Summary

  1. Watch: Where will migrants go under Tory plans?published at 10:42 BST

    Kemi Badenoch, when pressed about where migrants will go under her plans, said it's "an irrelevant question".

    She did not provide specifics of where migrants would be sent under the new Tory proposal when asked by Laura Kuenssberg a short while ago.

    You can watch more on the pair's exchange on the plan to deport up 750,000 migrants below.

    Media caption,

    Badenoch: 'They'll go back to where they came from'

  2. Where each party stands on immigrationpublished at 10:32 BST

    Kemi Badenoch
    Image caption,

    Kemi Badenoch defended her party's immigration plans on this week's show

    More than 33,500 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since the start of 2025. It's a topic that has triggered widespread protests in the UK, and split public opinion.

    Here's how each party plans to address migration into the UK:

    Labour:

    • Legal migrants will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and volunteer in their community to be granted permanent settlement status
    • Refugees will have to wait longer than the current five years before they can apply to settle permanently in the UK
    • It also confirmed that the route enabling refugees to automatically bring close relatives to the UK will be permanently scrapped, after being suspended in September

    Conservatives:

    • The party would task officials with removing 750,000 illegal immigrants from the UK within five years if they win the next election
    • The Tories have pledged to ban people who enter the UK without permission from ever claiming asylum
    • It would create a "removals Force" to remove people within hours or a few days

    Reform UK:

    • Plans to abolish the right of migrants to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK after five years, if the party wins the next election
    • It's also said it plans to bar anyone other than British citizens from accessing welfare

    Liberal Democrats:

    • The party would give asylum seekers permission to work while they wait for their claims to be processed
    • Leader Ed Davey has advocated providing help to refugees abroad, to remove the need to come to the UK

    Green Party:

    • "We will say it loud, migrants and refugees are welcome here", leader Zack Polanski said earlier this week
  3. Recap: What we heard this weekpublished at 10:20 BST

    mahmood and badenoch

    If you're just catching up, let's take a quick look back at what we heard on today's programme.

    Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was pressed on the government's response to antisemitism in the wake of Thursday's attack in Manchester at a Jewish synagogue.

    She said the investigation was progressing and she had been in touch with the families of the victims.

    The home secretary said Jewish people are justified in their anger at the government, adding their concerns are informing proposed new police powers over protests. She insisted that people would still have freedom to protest, but the new laws would make sure the wider community was also protected.

    We also heard from two Manchester-based Rabbis who said antisemitism had been allowed to grow in the UK, and they were not surprised by the attack on a synagogue.

    Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch agreed that protest laws needed improvement, but questioned why it had taken the government so long to address them.

    She was then asked about her plans to return 750,000 illegal immigrants from the UK if the Conservatives win the next election. Badenoch insisted her plans, which include leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, "were credible".

    She also spoke about rowing back on the UK's climate commitments to ensure the country wasn't losing out commercially to foreign rivals, and defended her record as party leader, saying she maintains the backing of party members.

  4. That's all for this week's programmepublished at 10:06 BST

    Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has just finished for this week, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pressed on how the government will respond to antisemitism in the UK in the wake of the Manchester synagogue attack.

    Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended her party's immigration plans ahead of her party's conference.

    We'll be recapping the key takeaways in just a moment - stay with us.

  5. Badenoch won't commit to resigning if Tories don't succeed in next electionpublished at 10:01 BST

    Badenoch is pushed on her plans and leadership. The Conservative Party's position has gotten worse, Kuenssberg says.

    But Badenoch pushes back and says polls are not results. She is instead taking time to work on plans that won't fall apart, she adds.

    The final question from Kuenssberg is: "What if the problem is you?"

    Badenoch says she was elected to do "exactly what I am doing now" and she believes her party will keep faith.

    Asked if she will resign if things go badly at the next elections in May, Badenoch repeats that she was elected to do what she is doing now.

    With that, the interview concludes.

  6. Has Reform UK stolen the Tory's thunder?published at 10:00 BST

    Kuenssberg puts to the Conservative Party leader that Reform UK has stolen her party's thunder.

    Badenoch says Reform UK have rushed out their announcements, whereas the Tories are being patient in order to get it right.

    Kuenssberg mentions the number of councillors that the Conservatives lost in the local elections in May.

    The Tory plan will pay off, Badenoch insists. "Nothing good comes quickly or fast," she says, telling Kuenssberg that she is working through a plan.

  7. Badenoch says government climate plans not workingpublished at 09:56 BST

    badenoch

    The interview now moves on to Tory policies on the climate.

    Badenoch says the the government's plans are not working and not stopping climate change.

    She says that we've made changes to comply with the Paris agreement, but the UK is the only country in the world who have done that. She then lists climate initiatives that she says are making other countries rich at the cost of the UK.

    She says companies are leaving because of the UK's environmental laws and workers are losing their jobs.

  8. Badenoch says human rights can be protected without ECHR membershippublished at 09:54 BST

    Turning now to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which the Conservatives said they would leave, Badenoch is asked if they really want the UK to leave a decades-old European agreement.

    The Tory leader lists off countries including the US, Canada and Australia, saying they are not party to the ECHR. Kuenssberg points out these are not European countries.

    Badenoch says you don't need to be in the convention to have human rights. "Our human rights existed long before the ECHR," she argues.

    She says the UK is paying money to handle a problem that's getting more difficult.

    The Conservatives have not said they would leave the Refugee Convention, Badenoch says, but they will be prepared to leave anything stopping them from securing the borders.

  9. 'I want to make sure we have strong borders' - Badenochpublished at 09:51 BST

    Pushed by Kuenssberg to offer a plan to remove illegal immigrants from the UK, Badenoch says the Conservatives will be standing up for a force - the Removals Force - which doesn't currently exist.

