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Keir Starmer accused of 'pouring petrol' on Channel migrant crisis as James Cleverly rages

2024-08-12 00:00:00.0 每日快报-政治原网页

Keir Starmer discusses boats crossing the Channel in July

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“Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper need to get a grip and fast, otherwise the numbers will continue to climb.

“The British public have been clear that dealing with this issue is a priority for them; they deserve better.”

Sir Keir’s Government is prioritising bolstered cooperation with European countries to “smash” the smuggling gangs operating across the continent.

They are also establishing a new Border Security Command to bring together police, spies, prosecutors and immigration enforcement teams.

But Mr Cleverly, who served as Home Secretary under Rishi Sunak, slammed Labour for reversing plans to deter migrants from crossing the Channel.

He said: “They ditched the Rwanda plan, which had already started to have an effect before we left office and replaced it with nothing. The National Crime Agency had been clear that it was a deterrent we needed.

“Their phantom border command simply isn’t working, because it doesn’t exist.

"General Stuart Skeates, a highly respected former general in the British Army, who was in large part responsible for delivering the Albania deal which cut small boat arrivals from that country by 90%, has resigned from his position as director general for strategic operations.

“And Neil Basu, Labour’s first choice to lead the phantom border command, publicly rejected the role.

“The reality is that everybody knows, including the people smugglers, the problem is going to get worse because there is no deterrent."

The latest crossings took the provisional total for the year so far to 18,342, 13% higher than this time last year (16,170) but 3% lower than the total at this stage in 2022 (18,978).

The highest number of arrivals recorded in a single day so far this year was 882 on June 18, with the second highest logged on May 1 (711).

At least 25 people are believed to have drowned so far this year, with the smugglers relying on bigger inflatable boats to ferry migrants across the Channel.

Downing Street said crossings will become more common over the summer when the number of arrivals is typically higher amid better weather conditions.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: "We've been very clear in the weeks leading up to the summer that we know the summer is a challenging time, and we expect to see increases before we see improvements.

"In line with that, we know that it is in these months that the criminal gangs seek to exploit people, taking ever more dangerous tactics and approaches, and tragically we saw that again yesterday with further deaths in the Channel.

"That's why it's vital that we work to smash the gangs who are responsible for that and who are risking lives in the Channel."

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Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “Yesterday, 703 people came to the UK illegally.

“Studies show each costs the taxpayer roughly ￡400,000 over their lifetime.

“So the cost of not having a border for one day was ￡281 million.

“Starmer’s decision to scrap, rather than strengthen, the Rwanda plan will be a disaster.”

Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control said: “The Labour Party has come into Government and poured petrol on this crisis. Without the Rwanda scheme there is nothing to deter those looking to make a Channel crossing.

“The payoff for making it onto British soil is huge. We now are a soft touch without the backbone to deport large numbers of those who entered our country illegally. Instead we provide them with free accommodation, healthcare and pocket-money.

“It is an insult to the British taxpayer that this crisis has gone on for so long and only looks set to worsen.

“There is real disillusionment with politicians who have repeatedly promised us a solution to this crisis and delivered absolutely nothing.

“Starmer needs to recognise his strategy to “smash the gangs” is the wrong one. He must make it perfectly clear to those thinking of breaking into our country that we will have a zero-tolerance approach and that they will be removed.”

In a sign of improving Anglo-French relations, Border Force Ranger in July picked up 13 migrants off the coast of Gravelines – inside French territorial waters – and took them to Calais.

It was the first time a British vessel has taken migrants back to France and followed months of diplomacy between London and Paris.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised the plan – codenamed Operation Windspire - with French President Emmanuel Macron during a bilateral call several months ago.

Under the proposal, British vessels could enter French waters and rescue migrants if they were in distress.

The plan was designed to minimise the threat of people dying in the Channel and the Home Office had also drawn up plans to rent a new rescue ship from Poland.

Under Labour’s plans for a new Border Security Command, more British investigators and spies will be based in Europe.

Sources have told the Daily Express that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s team is hoping MI5 intelligence officers will treat people smugglers like foreign spies and terrorists.

This could mean smugglers' phones are bugged and their movements traced.

Ms Cooper has ordered a review into how the gangs operate because she believes there are more opportunities to disrupt them.

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