LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed in an interview aired Wednesday to review how UK courts interpret international human rights laws as he bids to curb immigration levels and deport more migrants.
Starmer is battling to stem the irregular arrival of migrants in small boats across the Channel as well as the number of people coming through other regular legal channels.
Both have reached record levels in recent years, helping spur anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of Brexit champion Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party.
Shortly after warning his center-left Labour party’s annual conference Tuesday that Britain faces a “battle for the soul of the country,” Starmer told broadcasters his government will reassess various rights protections for migrants.
“We need to look again at the interpretation of some of these provisions, and we’ve already begun to do that work in some of our domestic legislation,” he told BBC Radio.
“It’s the refugee conventions, it’s the torture conventions, it’s the convention on the rights of children.
“I’m not going to tear all that down. I believe in those instruments... but all international instruments, and this is long-established, have to be applied in the circumstances as they are now.”
The UK leader said those “genuinely fleeing persecution should be afforded asylum” but the country was “seeing mass migration in a way that we haven’t seen in previous years.”
Reform has vowed to scrap the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, favors reforming its application in Britain.
He told the BBC that Articles 3 of the ECHR — prohibiting torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and used by asylum seekers to stay in the UK or fight deportation — was an example.
“I do think we should look at that again,” the UK leader said.
“I think there’s a difference between someone being deported to summary execution and someone who is simply going somewhere where they don’t have the same level of health care, or... prison conditions.”
Starmer also noted that Article 8, stating “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life,” would also be reexamined.
UK courts have interpreted it in some “exceptional circumstances” as providing the right to remain in Britain with relatives.
In a May policy paper, the government pledged new laws would “clarify” how to interpret it.
The interior ministry said in September that new legislation will reform “family immigration” rules so they are based on actions of “parliament, rather than ad hoc court decisions.”
In response to Starmer’s comments, Akiko Hart, director of rights organization Liberty, warned the approach risked “setting us on a path to undermining the rights of every person in Britain.”
UK to review how courts interpret migrants’ rights: Starmer
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UK to review how courts interpret migrants’ rights: Starmer
- Starmer is battling to stem the irregular arrival of migrants in small boats across the Channel
- “We need to look again at the interpretation of some of these provisions, and we’ve already begun to do that work in some of our domestic legislation,” he told BBC Radio
Report highlights role of British Muslim charitable giving in supporting UK public services
- The study, “Building Britain: British Muslims Giving Back,” finds that donations from British Muslims are helping to bolster overstretched service
LONDON: British Muslim charitable giving is playing an increasingly significant role in supporting frontline public services across the UK, according to a new report by policy and research organization Equi.
The study, “Building Britain: British Muslims Giving Back,” finds that donations from British Muslims are helping to bolster overstretched services, including local councils, the NHS and welfare systems, at a time of growing financial pressure.
The report estimates that Muslim donors contribute around £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) annually, making them the UK’s most generous community.
This figure is around four times the national giving average and rises to almost 10 times the average among higher earners.
According to the findings, Muslim-led charities are providing a wide range of support, including housing assistance, emergency cash grants, food provision and mental health services, easing demand on statutory services.
Equi points to evidence from 2023 showing that housing support delivered by the National Zakat Foundation helped prevent evictions that would have cost councils an estimated £28.8 million, with every £1 of charitable spending generating £73 in public sector savings.
The report also highlights a generational shift, with younger British Muslims increasingly directing their donations toward domestic causes such as homelessness, child poverty and mental health challenges.
Despite their growing impact, Muslim charities face a number of barriers, including de-banking, restrictive funding rules, securitization measures and what the report describes as limited recognition from government. Equi argues that these challenges are constraining the sector’s ability to maximize its contribution.
“British Muslim giving is not just generosity but a lifeline for public services that needs recognizing,” said Equi Managing Director Prof. Javed Khan.
“From preventing evictions to supporting mental health, these donations are saving millions for the taxpayer and strengthening communities across Britain. The evidence is clear that Muslim-led action is delivering frontline support where the state is struggling,” he added.
Equi is calling on policymakers to engage more closely with Muslim-led charities and to move beyond what it describes as symbolic recognition.
The report recommends measures such as UK-based match-funding schemes and greater faith literacy within policymaking, which it says could unlock billions of pounds in additional domestic spending while maintaining the UK’s global humanitarian commitments.
The study concluded that with greater collaboration between government and Muslim charities, charitable giving could play an even more transformative role in strengthening public services and social cohesion across the country.
