Warning as Labour set to let 100,000 migrants apply for asylum after Rwanda axed
The summer will be "challenging" for the Government as small boat crossings continue, a spokesman for the Prime Minister has said.
Labour could let more than 100,000 migrants apply for asylum after scrapping Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman suggested yesterday.
At least 90,000 migrants who were set for deportation to Rwanda will be among the 102,000 who will be processed through the asylum system.
Asked if those arriving by small boats would now have the right to claim asylum, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We need to ensure that people who arrive here are processed so that people are not sitting in the system, housed in expensive taxpayer-funded hotels as they have been under previous administrations.”
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The first migrant boat crossed the Channel yesterday since Sir Keir won the election as his spokesman admitted it would be a “challenging” summer for the Government. James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, claimed it amounted to an amnesty.
He said: “The very first thing Labour did in government was scrap the Rwanda deterrent.
“The second is to grant an effective amnesty to 100,000 illegal migrants, who were banned from claiming asylum under our plans. It has taken the Labour Party less than five days to make the UK more attractive to asylum seekers than ever before.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out the first steps to establishing a new UK Border Security Command to tackle the people-smuggling gangs bringing migrants across the Channel in small boats.
Recruitment of a border security commander, who will report directly to the Home Secretary, will begin on Monday, with the new recruit expected to take up their post in the coming weeks, the Home Office said.
Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “Clearly the Government has set out its very clear position that as the Prime Minister said over the weekend, the Rwanda scheme is dead and buried. It started. The scheme was cancelled and flights won’t go ahead.
“The Government is now focused on the work needed to secure our borders and smash the gangs in addition to recruiting for the Border Security Command.
“The Home Secretary has also commissioned an investigation from the Home Office and the National Crime Agency into the tactics used by people smuggling gangs to inform a major law enforcement drive over the coming months and we’re getting to work straight away because we know that this summer will be challenging.”