Politics latest news: Success is stopping the boats, insists Rishi Sunak as new law set out
Stop the Boats #StoptheBoats
Rishi Sunak insisted he is “up for the fight” as he accepted legal challenges are likely over a new law designed to stop Channel crossings once and for all.
The new Illegal Immigration Bill will place a duty on Suella Braverman to remove migrants who arrived illegally and “radically narrow” the range of legal challenges and appeals that could suspend their deportation.
Ms Braverman, the Home Secretary, promised the new legislation would enable the Government to “act now” to “stop the boats”, and acknowledged public patience had run out.
Asked at a press conference in Dover about “legions of lawyers” who could challenge the plans in court, replied: “Of course we’re up for the fight. I wouldn’t be standing here if we weren’t.
“But actually we’re confident that we will win. We believe that it is lawful, that we are acting in compliance with our international obligations and we are also meeting our obligations to the British public to make sure they have control over their borders.
“As you’ve seen in these matters, we do get challenged. We will fight that hard, becaus we believe we’re doing the right thing and it is compliant with our obligations.”
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06:58 PMThat’s all for tonight…
Thanks for following along on another dramatic day in Westminster – and Dover – as Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman set out their ambitious plans to stop the small boat crossings once and for all.
My colleague Jack Maidment will be back tomorrow to guide you through all the latest, including live coverage of Prime Minister’s Questions.
06:54 PMAnalysis: Sunak’s second big statement in a week
With the ink barely dry on Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal with the EU, the Government has made its second big political statement in just one week with ambitious plans to stop the boats.
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, was on defiant form in the Commons as she accused Labour of not having a plan. It is clear the Conservatives could be in line for great electoral rewards if they finally stem the tide of Channel crossings, which as Mr Sunak pointed out at today’s press conference have more than quadrupled in two years.
There will of course be challenges of the sort which mean not a single flight has taken off as part of the Rwanda scheme – although the Prime Minister insisted he was “up for the fight” with Left-wing lawyers who will inevitably attempt to frustrate his scheme.
The thing is that the public has heard similar pledges about stopping the boats many times before. Ultimately, Mr Sunak and Ms Braverman will be judged on their actions, and whether the latest in a suite of measures can help them succeed where previous prime ministers and home secretaries have found themselves frustrated.
06:29 PMGary Lineker blasted by Tory MPs over Nazi comparison
Gary Lineker will be “spoken to” by BBC management after he likened Suella Braverman’s immigration announcement to Nazi Germany.
The Match of the Day host’s comments were made as the Home Secretary set out the Government’s plans to finally “stop the boats” of migrants crossing the Channel.
Replying to someone who accused him of being “out of order”, Mr Lineker replied: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”
Read the full story here
06:22 PMFirst and second Covid vaccine doses will end
Covid vaccines will no longer be offered to unvaccinated people outside high-risk groups from summer onwards, the Health Secretary has announced.
Steve Barclay said in a statement: “The spring booster programme is due to end on 30th June and as we live with the virus without past restrictions on our freedoms, I am also announcing that the offer of a first or second dose of Covid vaccine will end at this time.”
06:10 PMA potent point from Chopper… 06:04 PMSunak will ‘break the cycle’
It rests on the simple premise, I think the common sense, straightforward premise that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.
That system, delivered and operational, will serve as a strong deterrent. It will break the cycle of criminals.
06:00 PMRishi Sunak: Simon Case has done a ‘great job’
After the revelations in The Telegraph’s Lockdown Files in the past week, Rishi Sunak was asked if Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, would still be in his post by the time of the next election.
Not giving any guarantee, Mr Sunak said: “I haven’t read all these messages because I’ve been busy working on this. But what I would say is the Cabinet Secretary has done a great job actually helping with today in particular.
“He works very hard to support me, he works very hard to support the Government’s agenda, particularly on helping the Government tackle the issue of illegal migration… The Cabinet Secretary’s been at the heart of all of that work, I’m very grateful to him for that and I look forward to working to him for a very long time to come, quite frankly.”
The country’s most senior civil servant had said Boris Johnson was a “distrusted figure”, feared the public would not follow isolation rules if they were set out by the then prime minister, and wrote holidaymakers being held in quarantine hotels was “hilarious”.
05:57 PM’We don’t believe it is necessary’ to leave ECHR, says Rishi Sunak
Asked if Britain would leave the ECHR if necessary, Rishi Sunak said: “We don’t believe it is necessary to leave the ECHR. We believe we’re acting in compliance with it and meeting our international obligations, but as I said also meeting our obligations to the British public also.
