Mother of murdered woman wants ‘Rhiannon’s law’ for illegal migrants | UK | News

The mother of a woman killed by a failed asylum seeker has led calls for a new law to be named after her daughter, while Conservatives have demanded that all illegal immigrants be electronically tagged and subject to a curfew.

After campaigning for Siobhan Whyte following the death of her 27-year-old daughter Rhiannon, who was stabbed 23 times in October 2024, shadow home secretary Chris Philp wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urging the Government to include the measures, known as Rhiannon’s law, in legislation.

Who killed Rhiannon Whyte?

The killer was Deng Chol Majek, a Sudanese citizen who identified Rhiannon as his target while working at the asylum hotel where she was staying. Majek had been allowed to remain in the UK despite his asylum claims being rejected in both Germany and Italy.

He showed no remorse after the murder; There were images of them dancing and laughing on camera. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and must serve at least 29 years.

What is Rhiannon’s law?

According to The Telegraph, in his letter to the Home Secretary, Mr Philip called for migrants staying in hotels and other shelters to be tagged and placed under curfew. He also called on the Government to deport all illegal immigrants within a week of their arrival, as is current Conservative Party policy, and said that if ministers refuse to adopt the wider plan, they “should at least introduce a bill in Rhiannon’s name that includes tagging and curfews for illegal immigrants living in hotels and HMOs.”

Mr Philp pointed to a number of recent incidents to support his argument, including the arrest last month of an Afghan national living in an HMO following reports of abuse of children and families outside a primary school. He also mentioned that illegal immigrants in asylum hotels have been convicted of “numerous rapes and sexual assaults, including of young girls.”

“These suggestions come from a grieving mother who has direct and tragic experience of the consequences of uncontrolled illegal immigration. I hope you will take her ideas seriously,” she wrote.

What does Rhiannon Whyte’s mother want?

Ms Whyte, who traveled from the West Midlands to meet Mr Philp in London in March, made a series of demands; Chief among these was that every immigrant arriving in the UK was subject to immediate criminal background checks and health screenings to detect any disease entering the country.

Questioning why Majek was allowed to stay in Britain despite being rejected by two other European countries, he said: “Why wasn’t he allowed to seek asylum but was allowed to come here? Surely that should have been investigated?”

He added: “The government needs to stop the boats, stop them coming in. But if they can’t do that, because clearly they won’t, then we need tagging, curfews, ID checks and medical checks. These need to be put in place. They need to stop putting them in hotels and HMOs and instead put them in restricted accommodation like barracks, as you would with any other criminals trespassing into any other country.”

Ms Whyte told The Telegraph that her daughter’s murder earned her a “life sentence”. He said: “Where are our human rights? On the left you say they have these rights, they have this, they have that. But do they have these rights at home? No. Do they have them with their families, with their daughters? No.

“If they come to this country without documents and commit these crimes, they should not have human rights. We will not be allowed to enter another country without passport documents. We will be arrested and deported.”

It was clear that his campaign specifically targeted those who broke the law. “I have nothing against immigrants who come legally. That’s fine. These are the guys who are committing these crimes that need to be stopped,” he said.