London, Sep 6 (IANS) Shabana Mahmood has been appointed as the country’s new UK Home Secretary, replacing Yvette Cooper, after a major Cabinet reshuffle in the Labour Party-led government triggered by the resignation of former Deputy Chief Minister Angela Rayner.
Taking charge as the new Home Secretary on Friday, Mahmood said she was honoured to serve in her new official position and the “foremost priority of the UK government is the safety of its citizens”.
Taking to her official X account, Mahmood said: “It is the honour of my life to serve as Home Secretary. The first responsibility of government is the safety of its citizens. Every day in this job, I will be devoted to that purpose.”
Welcoming Mahmood as the new UK Home Secretary, the country’s Home Department in an X post said: “For over two centuries, the Home Secretary has safeguarded the nation. Today, we begin a new chapter as we welcome @ShabanaMahmood to the Home Office as the new Home Secretary.”
Earlier in the day, David Lammy was also appointed the new UK Deputy Prime Minister.
Mahmood is set to take on one of the toughest briefs in the UK government as pressure mounts over record Channel crossings, asylum hotels and migration.
As Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary over the past year, she has been tasked with tackling the jail overcrowding crisis and has just introduced major legislation to Parliament to overhaul the prison system earlier this week.
The courts backlog has also been a key focus of her brief, but the daughter of immigrants, of Kashmiri origin, has also been drawn into immigration policy that will form much of her new day job.
Mahmood, the most senior Muslim woman in the UK government, backed Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he said that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” in May, although she avoided using the term.
Asked whether she would repeat the Prime Minister’s language, she said: “I agree with the Prime Minister that without curbs on migration, without making sure that we have strong rules that everyone follows, and that we have a pace of immigration that allows for integration into our country, we do risk becoming a nation of people estranged from one another.”
“And what he has described is something that I absolutely believe in, and which are the values of the Labour Party, which is a desire to see this country as a nation of neighbours.”
Her appointment comes after discontent over the summer with how the UK government has addressed small boat crossings and housed asylum seekers in hotels, which has led to a wave of protests and criticism from Labour Party’s political opponents.
Earlier this summer, Mahmood also said the European Convention on Human Rights must be reformed to win back public confidence across the continent.
On Tuesday, she further told the Lords Constitution Committee that it is “perfectly fine” for Ministers to question the UK’s interpretation of upholding the treaty, adding that European colleagues view the UK as being more on the “maximalist end of the spectrum”.
The former barrister will now be in charge of proposals to tighten the use of Article 8, the right to family and private life, of the ECHR in immigration cases, which are expected to be brought this autumn.
As Justice Secretary she also proposed a change in the law for foreign criminals to be deported immediately when they receive a custodial sentence, at a time the Home Office has been working to increase the number of returns of migrants with no legal right to be in the UK.
Announcing the plan last month, she said: “If you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”
“Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”
Her appointment has been welcomed by the founder of Blue Labour, Lord Glasman, who told Politico the move was “fantastic”.
“She’s now clearly the leader of our part of the party.”
–IANS
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