry found anyone was to blame, it could open up an avenue for victims to receive extra compensation.
Meanwhile Dan admits the thought of Blair earning north of £100,000 for speaking engagements about his time as prime minister – including the War in Iraq – is particularly painful. “I think he’s disgraceful,” says Dan.
In one final plea to the dignitaries who’ll be attending on Monday, Dan adds: “I’m not a stupid man. I knew that getting blown up, life was going to be tough. But I didn’t think it would be unjust.”
The Home Office has no current plans to hold a public inquiry.
Complete timeline of how the 7/7 bombings unfolded
*Around 8:49 a.m Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Germaine Lindsay, 19, detonated homemade devices on Circle Line trains between Edgware Road and Paddington and Liverpool Street and Aldgate, and a Piccadilly Line train between King’s Cross St Pancras and Russell Square. They killed six, seven and 26.
*At 9.47am Hasib Hussain, 18, detonated a device, believed to have earlier failed, on the top deck of the Number 30 bus outside the British Medical Association HQ in Tavistock Square.
*All but Lindsay were British-born, from Beeston, Leeds. Jamaican-born Lindsay, an Islam convert, lived with his then-pregnant wife in Aylesbury, Bucks. She was later revealed to be the ‘White Widow’, Samantha Lewthwaite, an alleged member of Somalia ’s radical Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.
7/7 bombers, Hasib Hussain, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Mohammad Sidique Khan(Image: PA)
*Video confessions later saw the bombers citing the War in Afghanistan and Iraq as one of their motivations. The Met Police’s Operation Trident collected more than 2,500 pieces of evidence. There was further tragedy at Stockwell Tube on 21/7 when Brazilian student Jean Charles De Menezes, 27, was mistaken for a suspect in a feared follow up attack and shot dead by police
*A 2006 Initial Intelligence and Security Committee Report finds no evidence MI5 could have prevented the attacks.
During a separate trial regarding a foiled fertiliser bomb plot, it was revealed Khan and Tanweer had been tracked by MI5 for a time during 2004, but it was decided they were not a priority.
Dan’s new book tells his story
The then Home Secretary John Reid refused a public inquiry into what had been known, saying it would be a “massive diversion of resources” from the security services’ operations. Some 25 7/7 Families start legal proceedings to force a public inquiry.
*Reid authorises the subsequent 2009 IASC report which also concluded 7/7 could not have been prevented.
* David Cameron becomes Prime Minister and grants the seven-month Coroner’s Inquest, overseen by Lady Justice Hallett, with a more limited scope of inquiry. In 2011, after seven months of evidence, she made nine recommendations to the Home Office, Security Services and Emergency Services. She also concluded MI5 could not have prevented it and rules against a public inquiry as it would add further distress to the families.
*The 25 Families drop their legal suit for an inquiry immediately after the inquest report. They make it clear they still have unanswered questions but fear their emotionally-draining legal action is futile.
* Various news organisations report on allegations that Khan visited a Pakistan Al-Qaeda training camp as well as military training camps in Dubai and that The US’s NSA had intercepted alarming emails from him the year before the attacks.
*Dan maintains several key questions around how long Khan was on their radar, why a telephone recording discussing an attack was not acted upon and why Khan was not made a high priority, despite alleged photos at a training camp.
Back From The Dead: The Untold Story of the 7/7 Bombings by Dan Biddle with Douglas Thompson, by Mirror Books hardback, £20, is out Thursday. Buy here
Brit holidaymakers are being warned to make one urgent check before bringing their medication to the airport – or face potential action when they reach their destination
02:00, 18 Jun 2025Updated 13:50, 18 Jun 2025
Brits are warned about three common painkillers that are prohibited in certain countries(Image: Getty Images)
One of the major parts of packing up a suitcase for holiday is making sure you have the correct amount of medication.
Some people take pain-killers with them as a precaution, while others generally need to take a whole host of tablets on their journey due to pre-existing medical conditions. Whatever your scenario, there are some medicines which need extra attention before you set off on your travels.
Some relatively popular pain-killers are actually restricted in some places, according to experts at Which? who say it’s important to check if your pills are complying with the UK’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. If you’re leaving the country with medicine that contains a controlled drug, you’ll have to prove its intended use with a letter from your doctor.
