Labours

The government has pledged £1.5m for two new indoor sport domes in Luton and Lancashire – but hopes of grassroots cricket receiving an anticipated huge cash injection remain in doubt.

Last year, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised £35m to cricket in what was called a “seminal moment” that could lead to “generational change” within the sport.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) envisaged the funding package “turbocharging” an improvement in facilities in towns and cities for state school children.

Central to that plan was the construction of 16 domes across England before 2029, which would enable local cricket to be played all year round and in any weather.

A £14m proportion of the original pledge was to be divided between three charities – ACE, Chance to Shine and Lord’s Taverners – with the target of getting one million pupils from state schools playing cricket.

As reported by BBC Sport last October, those plans were left severely under threat amid government cuts as part of the Spending Review.

At the announcement of the two new domes, during an event at Leyland Cricket Club in Lancashire, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC that former Conservative leader Sunak’s original package to help revive cricket in state schools was unrealistic.

She said the decision to provide cash for the two domes was a “significant step” at a time when “public finances are very very tight”.

“Unfortunately, the announcement made by the last government was a fantasy. There was not a single penny of funding actually attached to it,” explained Labour MP Nandy.

“So the announcement in itself equated to absolutely nothing at all.

“We are backing sport because we know how much it matters. It changes people’s lives. It opens up opportunities that people would never have had otherwise.”

Shadow Culture Secretary Nigel Huddleston said it was “vital” to “widen cricket participation in schools” and “provide world-class, all-year-round facilities for local communities”.

He added: “At a time when there is uncertainty over the government’s commitment to sports funding, including the future of cricket fund, my Conservative colleagues and I will continue to champion this cause.”

LABOUR’s migrant deal with France is already unravelling — as dinghies keep crossing and confusion erupts over how it is meant to work.

Just days after the “one-in, one-out” scheme came into force, footage shared by the Tories shows French warships escorting small boats packed with migrants across the Channel.

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Ministers are also at odds how the deal is even meant to work, with conflicting statements on whether deportations can go ahead if migrants lodge human rights claims.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, filming 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.”

At the same time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sparked fresh confusion by claiming migrants removed under the scheme could still have their human rights claims heard – but in France.

Asked whether human rights claims presented a loophole to the returns deal, she told Sky News: “That’s not the case at all … the deal that we’ve struck will allow people with us to send people back to France who have human rights claims.

“Those claims will be heard in France.

“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 terms of scheme published on Tuesday suggest the opposite.

It states that the UK confirms that at the time of their transfer that person will not have an outstanding human rights claim.

And it also makes clear France will not participate in UK legal proceedings.

The Tories also argue the wording opens the door for lawyers to delay or block removals with last-minute claims.

But Home Office officials insist have they prepared for judicial review challenges against certification of a human rights decisions to be heard by UK courts from France.

Ministers hope the new route –  where migrants in France apply online – will offer a “safe and legal” alternative to the boats.

But those who have already crossed are not eligible, meaning thousands already here won’t be affected.

Only around 50 people a week are expected to be returned under the deal, which would equate to only one in every 17 small boat arrivals.

The new legal route to Britain only applies to people already in France who have not tried to cross illegally.

To qualify, they must apply online and prove they have close family in the UK, come from a country that is likely to get asylum, or are at risk of being trafficked or exploited.

Unaccompanied children, people with criminal records, and anyone who has previously been deported from the UK are banned from applying.

The deal also reveals that Britain is picking up the tab for both directions of travel – paying for the transport of migrants we send back to France and those we bring in legally.

Alp Mehmet from Migration Watch told The Sun: “This Starmer/Macron wheeze has zero chance of working. It won’t discourage migrants, while smugglers will be tempted to pile in even more people into flimsy vessels. It will have the opposite effect to the one intended.”

The deal will remain in force until June 2026 – but the legal route can be paused automatically if France slows down on taking people back.

Despite Labour’s promise to stop the boats, this year is already on track for a record number of arrivals.

More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far in 2025 – up 49 per cent on the same point last year.