There is not a huge amount more to be said about this sham, this con of a Bill, that has not already been said. The plan is as unworkable as it is unaffordable. That is why Labour would instead repurpose the money that is being squandered and set aside for the scheme into a cross-border police unit and security partnership, which would go after the criminal gangs upstream and restore order to our border.
4.30 pm
Labour would create a new returns and enforcement unit to remove people from the country who have no right to be here, given that we have seen the return of failed asylum seekers collapsing by 44% under the Conservatives and the removal of foreign criminals decreasing by 27%. Our plan will end the Tory boats chaos, fix our broken asylum system and restore our border security. The Government’s plan is, as the former Immigration Minister described it and as a civil servant insider has admitted, to get a few symbolic flights off the ground ahead of a general election, regardless of the wider impact. It really is tokenism and posturing of the worst sort.