Immigration: Earned Settlement

Debate between Peter Prinsley and Shabana Mahmood

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

I welcome this statement and its greatly imaginative measures. I particularly welcome the fact that care workers will have a second opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Does the Home Secretary agree that the care workers whom we welcome to this country are every bit as valuable as the highly paid doctors, entrepreneurs and industrialists who come here with high salaries?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I agree with my hon. Friend. In acknowledgement of the very specific circumstances of the care worker cohort and their unique position in relation to the covid-19 pandemic, we have the transitional arrangement for care workers who arrived before May 2025. He is right to say that it is appropriate to give a second chance to those who have been unable to meet the requirements of their visa, who would normally be expected to leave the country. They now have a second chance at gaining employment in the care sector with a legitimate employer and a chance to meet the visa conditions, so that they can once again consider settlement in another five years’ time.

National Security

Debate between Peter Prinsley and Shabana Mahmood

Monday 12th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

British Jews like me find the vote by the Greens to declare Zionism racism deeply disturbing. Perhaps some Greens were misled, for Zionism is simply the belief that Jewish people have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. So I am a Zionist, and who here is not a Zionist? British Jews, some of whom live in areas controlled by Green councils, are worried. How can they be reassured that they will not be the subject of political prejudice?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The policies of another political party are a matter primarily for that political party, and I would expect it to have to explain the impact of its motion on the safety and security of Jews. I believe that there are questions for the Green party leadership to look at and to answer. On the issue of Green councils, every council, regardless of which political party is running it, has to follow the law, and the law will not allow any prejudicial treatment of any of our citizens based on their protected characteristics, whether that is their race or their religion. That applies with as much fervour to the Jewish community as it does to any other community in this country, and I would expect all councils to ensure that they comply with the law. Nobody has the right to freelance on equality policy. It is set by the Government. There is a clear legal framework and every council has to follow it.

West Midlands Police

Debate between Peter Prinsley and Shabana Mahmood

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

I thank the Lib Dem spokesperson for his remarks. I have, as a matter of courtesy, informed the police and crime commissioner in advance of making this statement that I would be saying that I do not have confidence in the chief constable of West Midlands police. I have also reiterated and made it clear that any statutory process, and any decision under the statutory process on further action against the chief constable, would be a matter for the police and crime commissioner himself. He must consider that on his own terms, and I am sure that he will be making his own statement once he has had a chance to absorb the findings of Sir Andy’s report. Given that there could be a statutory process, I will not be commenting on what may or may not be happening, in order to respect the independence and integrity of any future decisions.

On the IOPC, I expect that the police and crime commissioner will consider his position on this matter and approach the IOPC if he deems it necessary, but that is a judgment for him. I also expect the IOPC to consider whether these findings mean that it should use its own power of initiative to conduct an investigation. The hon. Member will know that it is independent, and it would be improper for me to seek to direct it in any way, but it does have those powers and I believe it has already indicated that it will consider the position again, once it has had a chance to absorb the findings of Sir Andy’s report.

I agree with the hon. Member that this case proves why we need a duty of candour on all public officials, and I look forward to the Hillsborough law becoming an Act of Parliament at the earliest opportunity. On the use of artificial intelligence by police forces, I will be returning to these matters when I publish—I will come to the House to make a statement—the policing reform White Paper. This is important because AI is an incredibly powerful tool that can and should be used by our police forces, but regulating it to make sure it is always accurate is a matter of legitimate concern to us all, and I will be saying more about that in due course.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. It is disappointing, but perhaps unsurprising, that some of the evidence presented to the Home Affairs Committee was an AI hallucination. As I look to the back row of the Opposition side of the Chamber, I ask the Secretary of State whether she shares my suspicions that there was indeed political interference with the work of the Birmingham safety advisory group. What will happen if that turns out to be the case?

[Shabana Mahmood]

Having commissioned Sir Andy to investigate these matters, I think it is important that we reflect on his findings. He found that there was no evidence that police officers were motivated either by antisemitism or as a result of political interference, or were otherwise behaving with malign intent. It is important that I follow those findings from the independent inspector and act accordingly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Prinsley and Shabana Mahmood

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Member will know that the methodology has changed. In fact, the numbers have stayed relatively flat. He will also know that it is a freedom of all our citizens that if they are able to work somewhere else, they may choose to do so. This Government are not going to interfere with that.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

T4.   Happy new year, Mr Speaker. My visit to France with the Select Committee on Home Affairs exposed the reality on the beaches: French officers facing pitched battles against violent smuggling gangs to stop hazardous boats launching. Many of the crossings are successfully thwarted. Does the Minister agree that the populist myth that our French partners are simply waving migrants through is not only offensive to those brave officers risking their lives but undermines the critical intelligence sharing that is needed to address this sinister trade, and that the support provided by the Sandhurst funding is money well spent?

Manchester Terrorism Attack

Debate between Peter Prinsley and Shabana Mahmood

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Lady will understand that I will not make new policy at the Dispatch Box, but I confirm that I will be talking about those matters to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. I recognise that the online space poses a specific challenge when it comes to all forms of hatred, particularly antisemitism, which proliferates across the political spectrum—on the left, on the right and everywhere in between—and I will talk to colleagues in Government about that.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

Tonight, Jews around the world begin the festival of Simchat Torah. On Simchat Torah two years ago, we witnessed the worst attack on Jews since world war two. Today, we express joy at the hostage release, but also great sorrow at the massive loss of life during this terrible war. As we have heard, antisemitism is widespread. There is often only one Jewish child at a rural school in, say, Norfolk or Suffolk—indeed, my brother and I were the only Jewish children at our school. What can be done to support our teachers, so that they have the skills, knowledge and curriculum to educate all our children on the terrible scourge of antisemitism?

[Shabana Mahmood]

The Department for Education and the Secretary of State for Education have already made funding available to schools to tackle antisemitism in the classroom, and to educate teachers about the best way to handle conversations on the subject. I am sure that she will say more about that when she is next before the House for oral questions. My hon. Friend should rest assured that we recognise that antisemitism is a society-wide problem. Colleagues in the Department of Health are taking action, particularly around the regulation of doctors, to ensure that our national health service is a safe space for patients of every background, including Jewish patients. There has been work not just in the Department for Education, but in other Departments; there needs to be a whole-Government response, because this is a whole-society problem.