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Builders are being undercut by illegal migrant labour – Brits who pay taxes and play by rules feel shafted

ON Question Time last week, Labour’s clueless Treasury minister Darren Jones made an extraordinary claim.

He told the BBC’s top debate show that “the majority of people in these boats are children, babies and women” when they cross the Channel. This is simply not true.

Migrant workers waiting by a car for builders.
Darren Fletcher
A group of migrants pick up work as labourers[/caption]
Migrants in an inflatable boat crossing the English Channel.
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Nearly 40,000 boat migrants have arrived since Labour came to power — and numbers are up 40 per cent on this time last year[/caption]

The Government’s own website states: “Seventy per cent of people detected arriving irregularly have been adult males aged 18 and over.”

And — thanks to the exclusive Sun on Sunday investigation published here — we now know what many of them get up to once they arrive.

The British people are being taken for fools again.

We already know that our borders are in chaos.

But, thanks to successive Labour and Tory governments, those arriving then go on to work illegally on the £260billion black market economy.

And all the while we pay for their accommodation.

Today it’s highlighted in Barking but make no mistake, this scandal is playing out in towns and cities right across the country.

Nearly 40,000 boat migrants have arrived since Labour came to power — and numbers are up 40 per cent on this time last year.

How many of these already work on the black market without paying tax?

Labour has long championed the mantra of British jobs for British workers.

But brickies and builders are being undercut by illegal labour.

Britain is in social and economic decline. The social contract is stretched to its limits.

People that pay their taxes and play by the rules increasingly feel shafted.

Yes, these migrants may be victims of exploitation — but they are also part of the criminal economy.

Unscrupulous bosses are laughing all the way to the bank while British workers get priced out again.

I was the first to highlight the impending invasion of young, undocumented males.

Most of the media ignored me. But we can now see I was right. Immigration is out of control.

The situation in the Channel is a security emergency.

If we cannot stop this in Barking, how on earth will we control the borders in Dover? Keir Starmer’s soft touch is laughable.

He promised to smash the gangs — but all he has smashed are illegal immigration records.

The only way to deal with this problem is to say everyone that comes to Britain illegally will be deported — and actually mean it.

That means leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. We need immediate deportations.

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Mum was giving £20 notes to homeless people multiple times a day – the hidden Dementia danger wrecking havoc on finances

GETTING a diagnosis of dementia can be devastating and so can the financial impact.

The total cost of dementia in the UK is an estimated £42 billion per year, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.

A man's hand holding British banknotes of various denominations.
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Dementia can cost thousands of pounds, from taxi fares to care home fees[/caption]
A senior man with Alzheimer's disease sits with his hands on his head, looking distressed; his wife is blurred in the background.
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Dementia can cause memory loss and confusion, which can seriously impact your money habits[/caption]

Most of that bill is shouldered by families who pay for care or provide unpaid labour looking after loved ones.

Other hidden costs are harder to track.

From falling for scams to losing cash and forgetting to pay bills, dementia can wreak havoc with finances.

LEAH MILNER explains how to protect yourself and your loved ones.

FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

Around a million people in the UK have dementia, which covers 100 different illnesses including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 

It can cause memory loss and confusion, making it hard to carry out daily tasks and making money decisions.

It’s common to lose bank cards, forget passwords for online banking, or rack up late payment penalties.

You might need to take taxis to appointments, pay for meals on wheels or use more energy if you’re at home most of the time.

Paying for care is usually the biggest expense.

Care home fees cost an average of £64,655 per year.

But if you live in England or Northern Ireland and have less than £23,250 in savings, your local council may pay for some or most of your fees. 

It will assess your finances to work out how much help you’ll get.

How much you can get depends on what sort of care you need and how much you can afford to pay. You must be left with at least £30.15 a week. 

In Wales, you can get help for care home fees if you have less than £50,000 in savings, and £35,000 in Scotland

A man in a wheelchair sits pensively on his apartment balcony, looking out at the horizon.
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Care home fees are hugely expensive, and can cost loved ones £64,655 a year[/caption]

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is really important.

It is a legal document that allows you to appoint a trusted person to make decisions on your behalf when you no longer can.

There are two types: one covers property and finances and the other health and welfare decisions.

Without an LPA your loved ones could be left in limbo and unable to access money needed for your care.

Despite this, 72 per cent of over-65s don’t have one in place, according to research by Paragon Bank.

Heledd Wyn from Rothley Law said: “When someone loses mental capacity to manage their affairs, their family have no automatic right to access bank accounts or make decisions about their health and care.”

Instead they need to go through a lengthy and expensive legal process to do so.

Download the LPA forms from gov.uk/power-of-attorney, print it out, and complete the paperwork.

Read the instructions carefully – the forms need to be signed in a specific order and witnessed too. 

Send the forms to the Office of the Public Guardian. Find the address on the paperwork. 

It costs £82 to register the LPA, although it’s £41 if your income is less than £12,000 a year.

Call the Office for the Public Guardian (0300 456 0300), Alzheimer’s Society (0333 150 3456) or Dementia UK (0800 888 6678) if you get stuck.

BENEFITS AND BANKING

Don’t miss out on benefits and discounts.

Attendance Allowance isn’t means-tested and worth up to £110.40 per week. It’s for those with a health condition that means they need help at home.

You might also get discounted or free council tax and help with energy, phone, broadband and water bills.

Unpaid carers who spend at least 35 hours per week looking after someone might be able to claim Carers Allowance, worth £83.30 per week.

