Home Secretary says Labour ministers flood her with visa pleas each week

In a recent interview, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed that fellow Labour ministers regularly pressure her for extra work visas, sometimes contacting her every week or two with urgent requests for specific trades such as welders. She expressed frustration that the party leans on overseas staff to fill gaps while nearly a million young Britons remain out of work or education, and warned that foreign employees are often paid poorly and face bad conditions, especially in care work.

Mahmood also outlined Labour’s intention to open four new legal pathways for refugees, including a resettlement scheme for Afghans and Palestinians, and said the UK cannot simply return migrants to France after the recent termination of the one-in-one-out arrangement. She defended police action against extremist groups and said she is uncomfortable with arrests of Palestine Action supporters. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp countered, accusing Labour of handing out hundreds of thousands of permits while many Brits rely on benefits.