Nearly 80 Labour MPs have signed a private letter urging Andy Burnham to retreat on Shabana Mahmood’s controversial immigration reforms, The i Paper has been told.
In a sign of the deep divisions that remain within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), MPs are urging the incoming leader to change course on Mahmood’s immigration and asylum policies.
The letter is understood to have been handed to the incoming prime minister, setting up a potential headache for him before he has even entered No 10, and raising questions over the future of the Home Secretary.
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Bayeux Tapestry returns to the UK for first time in almost 1,000 years
The 70-metre long embroidery was escorted through Kent in the dead of night before arriving at the British Museum.
Caption: Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, waits for the truck (behind) carrying the Bayeux Tapestry to be unloaded at the museum in central London early on July 10, 2026, as the 11th-century artwork depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England arrives ahead its first UK exhibition from September. The medieval Bayeux Tapestry arrived in London in the early hours of July 10, after a hugely complicated journey to leave France for the first time in more than 900 years for an exhibition in the British capital. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: RICHARD A. BROOKS
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
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What you need to know
The most extraordinary surviving work of art in European history, created in 11th-century Canterbury, was lowered back onto British soil at around 2.48am on Friday.
Caption: Workers unload a specially designed crate carrying the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum in central London early on July 10, 2026, as the 11th-century artwork depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England arrives ahead its first UK exhibition from September. The medieval Bayeux Tapestry arrived in London in the early hours of July 10, after a hugely complicated journey to leave France for the first time in more than 900 years for an exhibition in the British capital. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: RICHARD A. BROOKS
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
Caption: FILE – This photo taken Sept. 18, 2019 shows the 11th century Bayeux tapestry chronicling the Norman conquest of England, in Bayeux, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)
Photographer: Kamil Zihnioglu
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Around 7.5 million people are expected to see the tapestry in London when it goes on show from September to July 2027. At least £2.4m worth of ticket sales were generated within 24 hours.
A closer look at the detail
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from King Harold and become the first Norman king of England.
The British Museum has said demand to see the “once-in-a-generation exhibition has already been unprecedented”.
Over the coming weeks the tapestry will undergo condition checks before being carefully installed within a custom showcase ahead of the exhibition opening.
It has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum reopens after renovation.
It was created around 960 years ago, likely in Canterbury, and this is the first time it is back on British soil since.
The story in pictures
Caption: Workers unload a box that contains the Bayeux Tapestry out of a truck at the British Museum in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)
Photographer: Kwiyeon Ha
Provider: AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha
Source: AP
Caption: A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman Invasion of 1066. King Harold II (c.1022 – 1066) is killed at the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry is housed in the town of Bayeux in Normandy. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Photographer: Hulton Archive
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Source: Hulton Archive
The Bayeux Tapestry which relates Britain’s conquest by William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquerant) in 1066 (Photo: LOIC VENANCE / AFP)
A major diplomatic statement
Make no mistake – this is an historic moment and a significant act of friendship
Those were the words of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who echoed French President Emmanuel Macron’s claim in The Times the exhibition reflected a “shared desire to see France and the United Kingdom build their future together”.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons/Myrabella)
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Weight-loss jab users told to do strength training
People taking weight-loss jabs should still do physical exercise including strength training to avoid muscle wastage, England’s chief medical officer has said.
What you need to know
In an article for The i Paper, Professor Sir Chris Whitty said those taking the GLP-1 medication should focus on activities that build strength as their weight decreases.
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 0001 WEDNESDAY MARCH 8
File photo dated 16/10/24 of Semaglutide (GLP-1) weight-loss drug Wegovy. Ads for an online pharmacy have been banned for promoting prescription-only weight-loss medication to the public and exploiting new mothers’ insecurities about body image. The Instagram and Facebook ads for Juniper also created an undue sense of urgency for those considering medicated weight-loss programmes while posts in weight-loss support groups on Facebook did not make clear that they were paid for by the advertiser, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found. Issue date: Wednesday April 8, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire
Photographer: James Manning
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He said that all adults, whether or not they are taking GLP-1 drugs, can benefit from even short bursts of physical activity for a few minutes per day to keep fit.
A closer look at the detail
In addition to this general improvement in health, it is important to do things which maintain strength and balance.
Whitty said building strength alongside losing weight with drugs was crucial to being healthy as you get older.
Caption: Fitness, bodybuilder and sports white woman weightlifting in a gym for a strong body. Exercise, health and training with a female athlete concentrating while lifting weights for a workout
Photographer: Dean Mitchell
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Source: Photodisc
The new advice will also place a greater emphasis on core and muscle-strengthening exercises.
Some examples
Caption: Woman is doing a variation of plank pose.
Photographer: DenizA
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Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: Deniz AYCI LEU
Pilates
Pilates is a form of exercise that focuses on balance, posture, strength and flexibility.
Yoga
Yoga can help with a number of conditions, including anxiety, depression, back pain, blood pressure and chronic fatigue.
Caption: This is a photo of a man lying on a yoga mat about to do chest presses with dumbbells. See PA Feature HEALTH Back Exercises WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA feature HEALTH Back Exercises. PA Photo. Picture credit should read: Alamy/PA. NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany HEALTH Back Exercises.
Photographer: Alamy
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Caption: A man weight training at home in the living room – health and well being
Photographer: Nick David
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Source: Digital Vision
Copyright: Nick David
Weightlifting
Strength and flexibility exercises will help you increase muscle strength and improve balance.
Gym owners seek clarity over who they can allow to use their facilities (Photo: Mike Harrington/Getty/Stone RF)
opinion
How to keep fit while using weigh-loss jabs
It is estimated around 1.6 million adults in Britain used weight-loss injections such as last year, with their popularity set to soar due to weight-loss pills going on sale in pharmacies for the first time this month.
