London Post

Bureau Report:
London:
Nuclear expert Joe Cirincione has said that I think the US-Iran war was not started to change the Iranian regime, but to bring about regime change in the US. Joe Cirincione previously served as vice president for national security and international policy at the Centre for American Progress in Washington, DC. For eight years, he was the director for non-proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he chaired and organised five annual Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conferences. The 2005 conference included Cirincione’s presentation, “A Brief History of the Atomic Age.
He worked for nine years in the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning in 1985 as a professional staff member of the Committee on Armed Services. He also served as a staff member of the Committee on Government Operations and served as staff director of the bipartisan Military Reform Caucus.

By Wajahat Ali Khan
The United Kingdom has launched one of the most significant reforms of its asylum system in decades, replacing permanent refugee protection with a temporary status model aimed at reducing long-term migration and speeding up removals.
Under the new policy announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, all newly approved asylum seekers will now receive refugee status lasting 30 months, after which their cases will be reassessed to determine whether conditions in their home country remain unsafe. The change replaces the previous system that typically granted refugees five years’ protection leading to permanent settlement. The government says the reforms are designed to restore “order and control” to what ministers describe as an overstretched asylum system facing rising Channel crossings and mounting public costs.
Officials argue that refugees should return home once conflicts or dangers in their countries of origin have ended. The Home Office believes regular reviews will discourage irregular migration and reduce pressure on housing and public services. However, critics warn the move could create long-term uncertainty for thousands of families already rebuilding their lives in Britain. The Refugee Council and several charities have said repeated reviews may increase bureaucracy and cost hundreds of millions of pounds while making integration into work and communities more difficult. Alongside temporary refugee status, broader immigration reforms will extend the pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain from five years to around ten years or more for many migrants and refugees.
Government policy documents also propose limiting automatic settlement rights and tightening access to financial support, replacing a legal duty to assist asylum seekers with a more discretionary system. The reforms follow earlier decisions to suspend parts of the refugee family reunion scheme, now facing legal challenges in the High Court. Campaigners argue the restrictions could separate children from parents and create significant humanitarian concerns. Ministers have additionally pledged faster asylum decisions and tougher returns policies, including cooperation agreements with European partners to reduce small-boat crossings across the English Channel.
The new asylum framework has sparked divisions within Parliament and the governing Labour Party itself. Supporters say stronger controls are necessary to maintain public confidence in immigration policy, while opponents argue the measures risk undermining Britain’s long-standing refugee protections. Analysts describe the overhaul as the largest shift in UK asylum policy since the post-war refugee system was established, moving the country toward a model of temporary protection like systems used in parts of Europe. The policy takes immediate effect for new applicants, with further immigration legislation expected later in 2026. Parliamentary debates and legal challenges are likely to determine how far the reforms can go and whether the new system achieves the government’s aim of reducing irregular migration while maintaining humanitarian commitments.

Tajammul Gurmani:
Manchester:
The Green Party has won the Gorton and Denton by-election, taking the seat from Labour. Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer has won the parliamentary by-election race in Manchester with a huge margin of 4,402 votes against Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin, who secured 10,578 votes, while Labour Party candidate Angeliki Stogia stood in third place with 9,364 votes.
According to the official declaration of the result announced at the Central Convention Centre Manchester early on Friday morning by Tom Stannard, the Acting Returning Officer of the Gorton and Denton Constituency, the results were as follows: Hannah Spencer, Green Party 14,980, Matt Goodwin, Reform UK 10,578, Angeliki Stogia, Labour Party 9,364, Sir Onik A Lot, 159, Nick Buckley 154, Charlotte Anne 706, Dan Clarke 47, Sabastian Moore 46, Joseph Bernard O’Meachair 98, Jackie Pearcey, Liberal Democrats 653, and Hugo Wils 9 votes. The total number of votes cast was 36,840, and turnout was recorded at 47.6 per cent.
The by-election was held in the Gorton and Denton constituency after Labour MP Andrew Gwynne resigned due to health reasons. There were 45 polling stations set up. The total number of registered voters was 77,000, while 11 candidates representing 11 parties participated in this election. In this by-election, the two new parties, Green and Reform, replaced the two major parties, Conservative and Liberal Democrat, in the main contest. Before the election, Reform was leading in the opinion polls, but the final result overturned the surveys, and voters rejected the far-right policies.
Talking to The London Post, Cllr Shahbaz Sarwar of the Workers Party, who was supporting the Green Party, said that people placed their confidence in the Green Party because its policies were very favourable towards youth, the environment, immigration and the Palestine issue. Labour MP Afzal Khan said that it was difficult to believe that people had rejected the Labour government, adding that by-elections are always tough for the government. He said the Labour Party still exists, and that people refused the politics of hate and division in this election.

