THE woke brigade in the Home Office who spent years revolting against Tory efforts to curb illegal migration finally have an incentive to drop their opposition.
Sensibly, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will spare deep cuts in the department — and potential job losses — IF it saves money on the spiralling hotel bill for migrants.
And the faster Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s army of leftie civil servants meet these new targets, the more cash she can keep for other projects.
Skint Britain forks out £4million every day to house people who largely have no right to be here.
The problem is that the number of new arrivals isn’t slowing down.
Unless Labour ends the golden ticket to the El Dorado paradise of benefits, free housing and illegal work, that hotel bill will continue to rise.
NIGEL Farage has Westminster dancing to his tune.
He has Labour pedalling leftwards over welfare and the Tories rightwards on immigration.
The Reform leader’s ear is well-tuned to discontent with the Government.
A desire for real change has delivered control of local councils to his fledgling party for the first time.
His problem now is how to show Reform can actually govern — without falling into mini-meltdowns like the ones caused by the exits of chairman Zia Yusuf and MP Rupert Lowe.
Reform’s surge has been stunning.
But being a one-showman band will only get Farage so far.
COULD the days of the European Court of Human Rights ruling over our borders finally be numbered?
Even the head of the European Council, which oversees the unelected court, is starting to accept it will have to adapt to the public’s concerns.
Leaders across Europe are waking up to the problems caused by mass migration and want urgent legal reform.
And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is ready to quit the court — as is Reform.
Labour and its ECHR-loving Attorney General are out of step with the times.
WHO would have thought the Japanese would ever swap sushi rolls for those of the sausage variety?
Apparently, it all kicked off in Tokyo after tourists saw a waxwork of Greggs’ pastry snack at Madame Tussauds.
No word yet on whether it tasted better than a vegan sausage roll.
THE Nordic Darts Masters is now UNDERWAY – and some of the best throwers feature in Copenhagen!
Luke Littler will make his tournament debut this evening as he faces Swedish newcomer Viktor Tingstrom.
Gerwyn Price successfully began his title defence with a convincing 5-1 win against Cor Dekker.
While Premier League winner Luke Humphries was forced to work for his quarter-final spot after beating Madars Ramza 6-5.
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MATE, oh mate, we’ll miss you, mate.
Even though you weren’t our mate. And we knew that, especially if you called us “mate”.
Ange Postecoglou, you were the last fair-dinkum footballing romantic inside the cynical world of Premier League football.
You staked your reputation, you risked your job, on winning silverware for Tottenham.
You told us you always won things in your second season in any job and we laughed at you and said, “Yes, mate, but this is Tottenham”. And then you went and won something in your second season.
You gambled and it paid off and yet they sacked you anyway. And what could be more cynical than that?
You realised that winning the Europa League would mean far more to Spurs fans than finishing in the top half of the Premier League and you told us so.
Just like you told us time and again that VAR is ruining the enjoyment of football.
Just like you told us that those stats bores who try to suck the joy out of the game spend most of their time spouting nonsense.
ANGE Postecoglou issued a statement just moments after being axed.
It read: “When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, my overriding emotion is one of pride.
“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime.
“Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.
“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream.
“There were many challenges to overcome and plenty of noise that comes with trying to accomplish what many said was not possible.
“We have also laid the foundations that means this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success.
“I have enormous faith in this group of players and know there is much more potential and growth in them. I sincerely want to thank those who are the lifeblood of the club, the supporters.
“I know there were some difficult times, but I always felt that they wanted me to succeed and that gave me all the motivation I needed to push on.
“It’s important to acknowledge the hard working people at Spurs who gave me encouragement on a daily basis.
“And finally, I want to thank those who were with me every day for the last two years.
“A fantastic group of young men who are now legends of this football club and the brilliant coaches who never once doubted we could do something special.
“We are forever connected. Audere est Facere.”
You were right about all of those things and plenty more.
You were chippy and sarcy and narky but you spoke more good, honest commonsense than any other manager in the Premier League has done for years.
You spoke like a true lover of the game, a true fan, with all the heart-on-sleeve emotion and all the ‘us against the world’ spikiness that entails.
You tried to play football the right way, the Spurs way, the glory, glory way, the ‘To Dare Is To Do’ way.
And if it often looked naive and inflexible, then at least you never bored the pants off us.
“Are you not entertained?” you asked us and, invariably, we were. Even if Spurs invariably lost.
Your policy of prioritising the Europa League over the Premier League cut to the heart of the essential question any Tottenham Hotspur manager should ask, namely: ‘What is the point of Tottenham Hotspur?’
For an entire generation, Spurs were the sixth richest club in England and since Newcastle’s Geordie Arabia revolution, they are the seventh richest.
As a result, Spurs are unlikely to win the Premier League any time soon.
The peak of their realistic ambitions are to win knock-out competitions and to consistently entertain, to bring joy to those who pay to watch them.
And if that wasn’t the case very often last season – when Spurs lost 22 league matches and finished 17th – then at least it was always the intention.
The scenes witnessed in Bilbao after the Europa League Final victory over Manchester United – and at the trophy parade a couple of days later – will be remembered by Spurs supporters for as long as they live.
You were the last fair-dinkum footballing romantic inside the cynical world of Premier League football.”
Dave Kidd on Ange Postecgolou
And that was down to you, Ange Postecoglou – a bloke who grew up on the other side of the world, where football is a minority sport.
An outsider, consistently patronised and belittled throughout your career. A man who never tried to pretend that those attitudes didn’t hurt you.
And you defended your club. You hated the way we often laughed at it.
