Rwanda bound: First Birmingham asylum seekers detained
Rishi Sunak is serious about 'stopping the boats'
Dear Patchers — welcome to your Thursday briefing.
And prepare to cast your votes. No, we aren’t getting ready for the next series of Strictly, we are of course referring to the local elections. Don’t all run to the polling stations at once. Do check out the Brum in brief for the latest stories in this election special issue.
Today’s members-only story is a detailed account of events since Sunday, when Rishi Sunak revealed he is serious about ‘stopping the boats’. In a shock move, he expedited plans to prepare to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda and we can reveal people in the West Midlands have been held and taken to detention centres every day this week so far. No other local publication has covered this story in as much detail as us and to continue doing this kind of reporting, we need paying subscribers, so you have quality journalism to read. That’s why it is behind a pay wall — if you can, please join to read it in full. And we will get back out there to find the stories that matter.
Brum in brief
🗳️Got my vote: First things first, you have to vote at the venue on your polling card. If you’ve lost that, just enter your postcode into this searchbar and all will be revealed (your polling station that is, you’ll need a magic eight ball for the important stuff). Also, you don’t need your polling card to vote but don’t forget your ID.
😳‘Political farce of desperation’: The Conservative Party has come under fire for trying to get Labour’s candidate for mayor Richard Parker arrested. Yes you read that right. Northfield MP Gary Sambrook reported Parker for making a false statement on his nomination form — to stand in the election, candidates need to either be registered to vote, have lived or worked in, or occupied property in the West Mids for a year. But apparently Sambrook misunderstood and thought you had to meet all these to be elgiable. Despite the fact his opponent fulfills two of the criteria, he called the cops because Parker lives 10 miles outside of the area. Cue: guffawing from Labour MPs — Jess Philips said Street’s campaign had “descended into a political farce of desperation”. Ouch.
📱TikShock: Independent candidate for mayor, lawyer Akhmed Yakoob has suggested he might provide legal representation to Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan. The siblings are facing trial in Romania where they have received allegations of rape, sex trafficking and forming a criminal gang. Yakoob made his comments in this TikTok video during a discussion about the Tate’s charges but he doesn’t go into much detail about the possibility of working for them. We’ll try to find out more.
🎉What does Walsall want? ‘What do the voters of Walsall care about?’ I hear you ask. Well, Gurdip Thandi at the Local Democracy Reporting Service has you covered. It turns out locals want their public realm improved, less fly-tipping and fewer pot holes (don’t we all). Also high on the agenda is more to do. First time voter Jessica May, aged 22, said there should be more events in the town centre. Record shop owner Harcharan Pala said there’s not “enough going on at the moment”. Whoever wins, if you’re reading this, throw a party or something will you?
🍬Bittersweet in the Black Country: Labour has its sights set on winning Dudley today with the Tories equally determined to hold on. But whoever wins, they will inherit a cash-strapped council. There’s been no disastrous IT system or mammoth equal pay claims bills like in Birmingham, it’s just one of many English councils with a diminishing income and ballooning costs. To balance the books the authority needs to save £37m over the next three years — they won’t find that down the back of the sofa.
📈Too close to call: Finally, if you haven’t seen it yet, the latest mayoral race poll is over at YouGov. But if you’re looking for an indication of who might win, don’t get your hopes up. The overall result is a resounding: Who knows? That’s right, even the statistics nerds have no idea.
Rwanda bound: First Birmingham asylum seekers detained
By Kate Knowles
‘Distraught and scared’
On Monday morning, Komak left his home in Dudley for his 12pm appointment at Sandford House immigration centre in Solihull. Komak (not his real name) is a Christian man from Iran who arrived in the UK two years ago suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and seeking asylum from a government that is hostile to his religion. Since then, he has reported to the immigration centre every two weeks — but this time, he didn’t come out.
Komak is among five people who were held at Sandford House at the start of the week. The Dispatch understands that he was moved to an immigration detention centre in the south of England. He and his fellow detainees have all been held as part of the government’s plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. “Now that the Safety of Rwanda Act has passed and our Treaty with Rwanda has been ratified, Government is entering the final phase of operationalising this landmark policy to tackle illegal migration and stop the boats,” a Home Office spokesperson told us.
Komak is an active member of his church in Dudley. His friends say they are extremely worried about him, and are praying that he doesn’t get taken away permanently. The first flight to Rwanda will leave in between nine and 11 weeks time. If the Home Office gets its way, Komak could be on it.
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