Chris Philp

The Government is aware of online material identifying businesses and other locations as targets. The Home Office continues to work closely with tech companies to strengthen their systems to detect and remove terrorist content and take robust action to reduce the availability and accessibility of terrorist content online.

Following the proscription of Palestine Action in July 2025, alongside the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperialist Movement, the Home Office wrote to technology platforms reminding them of their obligations to detect, moderate and remove content that would likely be unlawful under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 & 2006.

The Government works closely with the police and other partners to ensure that communities can go about their daily lives without fear of harassment, intimidation or serious disruption, and to protect businesses and local communities from criminality. The police have a range of powers to maintain public safety and deal with criminal behaviour, and where criminality occurs, those responsible should expect to face the consequences.

Anyone with information about criminal activity should report it to the police. Arrest and charging decisions are a matter for the operationally independent police and Crown Prosecution Service.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 29145, tabled on 11 September 2026.

Further to that response, this Government is clear that terrorist material including that from Palestine Action, has no place online, and we take the threat of online radicalisation extremely seriously. When a group is proscribed under UK law, it becomes a criminal offence to support or promote that organisation. Platforms are expected to act on this by removing content that glorifies, supports, or is otherwise linked to the proscribed group, in line with their terms of service and legal obligations.

The Home Office works closely with tech companies to strengthen their systems to detect and remove terrorist content. We continue to take robust action to reduce the availability and accessibility of terrorist content online.

The number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) sentenced to less than a year in prison and living in the community is not available from published information.

However, the latest published information shows that at the end of Q2 2026 there were 21,294 FNOs subject to deportation living in the community. More information can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

11,733 FNOs have been returned from the UK since the 2024 election (1 July 2024 – 31 July 2026). More information an be found at: Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK

The new safe and legal routes announced in the Restoring Order and Control statement will enable community groups, universities and employers to identify refugees they wish to sponsor.

The routes will be capped. Arrivals under the new community sponsorship route will start small and build over time to align with the UK’s capacity to support refugees. The Home Office will retain overall control on numbers. The government will set out further details in due course.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control statement, arrivals under the new named sponsorship route will be capped. The number of arrivals will be carefully managed to align with the UK’s capacity to support refugees, and the Home Office will retain overall control on numbers.

Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, and all refugees will be subject to appropriate security, identity, and background checks before arrival in the UK.

Safe and legal routes offer an alternative to dangerous journeys for refugees genuinely fleeing war and persecution. The launch of the named sponsorship route will not depend on illegal entry reaching zero.

The government will set out further details on the schemes, including eligibility requirements, in due course.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control statement, arrivals under the new named sponsorship route will be capped. The number of arrivals will be carefully managed to align with the UK’s capacity to support refugees, and the Home Office will retain overall control on numbers.

Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, and all refugees will be subject to appropriate security, identity, and background checks before arrival in the UK.

Safe and legal routes offer an alternative to dangerous journeys for refugees genuinely fleeing war and persecution. The launch of the named sponsorship route will not depend on illegal entry reaching zero.

The government will set out further details on the schemes, including eligibility requirements, in due course.

As set out in the Restoring Order and Control statement, arrivals under the new named sponsorship route will be capped. The number of arrivals will be carefully managed to align with the UK’s capacity to support refugees, and the Home Office will retain overall control on numbers.

Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, and all refugees will be subject to appropriate security, identity, and background checks before arrival in the UK.

Safe and legal routes offer an alternative to dangerous journeys for refugees genuinely fleeing war and persecution. The launch of the named sponsorship route will not depend on illegal entry reaching zero.

The government will set out further details on the schemes, including eligibility requirements, in due course.

The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home Office publication at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions.

The Home Office began receiving the Met Office assessment from September 2019, as such some of the data requested is unavailable. Available data on the number of red days is provided below up to 31 August 2026 – while this goes beyond the periods requested, it is provided in one place for completeness. This data shows that there have been more favourable crossing conditions so far this year than the same period in almost any year since 2020. Red days this year have already exceeded the 106 recorded in the whole of 2022, which saw a record 45,000 migrants arrive in small boats.

