Rishi Sunak gives update on ‘stop the boats’ pledge
Rishi Sunak on Monday revealed the UK has bought more barges to house migrants.
And he defended his tough stance by saying people will “stop coming” if they know “they won’t get to stay”.
The Prime Minister said the two new vessels will ease pressure on communities and slash the £6million-per-day asylum seeker hotel bill.
Ministers have also signed off plans to house 600 migrants in “self-contained” flats in a block in West London, the Daily Express understands.
Officials confirmed the site is being used but they will expand it to reduce the reliance on expensive hotels.
READ MORE: Unelected peers threaten to slam brakes on Sunak’s plans to stop the migrant boats
The Prime Minister said the two new vessels will ease pressure on communities (Image: PA)
Speaking in Kent on Monday, the Prime Minister declared the Government’s plan is working as crossings fell by a fifth between January and May compared to the same period last year.
And as efforts to stop the boats are ramped up over the summer the first barge, the Bibby Stockholm, will arrive in Portland, Dorset, in the next fortnight with two more to follow.
Mr Sunak said the location of the new barges will be announced soon and before the new barges arrive, the government will do “extensive engagement with local communities.”
Nearly 3,000 asylum seekers will also be housed on two military sites in Wethersfield, Essex and Scampton, Lincolnshire by the autumn.
Migrants will be asked to share hotel rooms to save £250million per year and free up 11,500 beds.
The Prime Minister said: “I say to those migrants who are objecting: this is more than fair. If you’re coming here illegally, claiming sanctuary from death, torture, or persecution then you should be willing to a share a taxpayer-funded hotel room in central London.
“We cannot allow our generosity of spirit to be used as a weapon against us or against those who are being pushed to risk their lives in the Channel by criminal gangs.”
Between January and March this year 3,793 people arrived in small boats – a 17 percent decrease on the 4,548 people arriving over the same period last year.
The Prime Minister said the public can have “confidence” in the Government’s plan as the number of illegal migrants detected in Europe has rocketed by 30 percent.
Mr Sunak vowed ministers will continue to take a tough stance on illegal migration, saying people will “stop coming” if they know “they won’t get to stay”.
He pointed towards a 90 percent fall in Albanians arriving in the UK on small boats after the Government signed a returns agreement with Tirana. He said it had led to 1,800 people being sent back.
The Prime Minister on Monday (Image: Getty)
And reforms to the modern slavery laws have seen many more spurious asylum applications thrown out, Mr Sunak said. He added: “Our plan is working. Why do I have confidence in that? Because for the first time, since the small boats phenomenon arose a few years ago, numbers are down.
“This shows to me, the plan is working. Of course, there is work to do. People will still come in the summer. The gangs will keep trying other routes.
French Police are intercepting more than half, 53.2 percent, of attempted crossings, Border Force sources revealed on Monday. This is up from 42 percent last year, they said.
The French have this year prevented 8,635 crossings from leaving their country. This is compared to 33,000 for the entirety of last year.
Around 45,755 migrants arrived in the UK last year. So far this year, 7,610 have reached our shores. Ministers believe extra patrols on the French beaches are leading to more migrants being detected.
Officials believe around 60 percent of migrants arrive in Northern France the night before their journey.
Smugglers offer migrants in a “standby” queue discounted journeys. These spaces are offered if migrants who have paid for a boat cannot reach the meeting point because they have been caught.
But Border Force sources revealed they are concerned smugglers are cramming people into even bigger boats, making them more vulnerable to capsizing. Up to 89 migrants were forced into one boat, officials said.
Suella Braverman (Image: PA)
Intelligence suggests the vast majority of these flimsy boats are coming from Turkey. But they are very poorly made, sources say, with cheap plastic similar to that used for bouncy castles.
Sources highlighted an example where a migrant stood up as he was being rescued and fell straight through the bottom of the boat.
Organised crime gangs are giving children motorbike inner tubes as makeshift lifejackets.