You might qualify for a Carers Card at carerscarduk.co.uk. It costs £8 for two years and could save members £240 a year through discounts at supermarkets, restaurants and more.

At Nationwide Building Society, you can book a free dementia advice appointment  even if you’re not a customer. They are run by specialist Admiral Nurses at 200 branches.

Sibstar offers debit cards for people with dementia for £4.99 per month that work with any bank. Their power of attorney monitors spending and sets limits via an app.

WHEN Jayne Sibley discovered that her mum, June, had been withdrawing £20 notes multiple times a day to hand out on the street, she was horrified.

Mum-of-two Jayne, 50, from Winchester, looked after her mum, June who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, until she died in 2023 at the age of 79. 

Jayne’s dad Peter, 82, also has Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. He was diagnosed with the condition 16 years ago, and now lives in a care home.

He is no longer able to speak or recognise his family.

Seeing her parents’ struggle with dementia has been like “watching them both gradually disappear”, Jayne said.

“When someone you love has dementia, you watch the person you know slipping through your fingers.

“Mum would withdraw £20 notes multiple times a day to give to homeless people on the high street, forgetting she’d already given them cash,” she said.

“When she became ill, she lost thousands of pounds to scammers.

“Her number must have been on a target list because the phone didn’t stop ringing, with people pretending to be her internet company to con her out of money, flogging unwanted insurance or expensive vitamin subscriptions.

“My dad, who used to work in IT, would see cash in his wallet but couldn’t work out what it was worth.

“He’d be extremely anxious and embarrassed at the checkout, it was distressing for him to feel so out of control, because he was used to being in charge of managing family finances.”

In an attempt to try to keep her parents’ money safe,she invented Sibstar, which is a dementia-friendly debit card that works with any bank.

A friend or family member who has power of attorney can register with Sibstar and download the app.

This allows them to set spending limits on the card and get real-time updates on where it’s being used, but there is a £4.99 monthly charge.

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Relaxed and joyful royals look as if they’ve finally put Charles and Kate’s cancer troubles behind them

THE royal art of playing the part to perfection was never better illustrated than at yesterday’s Trooping the Colour.

The slimmed-down monarchy on the palace balcony were brimming with cheer, colour and vibrancy.

King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and their grandchildren on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
The slimmed-down monarchy on the palace balcony were brimming with cheer, colour and vibrancy
PA

They all looked relaxed and joyful — as if they had at last put all the troubles of the King and Catherine’s cancer diagnoses behind them.

It would have been hard not to feel emotional at the minute’s silence to honour the victims of the tragic Air India flight bound for Gatwick.

The Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales sat stationary on their powerful steeds.

Princess Charlotte, a keen rider herself, will have been looking hard at the magnificent number of horses.

For once, Queen Camilla didn’t have her usual big smile.

The wind was giving her trouble holding on to her hat, but she still managed to look the picture of elegance.

As head of the Armed Forces, it was an emotional day for the King.

But it’s something he always enjoys, especially when everyone looks so happy and proud to be there.

Prince Louis had the last laugh as he gave a mischievous wave to the crowd. A cheeky end to a cheerful day.

Princess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis at Trooping the Colour.
Prince Louis stole the show with a wave to the crowd as he departed with the rest of the royals
Getty

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Little-known 1-point rule that’s never happened in NFL history – but has in college football

THERE are too many rules to count in the NFL, making it easy for some to slip under the radar.

However, some are so obscure that they’ve never been seen during a game.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 18: Referee Clay Martin #19 looks on during the first half of the AFC Divisional playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
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It is possible for an NFL team to score just one point in a game[/caption]
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 27: NFL referee Tra Blake is seen during the preseasons game Indianapolis Colts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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The one-point safety has never happened in an NFL game[/caption]

Among those rules is the elusive one-point play.

Yes, it is technically possible for a team to score one point on a play.

You may be thinking that’s nothing new, as teams get one point on the extra point after touchdowns.

This is an entirely different situation though. It is possible for a team to score just one point in the entire game.

It all stems from a team trying an extra point after a touchdown.

For example, let’s say the Kansas City Chiefs scored a touchdown to make it 6-0 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They line up for the extra point, but the kick is blocked by the Steelers who run it all the way down the field.

However, the Steelers player fumbles the ball right before the end zone and the Chiefs recover it in the field of play.

Then, the Chiefs player backtracks into the end zone and is tackled for a one-point safety.

If all of that went perfectly right, the score of the game would be 6-1.

Now, it makes sense why this hasn’t happened before, as the stars would have to align on so many different factors on a single play.

While it hasn’t happened in the NFL, the one point safety has actually occurred multiple times in college football.

The most notable of these was in 2013 during the Fiesta Bowl.

Oregon had an extra point attempt blocked, Kansas State ran the ball back and the fumbled it before an Oregon player was tackled in the end zone.

It also happened in 2004 between Texas and Texas A&M.

NFL important dates 2025 season

March 12 - Free Agency begins

April 24-26 – NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin

September 4 – 2025 season opener (TBC vs Eagles)

November 27 – Thanksgiving Day triple header

January 4, 2026 – End of regular-season

February 8, 2026 – Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California

It’s a super cool rule that many fans don’t know about, but also don’t think will ever happen.

“Just say this is not happening and move on to other more important matters,” one fan said.

“I’m placing this bet in every game from now on. Payout has to be massive lol,” another fan said.

“6-1 final score,” a third fan said.

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