To provide additional context to the request, the average number of arrivals per red day per year (to date) has also been provided. This demonstrates a notable reduction in the average number of arrivals per red day in 2026 (to 31 August). The average number of migrants arriving on red days between January and August has fallen by 38% from 232 to 144 over the past year. This represents a 43% drop from the peak of 251 in 2022.

Table 1. Number of red days per month – September 2019 to August 2026

Table 2. Average number of small boat arrivals per red day per year to date (1 Jan - 31 Aug)

The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home Office publication at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions.

The Home Office began receiving the Met Office assessment from September 2019, as such some of the data requested is unavailable. Available data on the number of red days is provided below up to 31 August 2026 – while this goes beyond the periods requested, it is provided in one place for completeness. This data shows that there have been more favourable crossing conditions so far this year than the same period in almost any year since 2020. Red days this year have already exceeded the 106 recorded in the whole of 2022, which saw a record 45,000 migrants arrive in small boats.

To provide additional context to the request, the average number of arrivals per red day per year (to date) has also been provided. This demonstrates a notable reduction in the average number of arrivals per red day in 2026 (to 31 August). The average number of migrants arriving on red days between January and August has fallen by 38% from 232 to 144 over the past year. This represents a 43% drop from the peak of 251 in 2022.

Table 1. Number of red days per month – September 2019 to August 2026

Table 2. Average number of small boat arrivals per red day per year to date (1 Jan - 31 Aug)

Following our decision not to proceed with the consideration of Cameron Barracks, the site is in the process of being returned to the Ministry of Defence. This will be completed on or before our original agreed hand back date of October 2026.

The Minister for Border Security and Asylum wrote to the Rt. Hon. gentleman on 13 and 23 July.

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

All individuals seeking to come to the UK under the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme, part of the UK-France Agreement, undergo stringent security and criminal checks. Any who fail these will not be permitted entry to the UK. Furthermore, any individuals who then proceed to make an asylum claim in the UK are subject to robust, mandatory security checks.

Under our agreement with France, we have removed over 1000 illegal migrants from British soil, contributing to the nearly 70,000 illegal migrants who have been returned since July 2024.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

All individuals seeking to come to the UK under the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme, part of the UK-France Agreement, undergo stringent security and criminal checks. Any who fail these will not be permitted entry to the UK. Furthermore, any individuals who then proceed to make an asylum claim in the UK are subject to robust, mandatory security checks.

Under our agreement with France, we have removed over 1000 illegal migrants from British soil, contributing to the nearly 70,000 illegal migrants who have been returned since July 2024.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

A breakdown by the number of charges and convictions for all criminal offences is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Security checks are undertaken for all those arriving through illegal migration routes and law enforcement have the powers to deal with them appropriately. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system. These system and security database checks are completed during the asylum screening process and before a decision is made.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK. The Home Office works closely with other government departments as well as relevant agencies and law enforcement.

A breakdown by the number of charges and convictions for all criminal offences is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Security checks are undertaken for all those arriving through illegal migration routes and law enforcement have the powers to deal with them appropriately. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system. These system and security database checks are completed during the asylum screening process and before a decision is made.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK. The Home Office works closely with other government departments as well as relevant agencies and law enforcement.

The information that you have requested about Article 3 ECHR and deportation is not available from published statistics.

We are fully committed to making our communities safer by returning those who break our laws, which is why in the period between this government coming to power and January 2026, over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK. This is a 32% increase on the FNO returns recorded in the previous nineteen-month period ending June 2024, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

The information that you have requested about Article 3 ECHR and deportation is not available from published statistics.

We are fully committed to making our communities safer by returning those who break our laws, which is why in the period between this government coming to power and January 2026, over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK. This is a 32% increase on the FNO returns recorded in the previous nineteen-month period ending June 2024, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

The information that you have requested about Article 3 ECHR and deportation is not available from published statistics.

We are fully committed to making our communities safer by returning those who break our laws, which is why in the period between this government coming to power and January 2026, over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK. This is a 32% increase on the FNO returns recorded in the previous nineteen-month period ending June 2024, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

Data is published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, broken down by type, can be found within the Immigration system statistics data tables available on GOV.UK.

