TODAY’S small boat numbers are shameful, and the British people deserve better.
They contain a lesson: we must go further and faster to secure our borders.
Under the last Conservative Government, this country lost control of its borders.
The removal of those here illegally collapsed.
They bet the house on their Rwanda scheme, spending £700 million over two years.
The result? Four people, all volunteers, were sent there.
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From April 2022 until the last election, 83,500 people arrived here by small boat.
This Labour Government has picked up a broken system, and got things moving again.
We have removed 35,000 with no right to be here in the first year alone, the largest number in 6 years.
Deportation of foreign criminals has risen to 5,200 each year.
A few weeks ago, we signed a deal with the French.
For the first time in history, those who arrive by small boat can be sent back to France.
That sends a vital message.
It tells those planning to cross the channel in a small boat, that the risk is just not worth it.
By handing tough new counter-terror powers to law enforcement this year, we will also be hitting the criminals behind this trade harder than ever.
All this matters, and it makes a difference.
But we must go further.
We need to remove illegal migrants out of this country faster.
I am furious at some of the ridiculous legal challenges that are used to stop us deporting people.
So, I will change our laws to make it easier to deport those who have no right to be here.
We also need to tackle the reasons that people come here in the first place.
Shabana Mahmood
I have already taken action on the abuse of modern slavery laws.
These laws were designed to protect those facing unimaginable suffering.
That illegal migrants should abuse that system, to block their removal from this country, is unconscionable.
Removing people from this country is vital.
But we also need to tackle the reasons that people come here in the first place.
The honest truth is that people come to this country because they believe we are more generous than other European countries.
‘Whatever it takes’
Rather than stopping at the first safe country, they are continuing their journey here, looking for the best place to become a refugee.
We will slash the entitlements that refugees receive – to bring us in line with other European countries, ensuring we are no longer the destination of choice.
We will close every single asylum hotel in the country, and we are exploring replacing them with military bases.
As I said on my first day as Home Secretary, a few weeks ago, I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.
I hope you will see, in the weeks and months ahead, that I meant it.