You railed against long-held perceptions and ‘agendas’ and you stuck up for Spurs.
You were loyal and you were proud and yet, ultimately that loyalty was never repaid.
Because ultimately, no major football club, no big company, ever truly gives a stuff about its employees.
We will miss you, mate. And if you ever wind up on our shores again, we will welcome you with open arms.
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner has gloated that police will never pin the case on him without a body.
In a sickening letter, the German sex fiend, 48, also goaded “the dropping of the investigation will hit the world like a bomb”.
The German paedophile bragged in a letter police do not have the evidence to back their accusations against him in the investigation into the toddler’s disappearance.
And Brueckner, 48, in jail in his homeland for rape, taunted cops, saying: “Is there a body? No, no no.”
The vile letter emerged as officers desperate to find a forensic link to him flew back to Germany after a fresh, three-day search in Portugal.
They had combed scrubland close to where Madeleine vanished aged three from a holiday villa in Praia da Luz in 2007.
German prosecutors are convinced of the predator’s guilt — but he has never been charged and denies any involvement.
Last month, a Sun investigation aired on Channel 4 revealed new bombshell evidence found at Brueckner’s lair — including a kids’ bike and a balaclava mask, as well as toys, guns and memory cards containing child kidnap stories.
We revealed that he wrote horrifying fantasies about abducting and abusing a blonde toddler — and how this would leave him “in paradise”.
He also boasted in online forums about his desire to “capture something small and use it for days”.
But, in the verified letter seen by The Sun, Brueckner insists there is no evidence against him.
He wrote: “It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered.
“Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime?
“Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle?
“Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos?
“And, not to forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no.”
He adds: “You don’t have to be a realist like me to predict that the accusations made against me will not hold up and that the investigation will be dropped.”
Brueckner — named as a Madeleine suspect for five years — has also revealed in creepy letters a knowledge of how the German legal system works in his favour.
He wrote: “You know, of course, that in Germany you don’t have to prove your innocence as a suspect, but that the public prosecutor’s office has to prove that you are clearly guilty.
“Even the slightest doubt leads to an acquittal, if there is a court hearing at all.”
Brueckner even claims the case against him is built on “purchased witnesses” and reveals his awareness of his global notoriety.
He added: “Now, my path is paved with misjudgements, so to speak, but from now on the whole world is watching.
“Not even the Braunschweig regional court will now dare to make an obvious misjudgement.
“Even if an attempt is currently being made to create a shocking overall picture of me through purchased witnesses, it is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered with ‘yes’.”
The latest hunt for DNA or forensic links on the case appeared to have ended without success on Thursday.
Police were seen taking fibres by hand while a hole was dug at the site of an apparent tent from around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
However, it was unclear whether the search had found anything was found with enough potential value to the case it merited being sent back to Germany for testing.
Brueckner had already moved out of his cottage in Praia da Luz when three-year-old Madeleine, from Rothley, Leics, arrived in the resort with parents Gerry and Kate and her two-year-old twin siblings.
Those who want to understand how brutal the German justice system is in its attempts to hammer through its own law, even if nothing is true.
Christian Brueckner
He was living in his car, or wild camping in areas including this week’s search site.
In another letter seen by The Sun, Brueckner described how he used his drifter lifestyle to avoid detection.
He wrote: “Do you know that I was a drug dealer at that time in 2007? Investigators know this.
“I bought marijuana in Spain and sold it on beaches in the Algarve.
“I was never caught by the police because I followed a few principles.
“If possible, only drive during the day so that my battered hippie bus doesn’t attract so much attention, only drive the necessary and most importantly, never provoke the police.”
He added: “Together with my dog and a lover at the time I enjoyed the ‘temporary hippie life’.”
The seeming failure of long-shot searches this week to find any traces of Madeleine is the latest in a string of blows for the case.
German authorities, who maintain Madeleine is dead, are racing to find a way to keep dangerous Brueckner behind bars after he was cleared of further rape allegations last year.
He told this week he plans to “hide” when he is released — as soon as September 17 — taking hopes for the Madeleine case with him.
The pervert was jailed in 2019 for the 2005 rape of an American pensioner just streets from the Ocean Club, where the McCanns stayed in Praia da Luz.
In his letters, he whinges he has been framed so he can be scapegoated over the Madeleine case.
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 - and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates:
May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 – Property developer Robert Murat is named an “arguido” or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 – The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann are made “arguidos”
September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007– Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 – Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance
October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance
March 11, 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 – Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 – Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 – An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 – More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 – UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 – Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 – Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 – New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 – Brueckner formally made an “arguido”
May 2023 – Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his “little paradise”
Brueckner wrote: “Right from the start they plotted a miscarriage of justice to make me vanish into thin air. And now half the world knows why.”
And he adds: “I am not exaggerating when I say that 80 per cent of what I have heard from the reports is not true.
“A large proportion of these lies are clearly being spread by the investigating authorities.
“My words are directed at those who are taking this seriously and are not laughing about it.
“Those who want to understand how brutal the German justice system is in its attempts to hammer through its own law, even if nothing is true.”
The Sun investigation aired on Channel 4 revealed the existence of computer hard drives which were vital in to persuading investigators of Madeleine’s death.
Our findings placed Brueckner at key Madeleine search point — the Arades Dam, in Portugal.
And a document puts him at the location where he allegedly said “she did not scream” as he discussed her with an associate.
In the online message where he brags to another sicko that he really wanted to “capture something small”, he adds it would not matter “if the evidence is destroyed afterwards”.
German investigators last night remained hopeful British police might rejoin the investigation as an active inquiry.
