One sentence summary – Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled a new strategy to tackle illegal immigration, focusing on small boat crossings in the English Channel, with the goal of deterring crossings and targeting criminal networks facilitating them, proposing a pan-European solution to reduce the number of illegal crossings and suggesting that the UK should accept an unspecified number of asylum seekers in exchange for the EU taking back migrants who arrive illegally in Britain, while also proposing the recruitment of 1,000 caseworkers to address the asylum backlog and the establishment of temporary “Nightingale asylum courts” to expedite legal challenges.
At a glance
- Sir Keir Starmer unveils new strategy to tackle illegal immigration
- Focuses on small boat crossings in the English Channel
- Goal is to deter crossings and target criminal networks
- Proposes pan-European solution to reduce illegal crossings
- Current government’s efforts have been unsuccessful
The details
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled a new strategy to tackle illegal immigration.
The strategy was presented in The Hague and focuses on the issue of small boat crossings in the English Channel.
The goal of this approach is to deter these crossings and target the criminal networks facilitating them.
Starmer believes that a pan-European solution can effectively reduce the number of illegal crossings.
The current government’s efforts to address the issue have proven unsuccessful, with over 1,000 crossings occurring in a single week.
The policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda has been stalled due to legal challenges.
As a result, hundreds of hotels are currently being utilized to house migrants, incurring a daily cost of £6 million.
Starmer proposes a plan that involves returning decision-making over settlement to an EU bureaucracy.
Under this burden-sharing scheme, Labour suggests that the UK should accept an unspecified number of asylum seekers.
In exchange, the EU would take back migrants who arrive illegally in Britain.
The existing mechanisms for repatriating asylum seekers under the Dublin Convention have proven ineffective.
Bilateral agreements with France have also failed to adequately address the issue.
Traffickers have shifted their tactics from lorries to boats.
France is reluctant to accept the return of individuals seeking entry into the UK, as it faces its own immigration challenges.
Starmer aims to avoid a return to free movement while advocating for the transfer of decision-making on immigration to an entity from which the UK has withdrawn.
Starmer has revealed a comprehensive strategy to counter small boat Channel crossings and address the asylum backlog.
One of the key aspects of this plan is the commitment to end the use of barges, hotels, and military sites for housing asylum seekers.
To address the existing backlog, Labour intends to recruit 1,000 caseworkers.
Starmer proposes that Labour could strike a deal with the EU, in which the UK would accept a quota of asylum seekers in exchange for closer cooperation in combatting people smuggling.
Labour plans to categorize criminals involved in cross-Channel people smuggling as terrorists.
Some union leaders, charity heads, and Labour MPs have criticized Starmer’s remarks, urging him to refrain from appealing to anti-migrant sentiments.
Critics have drawn parallels between Starmer’s proposals and the gimmicks and divisive rhetoric employed by the Conservative Party.
Starmer has indicated that he is open to negotiating an agreement with the EU that allows for the return of individuals who cross the Channel.
However, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak claims that this approach could result in 100,000 EU migrants coming to the UK annually.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has criticized Starmer’s approach, highlighting Starmer’s previous votes against bills targeting organized immigration crime.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman expressed concerns that the UK would become a “dumping ground” for Europe’s migrants.
To address the backlog and expedite legal challenges, Labour plans to recruit over 1,000 Home Office caseworkers and establish temporary “Nightingale asylum courts.”
Labour aims to create a returns unit to expedite removals and strengthen powers to restrict the movement of people smugglers.
The party also seeks an agreement with the EU to share real-time intelligence similar to the Schengen information system II.
The UK government, however, is open to an EU-wide returns agreement but rejects the idea of accepting a quota of migrants in exchange.
Labour’s proposals are primarily focused on addressing what they perceive as chaos in the borders and asylum system, and they aim to provide detailed solutions to these challenges.
Under a potential Labour government, the party plans to accept migrants from Europe as part of a deal with the EU to tackle the small boats crisis.
By sharing the burden of asylum seekers reaching Europe, Labour believes it can increase the chances of securing a returns agreement to deport individuals who cross the Channel.
Starmer intends to grant the National Crime Agency (NCA) expanded powers to freeze assets and restrict the movement of people smugglers, treating them as terrorists.
To disrupt people smuggling supply chains, Labour would redirect the £140 million funds from the Government’s Rwanda scheme towards a new cross-border NCA unit.
Labour would abandon the Conservative Party’s plans to prevent Channel-crossing migrants from seeking asylum in Britain.
Starmer plans to engage in discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron to explore potential returns agreements and safeguard the strategic nature of the UK-France relationship.
The exact details of any agreement would require negotiation, but Labour sources suggest that any scheme involving taking migrants from Europe would be capped and closely managed.
Labour contends that a returns agreement could undermine the business model of people smugglers.
However, government sources criticize the plan as a means of enabling illegal migration, accusing Labour of legalizing what is currently illegal.
