Labour has already removed nearly 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals since taking office and is now targeting a further 45,000 removals over the next decade. The Home Office says the programme is intended to restore control over the UK's immigration system and speed up the removal of foreign criminals from the UK.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government inherited a migration system with more than 412,000 illegal migrants in the country, underlining the scale of the challenge. The Home Office now says the removals push will not stop until the system is fully reformed, with the message that the government 'will not stop there'.
