Net migration is plummeting. Why can’t Labour say so? | Heather Stewart

Keir Starmer’s response to the 69% fall in net migration revealed in official figures last week was to remark: “That’s a step in the right direction.”Describing a reduction of more than two-thirds of any indicator in a single year as a “step” would be a creative use of statistics, putting it kindly.But on this most polarising of topics, and for the prime minister, whose job it is to shape public opinion, not cower before it (to “teach”, as the longtime political commentator Steve Richards calls it), it was inexcusable.Starmer’s insouciance about the collapse in numbers – from 649,000 last year to 204,000 in the year to June – was just the latest example of how damagingly detached from reality political debate about migration has become.Since Brexit, net migration has been on a rollercoaster ride more dramatic than anything at Alton Towers – a record rise followed in short order by a record decline

Harrods warehouse staff underpaid by thousands of pounds after agency error

Harrods warehouse staff have been underpaid thousands of pounds after the temporary recruitment agency employing the workers failed to award them the correct levels of holiday pay.The error, which possibly equates to a six-figure debt owed to hundreds of lower-paid personnel, marks the latest setback to the image of the exclusive Knightsbridge retailer, which is owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and has spent the past 12 months firefighting a series of crises.The recent difficulties have included Harrods establishing a compensation scheme in March for survivors of alleged sexual abuse by the former owner Mohamed Al Fayed, while in May the department store warned customers their personal data may have been taken after a high-profile IT breach.Harrods warehouse workers were underpaid by The Best Connection, a temporary staffing agency that employs the staff and then supplies them under contract to Harrods.The discovery is understood to have been made after two years of warnings to Harrods that the pricing of The Best Connection’s services raised questions if it was lowballing tender offers to corporate customers, only to make back any missing margin from lower-paid workers

Airbus issues major A320 recall after mid-air incident grounds planes, disrupting global travel

Airlines around the world cancelled and delayed flights heading into the weekend after Airbus announced on Friday that it had ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its A320 family of jets in a recall affecting more than half of the global fleet.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the main certifying authority for A320 aircraft, issued the instruction on Friday night as a precautionary action, saying that “safety is paramount”.The US Federal Aviation Administration also issued an emergency airworthiness directive for certain Airbus planes, requiring the aircraft to replace or modify specific software.The fix mainly involves reverting to earlier software and is relatively simple, but must be carried out before the planes can fly again, according to the bulletin to airlines seen by Reuters.Of the 6,000 jets affected, a sub-set will need a time-consuming hardware change rather than a quick software fix, though the number that require more extensive fixes was smaller than the initial estimates of 1,000, Airbus said

US small businesses sound alarm over Trump’s tariffs amid crucial holiday season

Donald Trump’s tariffs have increased prices on an array of popular holiday goods and driven a “massive” number of small firms out of business, industry leaders have warned.On Small Business Saturday, firms have their fingers crossed that strong holiday sales will ease the impact of a tough year. But many aren’t holding their breath.“My husband and I have invested a lot of our retirement money into this business,” Joann Cartiglia, owner of Queen’s Treasures, a toy company in Ticonderoga, New York, during a press briefing organized by We Pay the Tariffs, a coalition of small businesses, this week. “And now I have absolutely no hope of retirement

Soon-to-be-axed 7am Manchester-London train will still run – but without passengers

The good news for rail travel between Manchester and London is that a morning train will continue to link the two cities in under two hours. The bad news: passengers will no longer be able to get onboard.The rail regulator has axed one of Britain’s fastest and most lucrative intercity services, the 7am Avanti West Coast from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, as part of a timetable shake-up that will take effect in mid-December.What will heap on frustration for passengers, as well as the operator, is that the exact same train service will continue to run between the stations from 7am each weekday: crewed, fast and empty.The train and staff still need to travel from Manchester as they are rostered to operate subsequent services out of Euston on the new December timetable, under rail’s complex planning

Jetstar cancels 90 domestic flights across Australia after global Airbus A320 recall

Jetstar has grounded some of its Airbus fleet in Australia and cancelled domestic and international flights after the aerospace manufacturer ordered software changes to thousands of its A320 planes following a mid-air incident.Ninety Jetstar flights were affected on Saturday with disruption expected to continue until Sunday, the airline’s head of flying operations, Tyrone Simes, told reporters at Melbourne airport.Airbus said on Friday it was ordering an immediate software change on a “significant number” of its bestselling A320 family of aircraft, a narrow-body plane which is also used by Virgin Australia and Qantas.Simes said on Saturday Airbus had issued Jetstar with a maintenance directive to reverse a software upgrade that had been installed on some planes and resulted in a malfunction.He said 34 of Jetstar’s 85 Airbus fleet were affected, but engineers could complete the software update on the ground in Australia, which would take about two to three hours for each plane