Codeine or medication containing codeine can get you arrested in countries like Thailand and the UAE (United Arab Emirates). These can be found in certain medications, including Nurofen Plus and Solpadeine. Other strong painkillers, like morphine and tramadol, are prohibited, as these are known to be highly addictive.
Anyone travelling with medication is urged to make some vital checks over what they can bring into each country(Image: Getty Images)
Other countries with strict rules on medication are: Greece, Japan, and Mexico. Countries have different restrictions on how much a passenger can bring into the country. Still, a medical letter from a professional will be needed as proof.
If the person travelling intends to be outside of the country for a long period of time, they will need to apply for a personal license from the Home Office at least 15 days before the intended departure date. Which? also recommended keeping the medicine in its original packaging and bringing a copy of the prescription as back-up.
Full list of medications
While restrictions differ for every country, the experts said: “You should be especially cautious if you are planning on travelling anywhere with any of these, or with medical equipment such as syringes or an EpiPen, as you’re likely to need some form of written permission.”
Codeine or medication containing codeine – typically found in Nurofen Plus and Solpadeine.
Morphine and tramadol
Opiate painkillers
Antidepressants
Sleeping pills
Anti-anxiety medication (including diazepam)
ADHD medication
Cannabidiol
The government’s foreign travel advice medication advisory for Greece says: “Pharmacies across Greece stock a good supply of medicines, but there are strict rules around dispensing certain medicines, including antibiotics. Bring prescription medicines with you and carry a letter from your doctor stating the quantity required during your stay.
“Keep the medication in the original container with the prescription label. The name on the prescription must match the name on your passport.”
In this Monday’s Mirror Daily Digest, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the day from Romeo Beckham’s ex speaking out on the famous family feud to one Brit dad’s life-saving flight change and fallout from yesterday’s Soccer Aid
Fans have accused Carlos Tevez of forgetting Soccer Aid is a charity match
Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we pull together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Monday, we’re featuring everything from another development in the Beckham family feud to one dad’s lucky escape from the doomed Air India flight and Soccer Aid drama hitting social media.
This afternoon, Romeo Beckham’s ex girlfriend Kim Turnbull has broken ranks to speak out about the Brooklyn feud that has tormented the family. Elsewhere, a dad has spoken out after a last minute flight change saved his life and Paddy McGuiness has hit out at Carlos Tevez after the Soccer Aid star scored four goals past the TV icon last night.
Romeo Beckham’s ex Kim Turnbull breaks silence on Brooklyn feud and ‘scapegoat’ lies
Romeo Beckham (pictured right with Kim Turnbull) is reported to not be getting on with brother Brooklyn (left)(Image: Getty/PA )
As the Beckham feud drags on, our showbiz team spotted that Romeo Beckham’s ex-girlfriend, Kim Turnbull, broke her silence on social media this afternoon after being dragged into the bitter family drama. Kim, 26, is said to be at the heart of the Beckham fallout in which eldest child Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz, 30, have become estranged.
The DJ is said to have dated Brooklyn before he met billionaire heiress Nicola. However, following weeks of headlines about her and Brooklyn, Kim fumed that she was ’embarrassed by the lies.’
This Monday, Kim took to social media to speak out for the first time on the drama. She said: “I’ve avoided speaking on this topic to prevent adding fuel to the fire, however it’s come to a point where I feel the need to address it so I can move on.”
Brit dad meant to be in Air India plane crash survivor’s Seat 11A breaks silence
A British dad was originally due to fly home on the doomed Air India flight (Image: AP)
This Monday, our News team covered one British dad’s lucky escape after a last minute flight change saved his life – he was due on the Air India flight 171 this week. The dad has shared his shock and expressed his gratitude after he changed his plans at the very last minute and has spoken of the very bizarre coincidence with his new booking.
Owen Jackson, 31, from Saffron Walden in Essex, had been in India on a work trip and was scheduled to fly back this week but had to decide between flying back on Thursday or Saturday. In the end his colleagues said to take the Saturday flight as the job would take a bit longer than originally planned.
He was then booked onto the same route on Saturday which would have been the same aircraft as the one which crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people onboard. In a bizarre coincidence, Owen was booked onto seat 11A for the Saturday flight – the seat number belonging to the only survivor of flight 171.
