Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out plans to reduce the number of small boat migrants arriving in the UK - with thousands flocking across the border to Scotland.

Labour plans for a clampdown on immigration are already in disarray as one left-wing Scottish Labour MP has spoken out against them. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to lay out her plans to cut down on the number of small boat migrants who are arriving in the UK.

It includes copying Denmark by increasing the time people granted asylum in the UK can apply to settle permanently from five years to 20 years. Under the plans, people who are granted asylum will only be allowed to stay in the UK temporarily, with their refugee status regularly reviewed and those whose home countries are then deemed safe told to return.

Currently refugee status lasts for five years, after which people can apply for indefinite leave to remain. Now the Home Secretary wants to cut the initial period from five years to two-and-a-half years, after which refugee status will be regularly reviewed.

There is growing anger within Scotland about the number of migrants moving across the border and being housed in temporary accommodation, like hotels. Over 4,000 asylum seekers live in Glasgow, adding huge strain to budgets and the number of available properties for those in need.

READ MORE: SNP-led Highland Council demand Home Office reconsiders migrant camp at Inverness Barrack

It is unknown whether Ms Mahmood's plans will reduce these numbers, with her rivals suggesting that they won't. She still needs to get them past MPs, and may face a rebellion by some on the far left of her party. 

One of these is Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman who just recently got the party whip restored after publicly criticising the UK Government for its plans to cut disability benefits. But he seems to be on a crash course for another row after blasting the current immigration plans.

 

He told BBC Scotland's Sunday Show: "I'll have the opportunity to discuss this with the Home Secretary tomorrow because I believe that she's going to be speaking in Parliament tomorrow afternoon with an urgent statement and she's going to be laying out what her plans will do. 

"I think that the real Labour values are of building a caring compassionate society where we will look after the most vulnerable and dare I say it, as well, not just from a domestic point of view, but we look at it from an international point of view, it's about having human decency and looking after people. Do I feel that these values are being represented in what's leaked so far? No I don't. By David Walker, Scottish Daily Express