Rishi Sunak to launch bill to stop people arriving on small boats claiming asylum

Lifeboats at Dungeness in Kent bring refugees ashore and take them to be processed. ‘I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats,’ said Rishi Sunak. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Rishi Sunak is to announce new laws stopping people entering the UK on small boats from claiming asylum, with the prime minister saying: “Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not to be able to stay.”

The prime minister and his home secretary will launch the legislation this week, as part of the government’s drive to “tackle illegal migration”, one of its main priorities.