The Channel ‘choke point’ trapping Putin as shadow tankers veer away fearing seizure
Tankers carrying illicit Russian oil are adding days to their voyages by sailing around the north of Scotland following Britain’s seizure of a shadow tanker last month.
What you need to know
In the 13 days before Royal Marines boarded the Smyrtos, two-thirds of the tankers blacklisted for violating international sanctions travelled through the Channel.
But in the 13 days following the seizure, only a quarter of sanctioned tankers risked sailing between the UK and France. The vast majority took the longer route around Scotland, according to data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence, The i Paper can reveal.
What is the shadow fleet?
Comprised of hundreds of ageing and often uninsured vessels with obscure ownership, the “shadow fleet” is used to carry Russian oil sold in contravention of a price cap imposed by G7 nations following the invasion of Ukraine.
The vessels often operate outside of maritime regulations by sailing under false flags in order for Putin to bypass sanctions and fund his war in Ukraine.
Around a dozen shadow fleet tankers have been seized since 2024 by countries including France, Sweden, Estonia, Belgium, Germany and Finland.
The expert view
Tankers that avoid the English Channel are seeing significant disruption to their voyages, and those routes will be longer and slower and more costly
GONZALO SAIZ ERAUSQUIN, RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE
Caption: This handout picture taken on June 14, 2026 and released by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) shows 421 Commando of the UK Commando force conducting maritime interdiction operations on the CMR Smyrtos sailing under a false Cameroonian flag, in the English Channel off the coast of the United Kingdom. British forces on June 14 intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the English Channel, the defence ministry said, in a six-hour operation hailed by Kyiv. (Photo by Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) / AFP via Getty Images) / – NO Marketing campaign / —–EDITORS NOTE — RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT, 2026 ” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – NO ARCHIVES – TO BE USED WITHIN 2 DAYS FROM JUNE 14, 2026 (48 HOURS), EXCEPT FOR MAGAZINES WHICH CAN PRINT THE PICTURE WHEN FIRST REPORTING ON THE EVENT /
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Caption: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2026. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Photographer: Vyacheslav Prokofyev
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Source: Sputnik
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The Smyrtos tanker seizure appears to have worried Moscow
An increasing number of shadow fleet vessels appeared to be taking routes aiming to evade potential seizure, either by avoiding the English Channel or other “pinch points” like the Strait of Gibraltar, experts say.
Watch more from The i Paper
“Poland has reportedly been warned that Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on its soil to test Nato’s resolve,” writes The i Paper’s Global Affairs Correspondent, Molly Blackall. “This could include missile or drone attacks on Polish critical infrastructure, or a limited invasion by Russian soldiers, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.” Read Molly’s full piece on @theipaper website.
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The Immigration and Asylum Bill is due back in the Commons on Monday, with opponents calling for a pause, and warning they will vote against the legislation unless the proposals are watered down.
If Burnham, who is currently set to take over as prime minister from Sir Keir Starmer in a couple of weeks, refuses to soften the policies, he risks angering a significant section of his own back benches. But if he acquiesces, he is likely to lose a senior member of his Cabinet and be accused of pandering to the soft left of the party.
Mahmood has been lobbying to remain in the Home Office under a Burnham premiership amid speculation she could be moved to become chancellor.
The row centres on her plans to change people’s right to remain in the UK even after spending several years in the country.
The letter, seen by The i Paper, warns Burnham that voters in the Makerfield by-election talked about “irregular migration” but not about “making it harder for care workers and nurses to settle here” in a pointed remark over Mahmood’s settlement reforms.
It also raises serious concerns over “hostile rhetoric” employed by the Home Office in regards to migration, urging greater “compassion” from Burnham’s government.
According to sources, the letter has been orchestrated by a long-term critic of the immigration reforms, Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone, and has already garnered dozens of names in support.
The letter stops short of calling for Mahmood to be sacked, but a Labour MP pointed out that changing course “would implictly rule her out” of remaining in the role. The Home Secretary “to be frank, is seen as toxic”, the insider said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is under pressure from MPs on the left of the party (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Getty)
Another senior backbencher warned there “will be opposition to Monday’s legislation, and I am already in discussion with whips concerning my opposition to it”.
“As it stands, I and many more will be voting against,” the MP added.
A third Labour MP who hasn’t signed the letter said: “There are profound concerns within the PLP about her [Mahmood’s] proposals.”
In particular, the Home Office’s plans to make most immigrants wait at least 10, rather than five, years for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and to apply it retrospectively to people already in the UK have triggered a major backlash, including from many Labour MPs.
While the Home Office is understood to be working on alterations to the policy to reflect the change in prime minister and to see off a potential backbench rebellion, this is unlikely to be enough for a major section of the PLP.
Mahmood revealed this week that some immigrants may get “special treatment” and be exempt from a crackdown that will make it harder to settle in the UK.
The Home Secretary highlighted the prospect of “transitional arrangements” for certain groups of people, suggesting the likes of spouses and older people could be among those shielded from her plans to double the default qualifying time for permanent residency in the UK.
The letter to Burnham praises some of the work carried out during the first two years of the Labour Government, highlighting the one in, one out deal with France, and the advances made with Germany to crack down on the sale of small boat parts. It ends with a demand to “pause” the incoming reforms and to “refresh the policy and unite our coalition”.
News of the letter comes less than 24 hours after Burnham promised, in an email to MPs, a more collegiate approach to how the PLP is managed. He promised not to use discipline to “stifle debate” and said cabinet ministers would be required to treat talking to MPs as “a core part of their role”.
Burnham and the Home Secretary were approached for comment.