The Shadow Home Secretary has called for migrants entering Britain via unlawful means to be electronically tagged and placed under curfew. Tory MP Chris Philp has urged the Government to better monitor those seeking asylum after Sudanese migrant Deng Chol Majek stabbed hotel worker Rhiannon Whyte to death in October 2024.
Majek stabbed Ms Whyte 23 times with a screwdriver after following her to the train station from the hotel where she worked and where he was living. He was seen dancing and laughing after the murder and is now serving a life sentence. Ms Whyte's mother, Siobhan, stared him down in court as she told him: 'Let me see you dancing now.'
It emerged during the trial that Majek lied about his age upon entry to the UK and had been refused asylum in Germany, prompting Siobhan to call for tougher vetting on those seeking to stay in the country.
In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Mr Philp said migrants should be tagged and monitored if the Government refused to adopt more stringent measures the Tories want to see, such as deporting illegal migrants within a week of arrival. These and other measures, including tougher vetting of those arriving in the UK, should be enshrined in a bill to be known as 'Rhiannon's Law', he said, drawing on ideas from the 27-year-old's mother.
'These proposals come from a bereaved mother who has had direct and tragic experience of the consequences of uncontrolled illegal immigration. I hope that you will treat her ideas seriously,' he wrote in his letter, seen by the Daily Mail.
Mr Philp added: 'You have already made it clear that you will not implement our borders plan which would see us leave the European Court of Human Rights so that we could deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival. If you will not adopt our borders plan, I urge you to at least introduce a bill in Rhiannon's name to include tagging of illegal immigrants living in hotels and HMOs and curfews. Illegal immigrants should be carefully monitored to ensure the safety of the local community.'
Siobhan Whyte has become a prominent voice in the campaign for stricter immigration controls following her daughter's murder, appearing alongside the likes of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during her activism. She spoke at Saturday's Unite the Kingdom march, organised by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, branding Keir Starmer an 'abhorrent excuse of a leader' who had 'failed my daughter'. 'He has failed us. He has failed my daughter, Rhiannon. I believe she would still be alive today if this disgusting excuse of a man had not been in control,' she said.
Asylum seekers have been convicted of several violent crimes against women in recent months, fuelling calls for tighter controls on those in the UK. Last month, Iranian-born Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, and Egyptians Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, and Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, were convicted of raping a 33-year-old woman behind a beach hut in Brighton last October. The attack was filmed, and when quizzed on his understanding of consent, one attacker told prosecutors he thought 'rape was sex'. Two of those convicted had asylum claims refused, while a third was under investigation for immigration offences. They will be sentenced in July.
Last week, Eritrean national Abdoela Berhan was convicted of assault after he knocked out 21-year-old Cleo Lake, who had rejected his advances on a night out. Berhan, 35, had been convicted of attacking a Subway worker in another incident just days earlier, and a warrant is now out for his arrest after he failed to appear at court.
Mr Philp added in his letter: 'Illegal immigrants should all be deported swiftly, but since you are declining to do this, we need to at least check which has previous criminal convictions.'
Responding to Mr Philp's letter, a Home Office spokesperson said: 'The murder of Rhiannon Whyte was an abhorrent crime, and our thoughts remain with her loved ones. Her vile attacker has quite rightly received the strictest punishment of a life sentence. Last year, the Home Secretary set out the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration, removing the incentives which draw people to the UK illegally and increasing removals of those with no right to be here. The Home Office already conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals, which is checked and compared against relevant systems and police criminality databases, including domestic and international data.'
