Good morning. Last night, the Home Office published footage of a group of men being escorted from a bus onto a deportation flight. With that release, the Labour government gains the dubious honour of being the first to publish that kind of footage. It follows the publication on Sunday of video showing immigration raids on illegal workers, and comes as ministers announce that nearly 19,000 refused asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders had been returned to their home countries since the election. Labour explains that it has a good story to tell.
All of this makes for bleak viewing – and that’s the point. The Labour government is pushing a well-trailed effort to counter Reform and the Conservatives on immigration by showing it is every bit as tough as its rivals. As well as the videos, there are Facebook ads – styled in Reform’s signature turquoise – and a leaflet resembling a red-top newspaper declaring that “Labour is tackling illegal immigration”. Taken together, the implication is clear: the hostile environment has not gone away.