March 2026 data will be published on 21 May 2026.

The Home Office publishes Accredited Official Statistics on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis. Data is published in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin as a snapshotat 31 March and 30 September, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

The UK proscribed Hamas in its entirety in 2021. Supporting a proscribed organisation is a serious criminal offence and this Government will do whatever is required to keep communities in the UK safe and protect our national security.

As set out in the recently published "Protecting What Matters" document, the Home Office is increasing efforts to stop hate preachers and extremists from entering the UK. Overseas speakers of extremist concern will be identified and referred to specialist teams to take swift immigration action where appropriate, including cancelling or refusing their visas or ETAs, should they attempt to travel to the UK and so preventing them spreading their dangerous and divisive rhetoric.

The Home Office already has sophisticated mechanisms in place to seek out and prevent extremist individuals from entering the UK. This work operates in conjunction with existing border security and immigration frameworks. As part of the annual State of Extremism report, the Home Office will include detail on the volume and type of cases where immigration action has taken place.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission at the border if a person’s character, conduct, or associations mean it is undesirable to grant them entry to the UK.

The Home Secretary has the power to deprive an individual of British citizenship where it was obtained by fraud, or where deprivation is conducive to the public good. Deprivation on conducive grounds is used only for individuals who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct is considered to involve very high harm, for example activities relating to national security (including terrorism and espionage), war crimes, serious and organised crime, or extremism and the glorification of terrorism. Decisions on deprivation are taken on a case-by-case basis.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission at the border if a person’s character, conduct, or associations mean it is undesirable to grant them entry to the UK.

The Home Secretary has the power to deprive an individual of British citizenship where it was obtained by fraud, or where deprivation is conducive to the public good. Deprivation on conducive grounds is used only for individuals who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct is considered to involve very high harm, for example activities relating to national security (including terrorism and espionage), war crimes, serious and organised crime, or extremism and the glorification of terrorism. Decisions on deprivation are taken on a case-by-case basis.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission at the border if a person’s character, conduct, or associations mean it is undesirable to grant them entry to the UK.

The Home Secretary has the power to deprive an individual of British citizenship where it was obtained by fraud, or where deprivation is conducive to the public good. Deprivation on conducive grounds is used only for individuals who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct is considered to involve very high harm, for example activities relating to national security (including terrorism and espionage), war crimes, serious and organised crime, or extremism and the glorification of terrorism. Decisions on deprivation are taken on a case-by-case basis.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. Exclusion is reserved for cases involving national security, extremism, serious crime, war crimes, corruption and unacceptable behaviour. An exclusion decision must be reasonable, consistent with decisions taken in similar circumstances, and proportionate to the threat the person poses to the UK. There must be a rational connection between exclusion of the individual and the legitimate aim being pursued, for example safeguarding public security or tackling serious crime.

The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission where a person’s character, conduct or associations means it is undesirable to grant them entry or permission to stay the UK. The decision to refuse entry on the ground it is conducive to the public good must be made on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the conduct and circumstances of the person concerned. All decisions must be reasonable, proportionate and evidence based. A person’s presence may be deemed to be non-conducive to the public good for a range of reasons, for example, because of criminality, reprehensible behaviour falling short of a conviction, or because their identity, travel history or other circumstances means that their presence in the UK poses a threat to UK society. A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be refused admission on non-conducive grounds.

Where a person has already been admitted to the UK, deportation action may be taken where their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. This may include those who have publicly expressed support for proscribed organisations.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. Exclusion is reserved for cases involving national security, extremism, serious crime, war crimes, corruption and unacceptable behaviour. An exclusion decision must be reasonable, consistent with decisions taken in similar circumstances, and proportionate to the threat the person poses to the UK. There must be a rational connection between exclusion of the individual and the legitimate aim being pursued, for example safeguarding public security or tackling serious crime.

