Amina is a Tunisian national who is 35 weeks pregnant. I cannot visit Tunisia for the birth of our first child because of the FCO's restriction following the attack there this summer. There is one more week before she cannot fly from Tunis to the UK. The Home Office Helpline said the "Surinder Singh route" was appropriate for us - this is where a UK National has transferred his life to another EU country and while there has created and strengthened family ties with a non-EU National. In these circumstances EU rules apply (as set by the Surinder Singh case and subsequent rulings). The non-EU spouse then has the right to enter the UK with their husband/wife, as is the case in any other EU Country. This case was refused because the Entry Clearance Officer thought that couples also had to live in the EU after their marriage. (We went to Hong Kong for 12 months post-doctoral research work in a University, then came back to the UK.) In fact subsequent clarifications from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) show that the family relationship must be created and strengthened within the EU - we were both resident in France at the time of our marriage. There is no requirement to live in the EU for any further period of time. This mistake in implementing the law can be overturned from within the Home Office. At the moment we are denied our right to a family life together and in particular will be apart for what should be the best day of our lives - when our child is born. Aside from personal issues, it is ridiculously difficult for a British national to bring their spouse to the UK. In our case, the overwhelming response of friends and family is "surely she can be with him as his wife".... The British public are unaware of the issues facing genuine legal immigrants and need to be told how the UK's isolated stance on Borders and Immigration is creating misery for individual families in so many ways. It must also be noted that two UK members of parliament have been in touch with the Home Office on our behalf due to the tight time-scale involved. Their best efforts to help us have been met with bureaucratic brick walls, un-informed ‘contact centres’ and a complete absence of communication links with anybody in a position to accelerate our urgent case. My attempts to contact UKV&I were similarly un-fruitful, although quite lucrative for the visa service who charged me in excess of £10 on a telephone call to simply tell me that Amina’s case had not yet been assessed. The UKV&I email enquiry service on the gov.uk website seemingly generates automatic responses based on key words in the original question asked by the user, with replies ranging from unhelpful to absurd. Two important and quite general questions are raised as a result of this experience; firstly, how can the UK government get away with not applying EU immigration law, requiring many cases that fall outside the letter of previous rulings to go through ECJ appeals? The UK is part of the EU and the laws of the wider union come before national law. The UK’s ‘pick and choose’ attitude towards EU policies is evident here, with the government being very keen to remain part of the economic treaties, whilst shirking its responsibilities on other matters, particularly immigration. The government’s refusal to participate in the proposed quota system to distribute migrants in the current crisis, as well as Theresa May’s recent announcement that the EU’s ‘Freedom of Movement’ policy is actually a truncated version of ‘Freedom of Movement to a job’ are other clear demonstrations of this irresponsible attitude. Secondly, how can the government justify branding people as ‘illegal immigrants’, when even those seeking to follow the law and obtain visas through proper channels are refused leave to enter the country? The current visa system is incomprehensible and completely un-yielding, refusing to adapt to an individual’s circumstances or provide information to those elected to represent the public: our MPs. The Home Office and those working in it are supposed to be providing a public service, and even acknowledge this through referring to users of the visa system as ‘customers’. Immigrants are already ineligible for state benefits, and must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge regardless of whether or not they use NHS services, so arguing that preventing, for example, spouses of British citizens from coming to the UK will reduce the burden on the state is untrue. Furthermore, the inflexible nature of immigration policy means that the UK is often losing qualified professionals to other countries, as is the case here. Both my wife and I are doctors of physics, and are being driven out of the UK despite our qualifications. We are not alone in this situation, the Surinder Singh route is not a 'loophole' that the government should seek to close - it is one of the last defences protecting EU law from the UK's cruel immigration rules.

The Welsh city of Cardiff plays host to several rounds of the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the city has chosen to steal from fans that have travelled across the globe to enjoy the best of sports in it's country of origin by increasing the price of hotel rooms on those dates by over 1000%. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotels/11854221/Hotel-rates-up-to-1095-per-cent-higher-for-Rugby-World-Cup.html http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/rugby-world-cup-2015-hotel-10024469 http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/cardiff-hotels-cost-average-of-1-400-for-rwc-quarters-1.2347141 This is price gouging at it's worse and should not go unpunished, fans unable to pay could see their match day ruined by this scurrilous behaviour and the Welsh forever tarnished by this crime against supporters. We say Wales Cardiff should never again play host to a fixture that it has no reason to, let them thieve form their own!!! Signed, Rugby Supporters of the World

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-09-08/badly-burned-toddler-exposes-horror-refugees-are-fleeing/

We have created this campaign in collaboration with Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Amnesty International (University of Liverpool group) and the Green Party. The United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) states that weapons should not be sold to countries if there is a potential that the arms or items could be used to facilitate a serious violation of human rights. Whilst Saudi Arabia has been deemed ‘’a very old ally and partner’’ by David Cameron (2012), it continues to abuse the human rights of its citizens based on their gender and sexuality and refuses to acknowledge a need for change. Our mutual economic relationship with this country makes us complicit in the systematic abuse that takes place. The UK should consider not only the articles in the ATT but a country’s approach to human rights as a whole. Saudi Arabia consistently commits egregious breaches of human rights. It outlaws freedom of speech, expression or belief outside of Wahhabi Islam and regularly imprisons opponents without trial. Homosexuality is branded a crime and is punishable by torture and execution. Saudi Arabia and the UK have long had close dealings in the arms trade. Saudi Arabia is Britain’s largest customer for weapons and the UK is the Gulf nation’s single biggest supplier, according to Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). Weapons created in the UK were used to bomb Yemen this year in what has been dubbed ‘’a humanitarian catastrophe’’ (Andrew Smith, CAAT). Saudi Arabia is the biggest sponsor of global terrorism, funnelling money to rebels in Syria and to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide. The terrorist organisation IS are ‘’a product of Saudi ideals, Saudi money and Saudi organisational support’’ (Senator Bob Graham, the 9/11 commission). How can we claim to be a country that supports equality, diversity and freedom of speech when we continue with this inherently hypocritical trade relationship? Once again, we urge you to take action, Yours, the undersigned,

We are the fourth richest country in the world. The City of London should be setting an example to the rest of the UK - we have the resources to do so and should be celebrating the contribution of immigrants and refugees to our City. Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But we do. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome