News 18/03/26

Angela Rayner has criticised government plans to make it harder for migrants in the UK to settle permanently, calling them un-British and a breach of trust.

Ministers propose doubling the time most migrant workers need to qualify for permanent residence from five to ten years, while refugees could wait up to twenty years. Labour’s Rayner said many now fear for their future as the government moves the goalposts. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defended the reforms as fair and necessary to prevent a drain on public finances.

An outbreak of meningitis is being treated as a national incident after the deaths of a sixth form pupil and a university student.

Thousands of students in Kent are being urged to get vaccines and take antibiotics as health officials deal with what has been described as an unprecedented and explosive outbreak. Fifteen cases have been reported to the UK Health Security Agency and all required hospital treatment. Officials warn the total may rise because the incubation period before symptoms appear can be between two and fourteen days.

King Charles will host the first Nigerian state visit to the United Kingdom for thirty seven years, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife Oluremi Tinubu are given a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle.

They will be greeted by senior royals including Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales. The King and the president will speak at a state banquet attended by political leaders and celebrities. There will be no traditional lunch because the president is fasting for Ramadan.