The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission where a person’s character, conduct or associations means it is undesirable to grant them entry or permission to stay the UK. The decision to refuse entry on the ground it is conducive to the public good must be made on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the conduct and circumstances of the person concerned. All decisions must be reasonable, proportionate and evidence based. A person’s presence may be deemed to be non-conducive to the public good for a range of reasons, for example, because of criminality, reprehensible behaviour falling short of a conviction, or because their identity, travel history or other circumstances means that their presence in the UK poses a threat to UK society. A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be refused admission on non-conducive grounds.

Where a person has already been admitted to the UK, deportation action may be taken where their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. This may include those who have publicly expressed support for proscribed organisations.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a person who is not a British Citizen if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. Exclusion is reserved for cases involving national security, extremism, serious crime, war crimes, corruption and unacceptable behaviour. An exclusion decision must be reasonable, consistent with decisions taken in similar circumstances, and proportionate to the threat the person poses to the UK. There must be a rational connection between exclusion of the individual and the legitimate aim being pursued, for example safeguarding public security or tackling serious crime.

The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission where a person’s character, conduct or associations means it is undesirable to grant them entry or permission to stay the UK. The decision to refuse entry on the ground it is conducive to the public good must be made on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the conduct and circumstances of the person concerned. All decisions must be reasonable, proportionate and evidence based. A person’s presence may be deemed to be non-conducive to the public good for a range of reasons, for example, because of criminality, reprehensible behaviour falling short of a conviction, or because their identity, travel history or other circumstances means that their presence in the UK poses a threat to UK society. A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be refused admission on non-conducive grounds.

Where a person has already been admitted to the UK, deportation action may be taken where their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. This may include those who have publicly expressed support for proscribed organisations.

Although The Home Office does not comment on specific groups or individual cases, I would like to reassure The Rt Hon gentleman that we are committed to continually building our understanding of the extremist threat and monitor groups that pose a threat to national security.

Where the actions of individuals or groups cross a legal threshold, we will act to prevent harm and to safeguard susceptible individuals.

As set out in the recent ‘Protecting What Matters’ publication, the Home Office is increasing resource to counter extremism and prevent groups and individuals from sharing their harmful rhetoric.

Although The Home Office does not comment on specific groups or individual cases, I would like to reassure The Rt Hon gentleman that we are committed to continually building our understanding of the extremist threat and monitor groups that pose a threat to national security.

Where the actions of individuals or groups cross a legal threshold, we will act to prevent harm and to safeguard susceptible individuals.

As set out in the recent ‘Protecting What Matters’ publication, the Home Office is increasing resource to counter extremism and prevent groups and individuals from sharing their harmful rhetoric.

The latest published information can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

The information you have requested on the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) living in the community split by nationality is not available from published statistics.

Any FNO convicted of a crime who receives a custodial sentence in the UK is referred to the Home Office for deportation consideration following sentencing.

Where removal is not immediately possible, electronic monitoring can be used to manage FNOs. We will pursue deportation action against individuals living in the community rigorously, actively monitoring and managing cases through the legal process and negotiating barriers to removal.

The Home Office publishes statistics on returns from the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The latest data on asylum-related returns by return type and top 10 most common nationalities in 2025 can be found in table Ret_04 of the ‘Returns summary tables’.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

The Home Office has carefully considered and evaluated the risks of a remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements. This evaluation has informed the development of the Department's security requirements and procurement approach.

Any delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements and principles including data security, cyber security, accessibility, fraud risk, and prevention to ensure compliance with Home Office Policy and ensure that the service delivers the fundamental principles underpinning our Immigration policies and our visa journey. This compliance will be assessed throughout the tender process to ensure the strictest compliance with Home Office security parameters.

The ongoing Home Office English Language Test procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.

Before any decision can be made to formally include remote testing as part of the Home Office English Language Testing service, the Home Office will ensure a full Cyber Security Assessment including a Threat Assessment is conducted to ensure compliance with Home Office Policy.

In addition, any delivery model must meet appropriate integrity requirements and principles including data security, cyber security, accessibility, fraud risk and prevention to ensure compliance with Home Office Policy and ensure that the service delivers the fundamental principles underpinning our Immigration policies and our visa journey. This compliance will be assessed throughout the tender process to ensure the strictest compliance with Home Office security parameters.

The Home Office has carefully considered the risks of a remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.

The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution.