Boris Johnson says Keir Starmer is 'deaf' to Britons' immigration concerns (Image: Getty)
Boris Johnson has accused Sir Keir Starmer of being deaf to some Britons' concerns over immigration in his first public intervention since riots erupted after the Southport stabbings.
Mr Johnson criticised Sir Keir for ending the Rwanda plan to deport anyone entering the UK illegally to the African country for processing and settlement. He argued this was the only idea capable of stopping the Channel small boat crossings.
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The former politician also pointed to the closure of the Bibby Stockholm barge, which has been used to accommodate some "illegal arrivals" in Dorset.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson said: "Whatever you may have intended by all this, you gave the clear impression of a man who has no plan to stop illegal immigration, because he simply doesn't care."
He added nothing excuses the behaviour of the rioters and they deserve to be "banged up". But Mr Johnson said nothing excuses a Government which "seems deaf" to public concerns and it suggested the Government "actively" dislikes all members of the public who share concerns about immigration.
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Sir Keir Starmer has described the riots as 'far right thuggery' (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir has called the rioting "far-Right thuggery", but Mr Johnson said the PM should reflect on whether he has struck the right note on illegal immigration since Labour came to power.
Mr Johnson cited a poll which he said showed 34 percent of those surveyed were sympathetic towards peaceful protests about immigration and integration, asking if this meant more than a third of Britons are "far-Right".
Addressing the PM direcly, Mr Johnson said: "It is time to reflect, PM, as you sip on your sundowner, on whether you struck exactly the right note on illegal immigration."
The Home Office announced last month that the Labour Government would end the use of the Bibby Stockholm for housing migrants as part of a major overhaul of the asylum system.
According to the Government, it would have cost more than ￡20million next year. Scrapping it forms part of an expected ￡7.7billion worth of savings in asylum costs over the next 10 years.
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Boris Johnson asks if Sir Keir has 'struck the right note' on illegal immigration (Image: Getty)
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Government efforts to tackle Britain's asylum backlog include redeploying more than 100 Home Office staff from working on the now-scrapped Rwanda deportation scheme to focus on a "rapid returns unit" to send people with no right to be in the UK back to their home country.
Asylum decisions will also be accelerated and a new Border Security Command will use counter-terror powers to fight organised immigration crime across Europe.
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The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, announced in the King's Speech, suggests the Government will seek a "strong deterrent" against migrants crossing the Channel but stops short of detailing what this could be in the absence of the Rwanda deal.
Sir Keir has previously said the Rwanda deal was "dead and buried before it started". Labour has insisted the last government's policies "failed" to deter Channel crossings or prosecute the people smugglers responsible, claiming "our current asylum system is broken".
It maintains that withdrawing from the deal to send migrants to Rwanda would save over ￡100m in future payments".