Shabana Mahmood, speaking just after announcing a major policy change on migration, said she was "horrified" by the 27% increase in irregular arrivals in the year to June.

Speaking to Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby, the home secretary said: "I acknowledge the numbers are too high, and they've gone up, and I want to bring them down.

"I'm impatient to bring those numbers down."

She refused to "set arbitrary numbers" on how much she wanted to bring illegal migration down to.

Earlier on Monday, Ms Mahmood announced a new direction in Labour's plan to crack down on asylum seekers.

The "restoring order and control" plan includes:

• The removal of more families with children - either voluntarily through cash incentives up to £3,000, or by force;
• Quadrupling the time successful asylum seekers must wait to claim permanent residency in the UK, from five years to 20;
• Removing the legal obligation to provide financial support to asylum seekers, so those with the right to work but choose not to will receive no support;
• Setting up a new appeals body to significantly speed up the time it takes to decide whether to refuse an asylum application;
• Reforming how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is interpreted in immigration cases;
• Banning visas for countries refusing to accept deportees;
• And the establishment of new safe and legal refugee routes.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Labour's plans

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the plan was much like something his party would put forward, and said Ms Mahmood sounded like a Reform supporter.

The home secretary responded with her usual frankness, telling Rigby: "Nigel Farage can sod off. I'm not interested in anything he's got to say.

"He's making mischief. So I'm not going to let him live forever in my head."

You might need our support, says Badenoch

Her plans have also been tentatively welcomed by the Conservatives, with Kemi Badenoch suggesting the home secretary work with her in case of a rebellion by Labour MPs.

The backing of Tory MPs could "come in handy", Ms Badenoch said.

The government's attempts to cut the welfare bill earlier this year were thwarted by its own backbenchers, and the proposals announced on Monday have already attracted backlash from some on the left of the Labour Party.

Fury on the backbenches

Speaking in the House of Commons, Nadia Whittome MP called Ms Mahmood's plans "dystopian" and "shameful", and pointed out they enjoyed the support of far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Richard Burgon MP said she should change course now rather than be forced into a U-turn later, and Olivia Blake MP told Sky News the policies were "cruel" and "inhumane".

Sarah Owen MP compared Ms Mahmood's policies to those of former Home Office minister Robert Jenrick, now the shadow justice secretary who's also been accused of a tilt to the right in a bid to woo Reform voters.

Read more:
How the UK and Denmark's immigration policies compare

Mahmood's warning to Labour MPs

But Ms Mahmood has warned her colleagues that disrupting her bid to reform the asylum system - thus hoping to bring down the number of small boat crossings - risks "dark forces" coming to prominence.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday evening, Ms Mahmood said: "If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred."

She later told Beth Rigby that Reform wanted to "rip up" indefinite leave to remain altogether, which she called "immoral" and "deeply shameful".

The home secretary, who is a practising Muslim, was born in Birmingham to her Pakistani parents.

Earlier, in the Commons, she said she sees the division that migration and the asylum system are creating across the country. She told MPs she regularly endures racist slurs.

This article contains descriptions of FGM and reconstructive surgery some readers may find distressing.

The World Health Organisation-approved FGM reconstruction surgery is freely available on public health services in European countries like Switzerland.

Professor Jasmine Abdulcadir, one of the world's leading experts in FGM reconstruction surgery, sees up to 30 survivors a month at Geneva's University Hospital.

"Not all of them will need or opt for surgery," she told Sky News.

"There are several types of FGM, so the tissues involved might be diverse. It can be the labia, the clitoris, and the cutting might be more or less severe. So there are different types of surgeries.

"If we talk about clitoral reconstruction, this is for patients that have been cut on the clitoris. And the surgery aims at removing the scar, and making the clitoris more accessible and more sensitive."

In cases of infibulation, which is when a woman's vulva has been closed, Prof Abdulcadir described a procedure called deinfibulation, which allows surgeons to open up the scar.

"When the vulva is closed, there are major obstructive complications," she explained. "It's difficult to have penetrative sex, to deliver normally.

"Deinfibulation allows us to open the scar. We can also reconstruct the inner labia."

'All the girls were crying'

Jamilla, not her real name, is one of Prof Abdulcadir's patients. She had FGM reconstruction surgery a little over a month ago.

Jamilla is still traumatised about what happened to her as a child in West Africa. Even now, more than 30 years later.

"Every girl who came in came out crying, screaming," Jamilla told Sky News. "I didn't want to go in, but they forced me and when I went in, she cut me with a blade. I jumped from the pain. All the girls were crying. I didn't want to, but they forced me."

