5 top UK news stories today (6 March 2026)

Here’s your UK news roundup for Friday (6 March 2026):

Shabana Mahmood accused of mimicking Trump as she announces asylum plans

Shabana Mahmood has put herself on a collision course with Labour MPs after announcing a set of changes to the immigration system that one backbencher said mimicked Donald Trump and another claimed would lead to a Windrush-style scandal. The home secretary announced her plans on Thursday, including an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law. She also launched a pilot project to pay 150 families whose asylum claims had been rejected up to £40,000 each to voluntarily leave the country or face forcible removal. The families have been contacted and have seven days to decide whether to accept or refuse the offer. [Guardian]

Calls for UK to explore North Sea oil

Octopus founder and government adviser Greg Jackson has urged Labour to “use what’s available” in the North Sea and rethink its key net zero policies. Jackson said the county was “staring down the barrel” of an energy price shock in light of the conflict in the Middle East. The Octopus chief executive who is also a member of the industrial strategy advisory council and has shared close ties with key government figures including business secretary Peter Kyle, warned “economic damage” from the crisis was imminent. He called on the UK government to ditch “wishful thinking” and “ideology” in order to keep prices stable and the economy afloat. [CityAM]

One in 7 shops in UK has turned cashless in the past year

High Street shops are increasingly accepting only card or phone payments, new research suggests, as traders balance security, costs and the needs of customers. Some 14% of shops have turned cashless over the last year, according to a survey of small businesses by the UK’s main ATM network Link. The findings highlighted retailers efforts to avoid payment charges and tackle security concerns, despite around half of in-store purchases still being made in cash. [BBC]

HSBC, Nationwide and Coventry set to raise mortgage rates as conflict in the Middle East hits markets

HSBC, Nationwide and Coventry building societies are the first big UK lenders to announce an increase in rates on their fixed mortgage deals as a result of the Middle East crisis, with brokers predicting others are likely to follow. Experts have said the war could trigger an energy price shock that pushes up UK inflation, which may in turn force the Bank of England to increase interest rates. That uncertainty has affected the money market swap rates that lenders use to decide the rates on their new fixed mortgages. [This is Money]