Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has scrapped plans to make foreign care workers already in the UK wait 15 years to qualify for permanent settlement.

Mahmood had proposed doubling the wait for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to 10 for most migrants, with some facing a 15-year wait.

But following a backlash from several Labour MPs, Mahmood revised the policy and care workers who earn at least £25,000 a year and arrived in the UK before May 2025 would continue to qualify after five years.

The Conservatives said Mahmood's "U-turn" would cost taxpayers billions of pounds.

ILR, also known as settlement, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible.…