{"id":88525,"date":"2026-07-23T01:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/88525\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T01:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T01:00:29","slug":"dover-mp-mike-tapp-sacked-from-minister-for-migration-and-citizenship-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/88525\/","title":{"rendered":"Dover MP Mike Tapp sacked from minister for migration and citizenship role"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kent MP Mike Tapp has been sacked from his role as immigration minister following a row over whether he broke the ministerial code.<\/p>\n

It comes after the Dover and Deal MP wrote an \u201cunauthorised\u201d article<\/a> calling for care workers from abroad to be spared from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood\u2019s tougher settlement rules.<\/p>\n

\"Dover\"DoverDover and Deal MP Mike Tapp is reportedly is no longer immigration minister<\/p>\n

The Labour politician, who served as minister for migration and citizenship, reiterated his \u201cstrong belief\u201d that overseas care workers should not have to wait longer before applying for permanent residency in the UK, in an article for The Times.<\/p>\n

However, Ms Mahmood is understood to have been unaware of the article before it was published, pushing Sir Keir Starmer to remove him from his Home Office position.<\/p>\n

She is also understood to have limited his access to sensitive ministerial papers without her approval.<\/p>\n

In a post on X this evening (July 22), Mr Tapp announced he is no longer the minister for migration and citizenship, where he was \u201cpredominantly overseeing our legal migration system.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wrote: \u201cFor me, service has always meant putting the country first, and I\u2019m proud to have approached the role with that principle at its heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery decision I made in the Home Office began with my top priority: our national security. Our immigration system is also about people.<\/p>\n

I am no longer the Minister for Migration and Citizenship where I was predominantly overseeing our legal migration system. <\/p>\n

For me, service has always meant putting the country first, and I\u2019m proud to have approached the role with that principle at its heart.<\/p>\n

Every decision I\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Tapp MP (@MikeTappTweets) July 22, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why compassion must sit alongside firmness, striking the right balance to protect our country, support our economy, and uphold confidence in the system.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom delivering the massive Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, to visa pauses and improving the Windrush Compensation Scheme, it has been truly satisfying to play a part in strengthening our immigration system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile net migration is falling, there is still much more to do. I will always put my country first and that is why I will continue to bring my experience from my time working at the highest levels of national security to Parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am disappointed to be leaving government, but I have no regrets remaining loyal to Keir Starmer until the end. This Labour Government must succeed – for the good of our country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be working every single day to help deliver for the British people. Thank you to my Private Office and Home Office officials who have worked hard with me to make progress. I wish my successor the very best of luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Mr Tapp was forced to apologise on X after posting about \u201cattempted intimidation\u201d and having \u201cseen off the Taliban\u201d and \u201ctaken out terrorists\u201d in reference to his former career in the military.<\/p>\n

\"Mike\"MikeMike Tapp MP served as minister for migration and citizenship. Picture: Facebook<\/p>\n

He later deleted the post, and said at the time: \u201cEarlier today, I wrote a poorly judged tweet referencing previous experiences in my professional life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realised very quickly that it could be misinterpreted and so I deleted it immediately. I apologise wholeheartedly for any offence I may have caused.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of respect for the Home Secretary and will continue working hard for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

KentOnline previously reported that Sir Keir was \u201ctaking advice\u201d on whether or not Mr Tapp broke the ministerial code by writing the piece, as it appeared contrary to the convention of collective responsibility, which means ministers should not have public disputes over official policy.<\/p>\n

The row came amid growing pressure over controversial proposals to make migrants already living in the UK wait longer before applying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).<\/p>\n

The status gives people the right to live, work, study and claim benefits in the UK permanently.<\/p>\n

\"Home\"HomeHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Picture: Lucy North\/PA<\/p>\n

Ms Mahmood announced in November that the time most migrants have to wait before qualifying for settlement would double from five to 10 years.<\/p>\n

But she also said there would be \u201ctransitional arrangements\u201d to ease the impact on about 1.6 million migrants who came to the UK from 2021 onwards under the so-called \u201cBoris wave\u201d.<\/p>\n

More than 100 Labour MPs wrote to the Home Secretary earlier this year, urging her not to apply the changes to migrants who are already in the country.<\/p>\n

No final decision has been made, with ministers still considering more than 200,000 responses to a consultation.<\/p>\n

In his article, Mr Tapp said he had been working with officials to \u201cdevelop a better approach than a blanket retrospective extension from five years to 10 years for everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n

He wrote: \u201cIt is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules and have genuinely contributed to our care system should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement.<\/p>\n

\"Prime\"PrimePrime Minister Andy Burnham. Picture: Toby Melville\/PA<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the issue I am working hard to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Tapp said any exemption would apply to those who came to the UK through the health and care visa route.<\/p>\n

Some 616,266 visas were issued through the route between 2022 and 2024, with more than half granted to family members of workers, known as dependants.<\/p>\n

Analysis by the Home Office and Migration Advisory Committee estimates about 200,000 care workers and their dependants will apply for permanent settlement by 2030 if the five-year route remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

The issue is expected to become a major point of contention for Andy Burnham, who has succeeded Sir Keir as the new Labour leader and Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

Mr Burnham has previously criticised applying the changes retrospectively, warning it could leave people \u201cin a sense of limbo and unable to integrate\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, during his successful by-election campaign in Makerfield, he said he backed the \u201cbroad thrust\u201d of Ms Mahmood\u2019s reforms.<\/p>\n

Mr Tapp urged Mr Burnham to take his time assessing the policy, warning that \u201cchanges in one area can create unintended consequences elsewhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThat is why we are taking the necessary time to fully develop these reforms, assess their impacts, and ensure that the policies we implement deliver the outcomes we intend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to provide further updates in the autumn as this work progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kent MP Mike Tapp has been sacked from his role as immigration minister following a row over whether…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[1086,1087,309,14,5,6],"class_list":["post-88525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-deal","tag-dover","tag-kent","tag-politics","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116966589994221634","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}