Yvette Cooper vowed an immigration crackdown toughening visa rules and kicking out those who commit lower-level crimes today – but dismissed calls for a cap on numbers.
The Home Secretary insisted that net inflows will fall ‘substantially’ as she prepares to publish a white paper, with Labour panicking over the threat from Reform.
But she refused to give a number, and confirmed there will not be a target for immigration.
‘We’re not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system,’ Ms Cooper told Sky News.
Currently, foreign criminals are only reported to the Home Office if they receive a jail sentence. A year behind bars is usually the threshold for being considered for deportation.
Labour is set to tighten that rule to counter the growing threat posed by Nigel Farage‘s rampant Reform UK party.
A White Paper being unveiled tomorrow will also pledge to return the skills thresholds for work visas to degree level. Employers will be encouraged to ‘develop domestic training plans to boost British skills and recruitment levels’.
Ms Cooper’s officials are said to fear that without deep-rooted reforms, annual net migration will settle even higher than the 340,000 level projected by the Office for National Statistics.
There are concerns it will end up closer to 525,000 by 2028 – when the country will be preparing for a general election – because migrants are staying for longer than previously thought. The rate stood at 728,000 in the year to June last year.
Ms Cooper has led calls for her party to adopt radical policies to address growing public disquiet about the level of immigration, which contributed to Labour’s lacklustre performance in this month’s local elections.
But Mr Farage was dismissive of her plan to get tougher on foreign criminals, telling The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘This is a promise that we keep hearing from our governments. They never deliver.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s officials are said to fear that without deep-rooted reforms, annual net migration will settle even higher than the 340,000 level projected by the Office for National Statistics
Under Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans, the Home Office will be told of all foreign nationals convicted of any offence, while officials will be given wider powers to remove them from the UK (Pictured: an inflatable craft carrying migrants across the Channel in 2022)
The main parties are responding to the surge by Nigel Farage’s (pictured) Reform
Under Ms Cooper‘s plans, the Home Office will be told of all foreign nationals convicted of any offence, while officials will be given wider powers to remove them from the UK.
The move intends to close the loophole which means migrants can carry out knife crimes, thefts, criminal damage and violence against women without facing the risk of deportation.
It is set to be included in the long-awaited White Paper on immigration being published tomorrow, and comes after a battle within the Government over migration levels in the face of Mr Farage’s electoral surge. One poll published yesterday put the anti-immigration party ten points ahead of Labour.
Also under Ms Cooper’s proposals, any foreign national placed on the Sex Offenders Register, regardless of sentence length, will be classed as having committed a ‘serious crime’ with no right to asylum protections in the UK.
A Home Office source said new measures could be introduced to cancel visas for those who commit crimes, ensuring action was taken against offenders before they could put down roots in the UK.
According to The Times, the White Paper will include plans to restrict the ability of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals to use human rights laws to block deportation.
The law will be changed to constrain judges’ interpretation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a family and private life, the section most commonly used to block removal.
Since July 2024, the Home Office has removed 3,594 foreign criminals from the UK, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year.
Ms Cooper told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It is a basic requirement – those who come to the UK should abide by our laws. The system for returning foreign criminals has been far too weak for too long.
According to The Times, the White Paper will include plans to restrict the ability of failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals to use human rights laws to block deportation
Pictured: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper ahead of chairing a summit aimed at destroying the criminal gangs involved in smuggling people over the English Channel in small boats
‘Already we have increased the number of foreign national offenders being removed since the election.
‘But we need much higher standards. The rules need to be respected and enforced.
‘The Tories lost control of the immigration system. We need to restore control so that net migration comes down and proper standards and order are returned.’
But Mr Farage said: ‘We have seen the Home Office admit that they think that net immigration will still be running at over half a million by 2028.
‘This new announcement merely tinkers around the edges. It’s also not just about what numbers come in but who comes in and if they can assimilate. This plan is doomed to fail.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘This White Paper is a white flag. Fixing Britain’s migration crisis requires a new radical approach.
‘Labour had the opportunity to do this and have failed. They have got no grip, no guts, and no plan.
‘Labour told us we were cruel. They said deporting foreign criminals was inhumane.
‘Now, with the public breathing down their necks, they’re pretending they’ve discovered toughness. Give me a break.
‘We proposed automatic deportation for all foreign criminals, anyone who breaks our laws. Labour blocked it. We said the Human Rights Act should not be used to keep dangerous offenders in this country. Labour blocked it.
‘On Monday, we will put to a vote disapplying the entire Human Rights Act from all immigration matters – including deporting foreign criminals. Labour say they will vote against it, but if they are serious, they would support this measure.’
Yesterday, around 60 migrants – including women and children – came ashore in Dover, Kent, after being picked up in the Channel by the Border Force’s Hurricane vessel.
They were the first small boat migrants to arrive after more than a week.
The number making that crossing this year stands at more than 11,500, over 2,000 more than the same point last year.
