Sir Keir Starmer has joined the chorus of criticism over Rishi Sunak’s “unworkable” plans to stop migrants coming across the English Channel, as Labour warned legislation may not get through parliament
The PM, who has pledged to “stop the boats” one of his five priorities, is expected to unveil a bill on Tuesday designed to ban people arriving on small boats from claiming asylum and avoiding deportation.
The plan is expected to make asylum claims from those who travel to the UK on small boats inadmissible – with a lifetime ban on re-entry or claiming British citizenship. But details are scarce.
As revealed by The Independent, senior Tories fear Mr Sunak has “over-promised” and will be forced to break his “stop the boats” pledge before the general election expected in 2024.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested the move was a political tactic ahead of May’s local elections and questioned its legality.
“We had a plan last year which was put up in lights, ‘It’s going to be an election winner’. These bits of legislation always seem to come when we’ve got a local election coming up,” he told LBC Radio.
“It was going to break the gangs – it didn’t. Now we’ve got the next bit of legislation with almost the same billing, I don’t think that putting forward unworkable proposals is going to get us very far.”
Asked if the plan was legally feasible, the Labour leader said: “I don’t know that it is and I think we’ve got to be very careful with international law here.”
Labour’s Wes Streeting said the small boats legislation was “just the latest in a long line of unworkable gimmicks”, telling BBC Breakfast: “I don’t think it’s going to get through pharliament.”
Questions have been raised about how the proposals could be put into practice. Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Services Union, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We can’t move anyone to Rwanda right now – it’s subject to legal challenge.
“We can’t remove anyone back into Europe because there are no returns agreements and we lost access to the database that allows us to prove that individuals have claimed asylum in Europe – Eurodac – when we left with Brexit.”
She added: “So, unless we have a safe third country that isn’t Rwanda to send people to, this just doesn’t seem to be possible.”
The union chief also warned that the threat of a crackdown could lead to a short-term increase in the number of people risking the crossing. The gangs will tell people “quick, cross now before anything changes”, she said.
Mr Sunak, who has expected to hold a call with Emmanuel Macron today, vowed to put an end to the “immoral” situation, while home secretary Suella Braverman said “enough is enough”.
Those coming to the UK through an unsanctioned route will be detained for up to 28 days before efforts are made to deport them to their home country or Rwanda, according to reports.
Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan said the legislation would be “based on the principle that if people travel here via illegal routes they shouldn’t be allowed to stay, which I think is common sense and right and the correct approach”.
The science secretary told the BBC the government is “getting a grip” on illegal migration but also promised that more “safe routes” for asylum seekers to enter the UK would be set up, although she failed to name any when pressed repeatedly.
But Robert Buckland, former justice secretary, told The Independent the issue would not be solved unless Mr Sunak can get a returns deal with France when he meets Mr Macron in Paris for talks this Friday.
Another ex-Tory minister told The Independent: “They’ve over-promised and now they’ve realised the clock is ticking,” the MP added. “Every week people are standing up at PMQs saying ‘Where is the legislation’?”
There aslo questions about how any such legislation, based on the details known so far, could be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Ms Braverman has made her personal view that the UK should leave the ECHR well known, while justice secretary Dominic Raab refused to commit to the UK remaining a party to the convention “forever and a day”.
Almost 3,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel already this year. Campaigners have issued firm warnings to the government about the new policy.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the plans “shatter the UK’s long-standing commitment under the UN Convention to give people a fair hearing regardless of the path they have taken to reach our shores”.
The charity said figures show that of the 65,000 who crossed the Channel last year, two-thirds would be granted asylum. The estimated cost of detaining all those who made the crossing in 2023 for 28 days would be £219m a year.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, accused the government of presenting “the very same disastrous plan to simply avoid the asylum responsibilities it expects others to take”.
Calling it “disgraceful posturing and scaremongering”, he said the bill “promises nothing but more demonisation and punishment of people fleeing conflict and persecution who dare to seek asylum in the UK by means to which Government has chosen to restrict them”.
