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At 20 airports in the United States, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration, but by private compani
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At 20 airports in the United States, security screening is handled not by the Transportation Security Administration, but by private compani
Labour has announced sweeping immigration and asylum changes designed to address sentiment from many British people that the current system does not work. In this video, we look at one of the companies, Serco, that currently makes millions from what has been described as a “flawed system” by MPs.
— NOVO News
Inspections find the house in a state of neglect, with conditions below standards, a council says.
A company running a house where asylum seekers live has been fined £10,000 after the property in the centre of Coventry was found to be in a state of neglect. Coventry City Council said there were "serious breaches of housing regulations" at the house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Lower Ford Street, run by Serco. Inspections found multiple failings in the management of the house and described it as being "in a state of neglect, with conditions falling far below acceptable standards", the council said, adding that it had issued three penalty notices despite legal representations from Serco. Serco said it addressed issues as quickly as possible, which is what happened in this case. Councillor Abdul Salam Khan said: "This case sends a clear message that Coventry will not tolerate poor housing conditions, especially where vulnerable residents are concerned. "The scale of the mismanagement uncovered was unacceptable, and the fines imposed reflect our commitment to holding housing providers to account."
— Tanya Gupta, 12 November 2025
Revealed: Investigation finds Home Office has no complete record of companies housing almost 100,000 asylum seekers
A joint investigation has found that the Home Office holds no centralised data on the performances of its three main accommodation providers – Serco, Mears and Clearsprings Ready Homes – which together house almost all of the 100,000 asylum seekers in government accommodation.
In 2019, these firms were awarded public contracts initially estimated to be worth £4bn over 10 years, though costs have since spiralled. Earlier this year the National Audit Office said it expects the Home Office to have spent “£3.1bn on hotels” in the financial year ending in March 2024 alone.
The three companies often act as middlemen – placing asylum seekers in hotels or other accommodation owned by firms in their networks. But our investigation has revealed that the Home Office’s most recent lists of all the subcontracted providers are five years out of date.
One think tank said the Home Office’s admissions, made between November 2023 and May 2024 in response to Freedom of Information requests submitted by Liberty Investigates, are evidence of a “systemic failure” that has seen taxpayers’ bill for asylum housing spiral despite accusations that people are routinely being held in sub-standard accommodation with inadequate care.
— 18 July 2024
BBC identifies members of Infidels MC gang hired as armed security at US and Israel-backed aid sites.
The firm guarding sites where aid is distributed in Gaza has been using members of a US biker gang with a history of hostility to Islam to run its armed security, a BBC investigation has found. BBC News has confirmed the identities of 10 members of the Infidels Motorcycle Club working in Gaza for UG Solutions - a private contractor providing security at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, where hundreds of civilians seeking food have been killed in scenes of chaos and gunfire. We can reveal that seven members of the gang are in senior positions overseeing sites at the controversial aid operation backed by Israel and US President Donald Trump. UG Solutions (UGS) defended its employees' qualifications for the job, saying it does not screen people out for "personal hobbies or affiliations unrelated to job performance". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said it has "a zero-tolerance policy for any hateful, discriminatory biases or conduct". Infidels MC was set up by US military veterans of the Iraq war in 2006 and members see themselves as modern Crusaders, using the Crusader cross as their symbol - a reference to the medieval Christians who fought Muslims for control of Jerusalem. The gang is currently hosting anti-Muslim hate speech on its Facebook page and has previously held a pig roast "in defiance of" the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. "Putting the Infidels biker club in charge of delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza is like putting the KKK in charge of delivering humanitarian aid in Sudan. It makes no sense whatsoever," said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading Muslim civil rights organisation in the US. "It's bound to lead to violence, and that's exactly what we've seen happen in Gaza."
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Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.
Literally everything Israel does to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza is harshly criticized. Evacuation orders, creating humanitarian zones, facilitating aid deliveries - they have all faced withering opposition.
And so has the latest idea floated, of hiring private security contractors to secure the delivery of aid to Gaza so it doesn't get stolen by Hamas. Criticism is mounting, as usual, without anyone coming up with a better idea that doesn't fortify Hamas.
Right now, hundreds of trucks filled with international aid are sitting in the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, waiting for the UN to pick them up. Over the past few days, according to COGAT, Israel has facilitated hundreds of trucks into Gaza while the UN typically retrieves less than half of them earmarked for UN agencies.
If the reason for not getting the aid to the people is security, why doesn't the UN itself hire private contractors for securing aid and personnel?
The UN regularly hires outside security contractors in other areas of the world. In Iraq and Afghanistan, these private contractors protected aid routes and aid warehouses. The UN has current contracts and relationships with the British-based Control Risks Group and G4S, for example.
It also has several multimillion dollar contracts with the UAE-based Hart Security Ltd in Somalia.
A UAE-based group would seem to be ideal as a partner in Gaza. They know the culture, Israel would probably not object, and they have experience as an armed security service to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid.
The UN, and UNRWA specifically, never stop complaining that the security situation prevents them from providing the services Gazans need. But their actions seem to indicate that they prefer to complain and condemn Israel than to do any actions to protect Gazans, humanitarian services and that aid. (Their resolute opposition to allowing Gazans to flee to Egypt proves that.)
In this sense, the UN and Hamas share the same goal: to cynically use the suffering of Gaza civilians for their own anti-Israel purposes.
Combined profits of Clearsprings Ready Homes and Stay Belvedere Hotels prompt criticism from refugee charities
The Army and Navy have a combined seven privatized barracks projects and are considering more.
Privatization would work if costs were regulated.
Look at the privatized healthcare industry.
We’d be screwed again while our elected representatives filled their pockets.
In the post-9/11 wars, U.S. corporations contracted by the Defense Department not only handled logistics like running fuel convoys and staffing chow lines but performed mission-crucial work like training and equipping Afghan security forces.