'It's something that never leaves you'

Jamilla's mother was against her daughter being cut but was tricked by one of her father's three wives. She was told she was going out to buy some sweets, but was instead forced into the cutter's house where she was brutalised.

"I was angry because I was just a child. She had already made the decision, but I was angry… furious with her. When I was growing up, she was always around, and I asked her this question: why? She said: 'No, it's our culture, we have to do that for the girls.'

"For me, honestly, it was exhausting. I didn't want to have to heal from it. Afterwards, they said that after one or two weeks they would have a celebration, but I wasn't feeling well at all.

"Physically, mentally. I always think about it. It's something that never leaves you. You think about it all the time."

Read more: Why I stopped carrying out FGM

137,000 living with FGM in England and Wales

The WHO estimates more than 230 million women and girls alive today have undergone FGM across 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It's mostly carried out on girls under 15.

In 2015, it was estimated 137,000 women and girls were living with FGM in England and Wales. And between that report's publication and 2023, FGM was identified in a total of 87,575 attendances at NHS Trusts and GP practices.

The true numbers are thought to be much higher and the latest government data is expected to be published soon. But even these will not give a true figure of this unimaginable cruelty and violence deliberately perpetrated against young girls.

But while FGM survivors across Europe can access reconstruction surgery through their country's public healthcare system, it is still not available in the UK.

Growing demand for surgery

Juliet Albert is a specialist midwife who runs a busy FGM clinic in west London. She said demand in the UK continues to grow.

She said: "We do find women coming to our clinic saying they want reconstruction surgery, and we have to say 'sorry, we don't offer it here'.

"Some of them will seek it out by going to have it done in another country perhaps, which is obviously very costly, and some of them don't manage to get any support for that.

"It may be because they've got long-term genital pain, or it might be a body image concern. Women say things like, 'I just want to be whole', or 'I want to put back what was taken away'."

Government agrees to prioritise research

These women now have some hope. Following a highly critical report by the Women and Equalities Committee into inadequate care for FGM survivors, the government has agreed to prioritise research into reconstruction surgery to make it available on the NHS.

Committee chair Sarah Owen MP told Sky News: "In an ideal situation, it would be available to everybody on everybody's doorstep. But FGM isn't a problem in every part of our country.

"But it is a problem in certain parts of our country, and I think we need to be able to prioritise those areas where the need is highest to ensure people get the surgery and the support they need as quickly as possible.

"The research isn't into the merits of reconstructive surgery. The research is into where the need is greatest."

She hopes it will be available on the NHS "as soon as possible", and in the meantime that women who are struggling receive support "sooner rather than later".

"I want GPs to have better understanding of FGM and reconstructive surgery," she added. "I want people to know that this is still an issue for so many women within our communities."

The Labour MP thinks it's an issue the government is now taking seriously, but wants "some action behind the words".

"It's been an issue other countries have tackled successfully in the last 20 years," she said. "I think this country can actually get to grips with this, and this is a very good start."

But the Department of Health and Social Care told Sky News more understanding of the process was still required.

"The NHS runs FGM clinics which provide healthcare services and emotional and psychological support for victims," a statement said.

"We are also facilitating further research into the effectiveness of reconstructive surgery for FGM survivors through the National Institute for Health and Care Research."

FGM reconstruction surgery cannot erase the violence or the pain.

But it can offer something many survivors feared they would never have: the chance to reclaim their bodies after a lifetime of trauma.

A YouGov poll for The Times suggests just a third of people who backed the party last year want the prime minister to lead it into the next national contest, which is due in 2029 at the latest.

And some 23% of those voters think he should quit now.

Sir Keir's ratings have plummeted since entering Downing Street, and Labour consistently trail Reform in the polls.

His chancellor will deliver what is expected to be an unpopular budget next Wednesday, despite a U-turn on raising income tax, while May brings local elections that could further damage Sir Keir's reputation among Labour MPs.

The aftermath of the budget and next year's elections, which include Labour strongholds of London and Wales, have both been mooted as the time for a potential leadership challenge.

But speaking to the Daily Mirror, the prime minister has attempted to silence doubts about his position.

Asked if he would lead Labour into the next general election, Sir Keir said: "Yes, I will."

Sir Keir said "dealing with the cost of living" is his main priority, and "making people feel better off".

He said people wanted to "give their kids a treat, go out for a meal, have a holiday, get on and progress, and feel safe and secure", and promised the budget will have "Labour values right through it".

