On 6th December, I asked the Home Secretary in the House of Commons:
“It is long overdue that we got to grips with the current levels of both legal and illegal immigration in this country, and that is what our voters expect us to do. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on bringing proposals before us, unlike the intellectual vacuum of the Labour Party. Can we be clear that when it comes to the boats crisis, the fault does not lie with those who try to seek a better life for themselves and their families, but with those who trade in human beings? Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a moral imperative to break the business model of the people smugglers, no less than there was a moral imperative to break the evil of slavery at the time? Should not all of us who believe in human rights dedicate ourselves to that end?
I have long believed that the obscene trafficking in people is something that we should do everything within our power to stop. As illegal entries are on the rise elsewhere in Europe, the actions taken by the government have already had success, with those arriving illegally by boat down by a third this year. Indeed, small boat arrivals are up by 80% in the Mediterranean, but they are down by a third across the channel.
The largest ever small boats deal with France, tackling the supply of boat engines and parts, the arrest and conviction of people smugglers, and a 70% increase in raids on illegal working, are having a positive impact. We have signed returns and co-operation agreements with France, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Georgia, and Ethiopia. Fifty hotels are being returned to their local communities, and the initial asylum backlog, which stood at 92,000, is now under 20,000. We have sent back 22,000 illegal migrants, and the UK’s arrangement with Albania proves that deterrents work.
Last year, a third of all those arriving in small boats to the coast of this country were Albanian. This year, we have returned 5,000 Albanians, and arrivals from Albania are down by 90%.
In recent years, however, some of the Government’s efforts to tackle illegal migration and deport foreign national offenders have been frustrated by a seemingly endless cycle of legal challenges and rulings from domestic and foreign courts. Judges of course play an important role, but they are not policymakers, and they should not be policymakers. When the courts find a particular formulation of policy unlawful, it is the job of politicians to listen to their views, respect their views, and find a solution.
Thanks to the efforts on the part of the UK Government and the Government of Rwanda, that is exactly what the government has done in response to the verdict from the Supreme Court. The new treaty that the Home Secretary signed last week with Rwanda, and the Bill that accompanies it, are game changing. The principle of relocating people to a safe country, to have their asylum claim processed there, is entirely consistent with the terms of the refugee convention. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal unanimously confirmed that point.
I supported the Bill in the House of Commons yesterday because I believe that the direction of travel is correct and that we must do what we can to remove the vile stain of people trafficking. We will now enter the Committee Stage of the Bill where it may be possible to further improve it and ensure that the intent of Parliament is not frustrated by legal process.
The government has given a commitment to reduce the current high levels of migration and I will support them in doing so."