Manchester:
Muhammad Faisal, High Commissioner of Pakistan, will inaugurate the new Consular Hall of the Consulate General of Pakistan in Manchester on Friday, 27 February at 3pm.
The Consul General of Pakistan in Manchester, Imtiaz Feroz Gondal, said that the new hall has been constructed for visitors who come for passport and NICOP services. “The new hall will consist of new counters for staff and around 40 additional seats. It will be connected to the main hall where visitors will submit their applications. New furniture has also been installed and the online system has been improved. No stone will be left unturned for the betterment of the community,” he added.

By Wajahat Ali Khan:
The funeral prayers of Hina Malik, wife of Pakistan Muslim League UK’s Information Secretary Iqbal Sandhu, leader of the Muslim League UK Women’s Wing and former councillor, who passed away last Saturday, were offered at Hounslow Jamia Masjid on last Tuesday. A large number of people, including the family of the deceased, her friends, many local leaders of the Muslim League, members of the Pakistan High Commission in the UK and large number of people from all walks of life, attended the funeral. Funeral was also attended by Chairman overseas Pakistanis commission Barrister Amjad Malik, Lord Qurban Hussain, Chairman of Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust Abdulrazzaq Sajid, social worker Sheikh Muslim Sarbuland, Chairman of Third World Solidarity Mushtaq Lasharie CBE, educationist Amanat Anjum, owner of Spice Village Restaurant Suleman Raza MBE, many journalists and political, social and religious leaders also attended in full and paying tribute to Hina Malik, they said that she was a good daughter, a capable teacher, an excellent mother and a graceful wife, as well as a beloved community figure, but rather the rose of London. She shared in every sorrow and joy of the community. always prioritize human service.

Interview:
Shokat Dar:
Former Mayor of Hounslow, senior political figure and businessman Nisar Malik said in an exclusive interview with “The London Post” that my former political party, Labour, is no longer what it used to be. It used to be a party of the common and middle class. Especially immigrants used to vote for this party because due to soft immigration, Labour was also considered a party of immigrants, which was true to some extent. He expressed regret and said that today the situation is that the Home Secretary of the Labour Party, Shabana Mahmood, is standing in Parliament and saying that those people who come to Britain from the Third World or Pakistan, those who sell their mothers and sisters’ jewellery, will not be treated as before, but now the British system will “play” with them. There will be no mercy for these people. Nisar Malik added that, guess what kind of talk is being made by a Pakistani-origin Home Secretary who is insulting Pakistanis and has also forgotten how her parents came to this country?
He said that is why I have now left the Labour Party. Anyway, like other countries in the world, large-scale political changes are taking place in Britain and world politics is changing. The people in the UK are now getting fed up with the two-party system.
Nisar Malik, while discussing the war situation in Gaza and Ukraine, said that the policies adopted by the ruling Labour Party on immigration, taxes, benefit cuts and Gaza have also been rejected by the British people, and these are also major reasons for the people’s distance from Labour. He said that the role of the British media in the Gaza issue has also remained one-sided because the media did not talk about Gaza in the way it is happening in Ukraine. Nisar Malik said that I have written a lot about it on my social media that the people of Gaza are being severely oppressed. He said that one example of distance from Labour is that many councillors in Hounslow have left Labour and joined the Tory Party.

Zain Ali Khan: 
Metropolitan Police Service has stepped up its efforts to catch phone snatchers, especially in busy areas like the West End. Police are now using drones alongside other tech tools like live facial recognition and special e-bikes to spot, track and help arrest suspects involved in mobile phone theft. This is part of a year-long crackdown, described as the largest of its kind, which has seen hundreds of arrests and thousands fewer phone theft offences. A phone is stolen in the capital every seven to eight minutes – and the force warns that children as young as 14 are being targeted over social media and paid up to £100 to steal phones for organised crime gangs. New figures show that between 2017 and 27 February 2024, out of a total of 587,498 phones stolen in London, excluding the city, just 13,998 were recovered.

But the number of recorded mobile phone thefts in London fell to 71,391 last year, compared to 81,365 in 2024 – a drop of 12% – Met figures show.
Scotland Yard said 32 people had been arrested and 24 charged, in connection with one gang, and more than 1,000 phones and 200 laptops had been recovered. One suspect was arrested in connection with 20 offences of so-called “table surfing” over two months, where criminals distract customers to swipe their phone from their tabletop in bars or cafes. The force said 39 stolen phones had been recovered following a search of the suspect’s house.