The Prime Minister admitted the public had “lost faith in politicians to put in the hard yards” to end the Channel migrant crisis.
He said: “But we’re not complacent because we know people smugglers are highly organised and will change their tactics if we let them. I will not rest until the boats are stopped.”
Mr Sunak said the UK’s returns agreement with Albania and reforms to the asylum laws act as “proof that our deterrence strategy can work.”
He said: “We’ve now returned 1,800 to Albania in just six months.
“We’ve gone from accepting around 1 in 5 Albanian asylum cases to now just 1 in 50 – in line with our European partners.
“And what is the result of all of this? So far this year, the number of Albanian small boat arrivals has fallen by almost 90 percent.
“This is proof that our deterrence strategy can work. When people know that if they come here illegally, they won’t get to stay – they stop coming.”
The Illegal Migration Bill will give the Government tough new powers to automatically reject, detain and remove asylum seekers who arrive in the UK illegally.
The Prime Minister denied claims windy conditions in the Channel were to blame for fewer crossings.
The Illegal Migration Bill will give the Government tough new powers (Image: Getty)
Mr Sunak said: “Of course the summer is coming. Of course gangs will keep trying different routes and different methodologies.
“We need to be alert to that. It’s why we need to pass the [Illegal Migration Bill]. It’s so important that the law passes because that will really help us resolve this problem.”
Making a statement in the Commons, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “The asylum initial decision backlog is down by 17,000, and we are on track to abolish all legacy cases by the end of this year, having doubled the number of asylum decision-makers over the last two years.”
Giving an update on the Government’s work on the issue, she said: “By freeing up immigration enforcement officers, illegal working raids increased by more than 50 percent between January and March this year, compared to the same period in 2022.
“Since the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act in June 2022 immigration enforcement have doubled the number of arrests, charges and convictions, compared to the same period in the proceeding year.”
She added: “Data sharing with the financial sector recommenced in April as we crack down on illegal migrants accessing banking services.”
Mrs Braverman also told MPs: “In 2023 so far, more small boat migrants have been intercepted by France than have reached the UK’s shores. French interceptions this year are more than double what they were two years ago.
“Additional drones, aircraft and other surveillance technologies will be deployed to support French law enforcement.
“French forces have increased the proportion of small boat launches that are prevented, and arrested more than 200 people smugglers so far this year.”
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Analysis by Michael Knowles – Daily Express Home Affairs Editor
Are we finally, tentatively seeing signs of a pathway to the end of the Channel migrant crisis?
Rishi Sunak will certainly hope so. The Government is under intense pressure from voters and even those on their own backbenches to get a grip of this crisis.
As the Prime Minister put it, the public has “lost faith in politicians” to find a solution.
So news that the number of crossings has fallen by a fifth is incredibly welcome. And, I suspect, there will be some relief within Downing Street that the figures have not continued to spiral, particularly with the number of illegal migrants detected in Europe rising by 30 percent.
Mr Sunak has invested lots of personal political capital in stopping the boats. In a glitzy social media video on Monday night he said “we must stop the boats and you can trust me to get it done”. With legal migration figures dominating our national consciousness, this could be the most hostile battleground of the next election that voters will examine the Government’s record on.
There are lots of different facets to the Prime Minister’s plans, and indeed, its success or failure. Through new returns agreements, Rwanda and the Illegal Migration Bill, the Government is trying to reduce how attractive the UK is to illegal migrants.
And an important part of this is to drastically reduce the use of hotels. The use of rooms, at taxpayers’ expense has caused so much frustration to the communities directly impacted and the general public as the bill spiralled.
And key to restoring the trust in politicians on this issue is taking tangible steps to tackle the areas the public are so frustrated with.
We’ve seen extra police patrols on French beaches, though issues still remain about how boats are allowed to leave, and now we are seeing the Government move swiftly to end the use of hotels.
The public have demanded action on this issue. Many conservative voters will be hoping these green shoots of positivity are not another false dawn.
Many conservatives believe they will lose the next election if it is.