Rachel Reeves has been tipped to announce the two-child benefit cap will be scrapped, while the prime minister indicated the £9.90 prescription charge in England will be frozen.

"We've had a freeze in place, which is really important, and you can expect more on that in the coming days," he said.

Badenoch to warn of 'stealth tax bombshell'

Despite the income tax U-turn, other tax-raising measures are expected as the chancellor looks to plug a gap in the public finances without cutting spending.

In a speech later today, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will blame the government's failure to push through its welfare reforms earlier this year for the budget measures to come.

If the chancellor extends the freeze in income tax thresholds, as has been reported, Ms Badenoch will say it means "hiking taxes on people in work to give handouts to people on benefits".

Freezing the thresholds means as wages rise, more people get dragged into paying tax or shifted into higher bands, which Ms Badenoch will describe as a "stealth tax bombshell".

Nigel Farage will also give a speech today, setting out how a Reform UK government would seek to block EU nationals from claiming benefits and slash overseas aid spending to save £25bn a year.

Rebellion brewing over immigration reforms

A Labour backbench revolt forced the government to row back on its welfare reforms, and another rebellion may be brewing over asylum plans announced on Monday.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced sweeping changes, including rowing back on guarantees of financial support for asylum seekers.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Labour's plans

Nadia Whittome MP called Ms Mahmood's plans "dystopian" and "shameful", while Richard Burgon MP said she should change course now rather than be forced into a U-turn later.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday evening, Ms Mahmood warned her colleagues: "If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred."

Follow Ms Badenoch and Mr Farage's speeches live in the Politics Hub.

Inverness, Newcastle, and York were among the cities where it went as low as 1C (33F) in the early hours, but it also dropped that low as far south as Southampton, according to the Met Office.

Check the weather forecast where you are

It's expected to get even colder throughout this week during the first cold snap of the year, as a spell of above-average temperatures comes to a brutal end.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said the sudden change will feel "shocking" to some.

Multiple yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued by the Met Office for parts of Scotland and northern England until Thursday, while the UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber cold health alert for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber until Friday.

A yellow cold health alert affects the rest of England, with the cold air having made its way over from Siberia.

Read more from Sky News:
I'm going nowhere, insists PM
Labour MPs warned not to block asylum plans

While it's set to be wet in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern and western parts of England and Wales today, the Met Office said there will be some sleet and snow mixed in.

Icy patches are also something to be wary of where it's coldest, making for "difficult, slippery conditions", warned meteorologist Alex Burkill.

Where to expect snow

Snow is most likely in northern and eastern parts of Scotland, and the eastern side of England, he said, with more on Wednesday and Thursday.

While it will be colder than normal for this time of year in the south, snowfall is unlikely.

But stronger winds toward the end of the week will bring significant windchill, making it feel much colder than even the low temperatures would suggest.

Milder conditions should move in by the weekend.

The 20-point proposal, announced last month, includes the establishment of a so-called Board of Peace as a transitional authority to be led by the president.

US ambassador Mike Waltz said the "historic" resolution was "another significant step towards a stable Gaza".

Mr Trump himself, who has been a vocal critic of the UN, later welcomed the vote as "one of the biggest approvals" in the organisation's history.

"A moment of true Historic proportion," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote.

Read more: What does Trump's Gaza peace plan look like?

The proposal gives no timeline or guarantee for an independent Palestinian state, only saying "the conditions may finally be in place" after advances in the reconstruction of Gaza and reforms of the Palestinian Authority - now governing parts of the West Bank.

It also says that the US "will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence".

The language on statehood was strengthened after Arab nations and Palestinians pressured the US over nearly two weeks of negotiations, but it has also angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He has vowed to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state, and on Sunday pledged to demilitarise Gaza "the easy way or the hard way".

Hamas: International force is 'in favour of' Israel

In a statement rejecting the resolution's passing, a Hamas spokesperson said it "falls far short of the political and humanitarian demands and rights of our Palestinian people".

"The effects and repercussions of this war continue to this day, despite the declared end of the war according to President Trump's plan," they added.

"The resolution imposes an international trusteeship mechanism on the Gaza Strip, which our people, their forces, and factions reject."

The spokesperson then said that "assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favour of the occupation".

The Palestinian Authority, however, issued a statement welcoming the resolution and said it is ready to take part in its implementation.

Read more:
Trump asks Israeli president to 'fully pardon' Netanyahu
Inside warehouse holding Gaza aid 'refused entry by Israel'

Mr Trump's plan began with a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which led to Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being handed over.

The war began following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, almost 70,000 Palestinians have killed by Israel's military campaign.