Albanian migrants arriving in the UK via small boats are being deported within 48 hours of their arrival.
Labour also plans to establish a new security agreement with Europe, involving real-time data and intelligence sharing on suspects, as well as deploying more UK police and border force officers to Europol.
Starmer emphasizes that combating people smugglers is of equal importance to addressing climate change, hostile foreign powers, and terrorism, and intends to involve GCHQ in supporting the NCA.
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| telegraph.co.uk |
|---|
| – Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, outlined a new approach to dealing with illegal immigration in The Hague. – |
| The aim of the approach is to stop small boats crossing the Channel and target the criminal gangs behind this traffic. – Sir Keir believes there is a pan-European solution that can reduce the numbers of illegal crossings. – |
| The government’s efforts to address the issue have so far failed, with over 1,000 crossings occurring in a single week. – |
| The policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda has been stalled by legal challenges. |
| – Hundreds of hotels are being used to house migrants at a cost of £6 million per day. |
| – Sir Keir’s prescription for stopping illegal immigration would hand back decisions over settlement to an EU bureaucracy. – |
| The burden-sharing scheme proposed by Labour would involve the UK taking an unspecified number of asylum seekers in return for the EU taking back migrants who arrive illegally in Britain. – |
| The mechanisms for repatriating asylum seekers under the Dublin Convention have not worked effectively. |
| – Bilateral agreements with France have not effectively addressed the issue, as traffickers have shifted from lorries to boats. |
| – France is not interested in taking back people seeking to come to the UK due to its own immigration problem. – Sir Keir wants to avoid a return to free movement but handing back decision-making on immigration to a body the UK no longer belongs to is unacceptable. |
| theguardian.com |
|---|
| – Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, has announced plans to stop small boat Channel crossings and address the asylum backlog. – Starmer promised to end the use of barges, hotels, and military sites to house asylum seekers. – He also pledged to recruit 1,000 caseworkers to address the asylum backlog. – Starmer suggested that Labour could strike a deal with the EU to accept a quota of asylum seekers in exchange for closer cooperation to tackle people smugglers. – |
| Labour plans to treat criminals involved in cross-Channel people-smuggling as terrorists. – Some union leaders, charity bosses, and Labour MPs criticized Starmer’s remarks and called for him to stop appealing to anti-migrant sentiments. – Starmer’s proposals were seen by some as mirroring the gimmicks and divisive rhetoric employed by the Conservatives. – Starmer indicated that he could strike a deal with the EU to take a quota of asylum seekers in exchange for the ability to return people who cross the Channel. – Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, claimed that this proposal could result in 100,000 EU migrants coming to the UK every year. – |
| The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, criticized Starmer’s approach, suggesting that he had previously voted against bills that addressed organized immigration crime. – |
| The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said the UK would become a “dumping ground” for Europe’s migrants. – |
| Labour plans to recruit more than 1,000 Home Office caseworkers to end the asylum backlog and create temporary “Nightingale asylum courts” to speed up legal challenges. |
| – Labour also plans to create a returns unit to triage and fast-track removals and strengthen powers to restrict the movement of people smugglers. |
| – Labour aims to reach an agreement with the EU to share real-time intelligence similar to the Schengen information system II. – Downing Street said the government was open to an EU-wide returns agreement but would not accept a quota of migrants in exchange. – Labour’s proposals are aimed at addressing the government’s perceived chaos at the borders and in the asylum system. |
| telegraph.co.uk |
|---|
| – A Labour government would accept migrants from Europe as part of a proposed deal with the EU to address the small boats crisis. – |
| The party believes that offering to share the burden of asylum seekers reaching Europe would increase the likelihood of securing a returns deal to deport Channel migrants. – Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer plans to give the National Crime Agency expanded powers to freeze assets and restrict the movement of people smugglers, treating them like terrorists. |
| – Labour would redirect the £140 million funds from the Government’s Rwanda scheme into a new cross-border NCA unit to disrupt people-smuggling supply chains. |
| – Labour would drop the Conservatives’ plans to ban Channel-crossing migrants from claiming asylum in Britain. – Sir Keir will meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a possible returns deal and protect the strategic nature of the UK-France relationship. – |
| The exact details of any agreement would need to be negotiated, but Labour sources suggest that any scheme to take migrants from Europe would be capped and tightly managed. |
| – Labour believes that a returns agreement could collapse the people smugglers’ business model. |
| – Government sources criticize the plan as “open borders by the back door” and accuse Labour of making illegal migration legal. |
| – Albanian migrants reaching the UK in small boats are being deported within 48 hours of arrival. |
| – Labour would seek a new security agreement with Europe, including sharing real-time data and intelligence on suspects and posting more UK police and border force officers to Europol. |
| – Sir Keir considers fighting people smugglers to be on par with tackling climate change, hostile foreign powers, and terrorism, and plans to involve GCHQ in supporting the NCA. |
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