Paddy McGuinness hits out at Carlos Tevez ‘assault’ after Soccer Aid
Paddy McGuinness has broken his silence after being on the wrong end of a Carlos Tevez masterclass(Image: PA)
Soccer Aid graced TV screens yesterday evening, raising over £15 million for UNICEF. However, drama over the hotly anticipated match has spilled in to today after former Manchester City ace Carlos Tevez fired four goals past England keeper Paddy McGuinness and fans accused him of forgetting Soccer Aid is for charity.
Paddy McGuinness has now broken his silence after being on the wrong end of the Carlos Tevez masterclass. Taking to Instagram today, Paddy shared a hilarious snap of him and Tevez post-match. Tevez had a huge grin on his face as he and Paddy pointed fingers at each other.
The funnyman wrote alongside it: “Police are looking to contact this man in connection with an assault that took place in the Old Trafford area of Manchester last night.” Viewers at home joked Tevez was approaching the game with the ferocity of a Champions League final.
Grooming gangs have ‘nowhere to hide’ Yvette Cooper vows as damning report published
Yvette Cooper speaking in the Commons
This afternoon, our Politics team were in the Commons to listen to Yvette Cooper’s statement on grooming gangs. The Home Secretary said a “damning” report into grooming gangs found the UK has “lost more than a decade” in protecting children.
The Labour minister told MPs “vile” abusers will have “nowhere to hide” as she vowed to finally bring hundreds of evil predators to justice. She told the Commons the Government will bring in a string of new laws after Baroness Louise Casey unearthed chilling failures.
In a report published this afternoon, Baroness Casey called for a full national inquiry to highlight the harrowing abuse suffered by hundreds of children, and ensure it never happens again. Ms Cooper said: “We have lost more than a decade. That must end now.”
Brazen Prince Andrew heads to huge royal event despite King Charles ‘ban’
Andrew on Garter Day with the King, then Prince Charles, in 2015(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
As Royals gathered for the annual Garter Day this Monday, Prince Andrew was spotted heading to Windsor Castle – despite not being expected to take part in its public procession. The disgraced Duke of York was seen in a shirt and tie driving his car towards the castle for the ancient Order of the Garter ceremony as the Royal Family‘s summer season began in earnest.
The day sees those in the order gather for lunch at the castle before a procession takes place through the castle grounds that sees members dressed in white plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes. Andrew is a member of the order alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William and is believed to be joining the annual lunch and investiture, which takes place behind closed doors.
However, he was not expected to take part in the public procession through the castle grounds – having been banished from it for the past four years. Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A GANGSTER jailed for plotting to blow up a football stadium has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here.
Maksim Cela, 59, claimed returning to Albania would put him at risk from rivals.
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Gangster Maksim Cela has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here
His claims were thrown out by a judge on Friday after a two-year fight costing taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.
But the crook, who arrived in 2023, five days after serving a sentence for murder and terrorism in Albania, has not left and launched yet another appeal.
But Judge Jeremy Rintoul of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber said: “I do not accept that the appellant has told the truth about the nature of the threats.
Read More on DEPORTATIONS
“I find that the appellant’s refusal to acknowledge guilt weighs heavily against him.”
Cela was jailed in Albania for masterminding the murder of a crime-busting police officer and plotting to bomb a football stadium.
In his legal battle, he claimed the elderly mum of the dead officer might seek revenge.
He was named as the mafia boss in the case only after The Sun fought for 23 months to overturn an anonymity order.
Sources last night confirmed Cela was still in the UK and had lodged another legal appeal.
The Home Office said: “Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets.”
It remained unclear last night where Cela was living — but he can remain here while his appeal is being prepared.
Inside the TikTok Job Centre used by Albanian crimelords to advertise £100,000-a-year drug dealer jobs
The Albanian Riviera boasts stunning sights, beautiful beaches and crystal-clear waters, but experts are warning that many of the resorts where Brits are flocking are funded by ‘dirty money’
The paradisiacal coast is just a cheap three-hour flight away from the UK(Image: Getty Images)
It’s hailed as ‘Europe’s Maldives’ – a stunning Balkan gem with turquoise waters, stunning mountains, and bargain prices. But behind the beauty of Albania’s glittering coastline lies a darker, deadlier truth.
