Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Keir Starmer has launched a small boat crossing the Channel as his party tries to convince voters to tackle immigration and nullify Rishi Sunak’s key promise to send flights to Rwanda. It will reveal Labour’s plans to stop it.
Despite controversy in Labor circles over her acceptance into the party, the Labor leader is expected to make the announcement in her newly exiled home in Kent, along with Dover MP Natalie Elphike.
Among the new measures promised by Sir Keir is a new Border Force Command to tackle smugglers. It will be led by a border guard commander who is a former police, military and intelligence official.
‘Elite’ groups will be strengthened by new counter-terrorism laws, making it easier to target criminal gangs behind intersections, Sir Keir says.staff will be placed “Hundreds of new specialist investigators, police officers and prosecutors,” Labor says.
The Conservative Party described the plan as an “amnesty for illegal immigrants”.
Labor sources said Starmer wanted to put him in charge of abolishing the established transcontinental route that allowed smugglers to ferry asylum seekers across the English Channel.
The government has already struck several deals with France and others to step up enforcement across the Channel as part of plans to reduce shipping traffic. Last year, it signed a deal with Türkiye to stop smuggling gangs.
Labor has no intention of abandoning these agreements, as part of its policy is to forge closer working relationships with neighboring countries.
This comes as record numbers continue to cross the Strait, with more than 700 people crossing in a single day last week.
This issue will likely become a major issue in the next general election. The prime minister has made “stopping the ships” one of his five priorities and is determined to send a fleet of planes to Rwanda before the election to stop migration and convince voters the plan will work. It’s solidifying.
Labor has previously said it would scrap the government’s Rwanda deportation program if elected to power, but did not commit to halting already scheduled aircraft operations.
Around £75 million of the money put into the Rwanda plan will be diverted to fund a new “elite Border Force Command” under Labour’s plan.
The command would report directly to the Home Secretary, integrate organizations such as MI5, modeled on the National Crime Agency, the Immigration Service and the Security and Counter-Terrorism Directorate, and work with international organizations.
The party has already committed to working closely with Europol and European countries to combat people smuggling.
The Refugee Council says whatever government is in power must focus on establishing a “fair and effective refugee system” to address the current backlog “meltdown”. Stated.
“Unless we address this issue urgently, more than 100,000 people will be stranded by the end of the year, placing a huge burden on taxpayers,” CEO Enver Solomon said.
“Rebuilding our asylum system has become a test of political power and a test of leadership in resisting voices that fundamentally do not want to rebuild a functioning asylum system,” Starmer said.
“The question is whether we can always reject the politics of performative symbols, gimmicks and gestures in favor of the politics of practical solutions.”
Hotels housing asylum seekers can cost up to £8 million a day, the government says. But any attempt to close the hotel could be even more costly.
According to a National Audit Office report released last month, expected legislation for the four sites includes: Bibby Stockholm The barge and RAF site will be worth £1.2bn over the next 10 years, £46m more than the estimated cost of the hotel.
The Home Office said it was “more cost-effective” to continue the scheme.
In response to Labor’s announcement, Home Secretary James Cleverley said: “Sir Keir Starmer’s big new idea is an amnesty for all illegal immigrants, rather than starting planes or stopping boats, and scrapping the Rwanda plan even if it worked.” It is to be.”
“No one believes Keir Starmer wants border controls, even though he previously said immigration was ‘racist’ and said he had stopped violent sex offenders from being deported. . Actions speak louder than words and Keir Starmer will never be on the side of the British people. ”
Some 8,826 migrants have crossed the Channel to reach the UK so far this year, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.
This is a 32% increase compared to the same period last year, when 6,691 migrants were recorded, and a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2022 (7,750), according to PA news agency data analysis.