    She says that families of children hurt by illegal migrants want to know why the government isn't acting.

    Kuenssberg pushes back, asking Badenoch how the party will make it happen.

    Badenoch says funding will come from the money currently spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels and "dealing with migration issues".

    "I want to make sure that we have strong borders, and I've come up with a plan to do it," Badenoch says, admitting that it will be tough.

  10. Badenoch insists Tory plan on migration is crediblepublished at 09:50 BST

    badenoch

    Kuenssberg says that questioning where people have to go is not irrelevant, but Badenoch says we can't have a "defeatist attitude" and the Tories have a credible plan.

    Badenoch is asked if it's a credible plan, where will the people go? She answers "not here".

    "We need to have stronger borders", Badenoch says. She says that the plans are not just about deporting 750,000 people, it's about leaving the ECHR, banning asylum claims from people who have arrived illegally and the return scheme.

  11. Where would migrants removed from UK go?published at 09:47 BST

    Kuenssberg moves onto the Conservative pledge to remove 750,000 illegal immigrants from the UK within five years if they win the next election.

    Where would they go? Kuenssberg asks Badenoch.

    The Tory leader says there are too many people in the UK that shouldn't be here, and they need to go back to their countries. She adds that the Tories had a Rwanda plan "that worked".

    Pushed again on where would people go, Badenoch says "not here".

    "They should not be here, we need to look after the our people," she adds, calling the question of where they would go "irrelevant".

  12. Does Badenoch agree that institutions are antisemitic?published at 09:46 BST

    Kuenssberg asks leader Kemi Badenoch if she agrees that there are some institutions, such as unions, which are antisemitic.

    Badenoch says she and Penny Mordaunt - who made the claim in a report on rising antisemitism in the UK - have been fighting antisemitism in organisations for "many years".

  13. Not enough done to address fears in Jewish community - Badenochpublished at 09:44 BST

    badenoch

    Badenoch goes on to say that she believes in free speech, but it has to be within the bounds of the law.

    She says that if people use protest to incite violence then that's not protesting, it's intimidation.

    Badenoch says that what happened in Manchester was foreseeable and not enough has been done to address fears over safety in the Jewish community.

  14. Badenoch asks why plan to restrict repeat protests 'took so long'published at 09:42 BST

    Laura Kuenssberg turns now to Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, ahead of the party's conference in Manchester over the next few days.

    She begins by asking Badenoch if she backs the government's proposals over restricting repeated protests.

    Badenoch says yes, but questions why it "took so long". She also questions why the public should trust Mahmood, after the home secretary protested outside a branch of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain in 2014 to call for it to stop stocking goods from Israeli settlements.

    She adds that the Jewish community is very concerned that the government won't support them.

  15. Badenoch being quizzed by Kuenssbergpublished at 09:38 BST

    We're now hearing from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

    She's in the hot seat in Manchester.

    Stick with us, we'll bring you the key lines here.

  16. Rabbis say antisemitism allowed to grow in the UKpublished at 09:34 BST

    rabbis josh levy and kath vardi

    We're now hearing from Josh Levy and Kath Vardi, two rabbis from Manchester.

    Levy says for many of the Jewish community, the synagogue attack was a "matter of when, not if".

    It isn't normal to have to have security outside a place of worship, Levy tells Kuenssberg, and says antisemitism has been allowed to develop and grow in the UK.

    The line between protesting and inciting hate is narrow, Kath Vardi adds, continuing that people need to be held responsible for the messages that they're shouting at protests.

  17. China 'a challenge', Mahmood sayspublished at 09:33 BST

    Finally, Kuenssberg pushes Mahmood about the collapsed of case of parliamentary officials accused of spying for China, and asks if the country is an enemy of the UK.

    Shabana Mahmood says "China is a challenge", one the government will meet, but they will collaborate when needed.

    That concludes the home secretary's appearance on the programme.

  18. Two-state solution is best way to 'ensure long term safety' - Mahmoodpublished at 09:30 BST

    Kuenssberg now moves onto the US government's proposed peace plan to bring an end to the war in Gaza.

    Mahmood reaffirms her support for a two-state solution, which she says has been the long term position of the Labour government.

    This is the only way to "ensure the long term safety and security of all of the people in Israel and all of the people in Palestine".

    Kuenssberg asks about the Tory proposal to deport 150,000 migrants a year. Why not follow the example? Mahmood says these plans are "totally lacking in any credibility", and they had 14 years in government to do this.

    A small number of academics are coming to study at university from Gaza, who are not allowed to bring their children, Kuenssberg says.

    Mahmood is asked if she is willing to change this. "I'm looking at the operation of that scheme", the home secretary says, but she recognises that "there is an ask that has been made there".

  19. Mahmood: 'Tremendous grief' in wake of attackpublished at 09:27 BST

    Kuenssberg asks Mahmood if she feels any remorse that it has taken this week's attack in Manchester to come to the conclusion that there might need to be a change to the law.

    The home secretary says she feels "tremendous grief" for the Jewish community in Manchester and the UK's national community.

    "I know I have a responsibility to strengthen our communities," she says, adding that she feels devastated that UK citizens say this attack was "only a matter of time".

    mahmoodImage source, bbc
  20. Is restricting protest a 'dark step' towards limiting free speech?published at 09:26 BST

    The government needs to get the balance between the right of people to protest and express free speech and the right of the wider community to go about their business free from fear, Mahmood says.

    Laura Kuenssberg asks if it is a "dark step" to limit the fundamental right to protest?

    Mahmood answers that just because you have a freedom "doesn't mean you have to use it at every moment of every day".

    Under her new plans people will still have the right to protest, Mahmood adds.

    Media caption,

    Mahmood: 'This is not about a ban, it's about restrictions and conditions'