The small nation is fast becoming a top holiday hotspot, with over 120,000 Brits heading there each year to soak up the sun on the now-famous Albanian Riviera, with some places just a cheap, three-hour flight away. The country is also known for having very affordable beer prices, with some as little as 77p a pint.
But while tourists flock to idyllic coastal destinations like Ksamil and Vlore, mafia gangs are allegedly laundering millions through the very resorts they’re staying in.
Experts are warning holidaymakers that luxury hotels, bars and beach clubs may be fronts for Albania’s booming organised crime industry.
Albania’s pristine beaches and crystal clear seas have made it a popular holiday destination(Image: Getty)
According to a 2023 report by the Global Organised Crime Index, Albania is a transit country for heroin trafficked from Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe. It’s also a transit hub for cocaine smuggled from Latin America into Europe and the UK, the report says.
Over the years, heroin and cocaine processing labs have been discovered in cities like Elbasan, Fier and Tirana. Meanwhile, Italian authorities estimated in 2016 that Albania’s cannabis production alone was worth as much as €4.5 billion (£3.85 billion).
Besides drug trafficking, the report says the main criminal activities attributed to Albanian mafia groups – both domestically and internationally – are human smuggling and trafficking, as well as money laundering.
Albania’s mafia is now in control of most of Europe’s trafficking network. Of the 45,000 migrants who crossed illegally into England in 2022, 12,000 were Albanians.
And last year, a leaked Home Office legal document described Albanian criminal gangs as an ‘acute threat’ to the UK and ‘highly prevalent across serious and organised crime’ in Britain, including several murders. Albanian gangs are believed to dominate the UK’s illicit cocaine trade, said to be worth £5bn a year.
Ksamil, located in Albania, has been named “The Maldives of Europe”(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Criminologist Professor Xavier Raufer of Paris-Sorbonne University, who has studied the mafia for decades, says these are not just typical crime rings: “In the whole of Albania, there are maybe 30 big mafia families, with some of their traditions dating back to the Middle Ages. This makes them more dangerous as they operate with very strict rules and secretly.”
He added: “You’ll find these families all over Albania – of course, the most powerful being the one along the sea because it’s better for trafficking.”
Last year, Albania saw 39 killings, with most attributed to mafia-style assassinations. The country’s strategic position has made it ideal for smugglers, and tourism, it seems, is now part of that equation. “People involved in real estate and tourism are increasingly linked to organised crime,” says the country’s crime index report.
Professor Raufer said, “No tourist will ever see it. If you go there, you are not even able to guess it because it’s a secret.”
Former Albanian MP Rudina Hajdari blames the issue on state corruption: “Corruption has gotten higher and higher,” she said. “There have been allegations that many of these hotels in southern Albania were funded by drug traffickers.”
The popular beach Pasqyra (Plazhi i Pasqyrave) between Ksamil and Sarande, Albania.(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
She explained how they set up bank accounts through friends or relatives, gradually investing in real estate to launder money. “The government clearly allows that – whether they think it’s a good idea to invest in tourism, infrastructure or just keep them in power. There’s a lot of money going into Albania that is primarily dirty.”
According to reports, customs officials in the key port of Durres have allegedly been discouraged from checking certain vehicles, allowing drugs to be smuggled in cars, buses and trucks.
In the southern seaside town of Himare, the mayor was arrested last year on corruption charges, accused of forging documents to seize government land for a private resort.
Despite it all, Albania’s image abroad continues to shine. In 2024, it saw 11.7 million tourists, almost doubling its pre-pandemic figure, with an 8% year-on-year rise in visitor numbers.
Ksamil, a village on the shores of the Ionian Sea on the Albanian Riviera(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
And now, even Jared Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump, is seeing the potential for profit. He has put forward plans to Sazan Island, an uninhabited island which was once a military base, into a luxury resort.
His plans to turn the island into a holiday resort are estimated to cost €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion), and says it will create 1,000 tourism jobs.
Still, Hajdari insists the problem doesn’t lie with ordinary people. She says: “This does not in any way reflect Albanian people – Albanians are just the most generous, welcoming, nicest people when people come and travel.”
“Albania’s lack of opportunities and high corruption have created the ground for these illegal activities to flourish.”
