Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: SHABANA Mahmood, new UK Home Secretary, has said that the “foremost priority of the UK Government is the safety of its citizens”. She replaced Yvette Cooper after a major Cabinet reshuffle in the Labour Party-led Government triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner.
Taking to her official X account, Shabana said, “It is the honour of my life to serve as Home Secretary. The first responsibility of Government is the safety of its citizens. Every day in this job, I will be devoted to that purpose.” Welcoming Shabana as the new UK Home Secretary, the country’s Home Department in an X post said, “For over two centuries, the Home Secretary has safeguarded the nation. Today, we begin a new chapter as we welcome @ShabanaMahmood to the Home Office as the new Home Secretary.”
David Lammy was also appointed the new UK Deputy Prime Minister. Shabana previously served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2024 to 2025. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010. Shabana is set to take on one of the toughest briefs in the UK Government as pressure mounts over record Channel crossings, asylum hotels and migration.
As Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary over the past year, she has been tasked with tackling the jail overcrowding crisis and has just introduced major legislation to Parliament to overhaul the prison system earlier this week.
The courts backlog has also been a key focus of her brief, but the daughter of immigrants, of Kashmiri origin, has also been drawn into immigration policy that will form much of her new day job.
Shabana, the most senior Muslim woman in the Government, backed Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he said that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” in May, although she avoided using the term.
Asked whether she would repeat the Prime Minister’s language, she said, “I agree with the Prime Minister that without curbs on migration, without making sure that we have strong rules that everyone follows, and that we have a pace of immigration that allows for integration into our country, we do risk becoming a nation of people estranged from one another.” Her appointment comes after discontent over the summer with how the UK government has addressed small boat crossings and housed asylum seekers in hotels, which has led to a wave of protests and criticism from Labour Party’s political opponents