“I believe that we’re acting entirely rightly and correctly in that regard and I take those obligations seriously, as does the Home Secretary”
And on how many detention centres would be built: “The idea is not to have to detain people for prolonged periods of time, and actually what the bill does is completely change how we process people’s claims to stop that from happening.”
05:54 PMGovernment plans to ‘fight hard’ on legal challenges
Asked by GB News about “legions of lawyers” preparing to tackle the legislation if he was up for the fight, Mr Sunak said: “Of course we’re up for the fight. I wouldn’t be standing here if we weren’t.
“But actually we’re confident that we will win. And on the section 19.1b statement I think it’s really important for everyone to recognise there’s absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented about pursuing bills with a 19.1b statement.
“We believe that it is lawful, that we are acting in compliance with our international obligations and we are also meeting our obligations to the British public to make sure they have control over their borders… But with regards to section 19.1b, it’s entirely in line with precedent.”
He recalled a previous Labour government had used the same mechanism for a law passed in 2003.
“As you’ve seen in these matters, we do get challenged. We will fight that hard, becaus we believe we’re doing the right thing and it is compliant with our obligations.”
05:50 PMRishi Sunak demurs on Sue Gray question
Asked if he still “had faith” in Sue Gray’s partygate report, Rishi Sunak responded: “On Sue Gray, as you know, the Cabinet Office is reviewing the circumstances of her departure. I’m not going to pre-empt their findings, I’m not going to comment further on that situation.”
On what he may offer Emmanuel Macron in return, he observed it was a “complex problem and we do need to use all the levers, all the tools at our disposal”.
This will include cooperation with “not just the French, but all our European allies.”
05:48 PM’Already seeing the results’ – but no targets
Pressed on if he was setting specific targets on numbers, Rishi Sunak said people were “already seeing the results” through returns to Albania and a drop in the asylum backlog.
However, Mr Sunak did not put a figure on his new pledge.
“We are continuing to deliver the things we said and I’m highly confident as we keep moving forward people will see a big difference on this.”
05:46 PMPrime Minister: Success is stopping the boats
Rishi Sunak lamented the situation getting worse in the past few years.
He told reporters: “Success is stopping the boats, success is having a system where people who come here illegally are returned, back to their own country if it’s safe or an alternative.
“People will see that it is not worth their while to risk their lives, to pay gangs thousands of pounds, for something that ends up not what they expect.”
05:41 PMRishi Sunak: ‘Nothing compassionate’ about allowing illegal crossings
Rishi Sunak said “no one thing is the answer to this question… there is no way to stop the boats without this legislation”.
He clarified “legislation on its own won’t do – I promise what I can deliver, and I will deliver what I promise”.
Fielding a separate question from ITV, Mr Sunak recalled how Britain had welcomed almost half a million people from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
“Everyone should be incredibly proud of that, I am, but what is not compassionate is to allow the current situation to persist. There is nothing compassionate about allowing vulnerable people to perish in the Channel.”
He described safe legal routes as the “moral and compassionate thing to do, because the current system is broken and it’s not fair to everybody”.
Asked why he thought crossings would stop if people could not be expelled yet, Mr Sunak said the legislation would help.
05:38 PMI can deliver on small boats promise, argues Sunak
Asked if he would have “failed” if he had not stopped the boats by the time of the next election, Rishi Sunak replied: “I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t think that I could deliver on this promise.
“At the beginning of the year I stood up in front of the British people, made five promises and one of them was to stop the boats.
“I’m confident that the bill we’re introducing today will help us do that. It will mean for the first time we will have a system whereby if people come here illegally they won’t be able to stay, they’ll be detained, and they’ll be removed… I’ve also been clear throughout that this is a complicated problem.”
Mr Sunak conceded there was “no silver bullet… but it’s just one of the many things we’re doing”.
05:37 PM’We have tried it every other way’, says Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak said the current situation was “deeply unfair” on the British public, those who come to the country legally, and “devastatingly unfair on those who most need our fault but can’t get it as our asylum system is being overwhelmed by those travelling illegally across the Channel”.
“If we can’t stop the boats, our ability to help genuine refugees in future will be constrained. Full control of our borders will allow us to decide who to help, and provide safe and legal routes for those in needs.”
Mr Sunak added: “We have tried it every other way, and it will not work. So I say again my policy is very simple. It is this country, and your Government, who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.
“And I will do whatever is necessary to achieve that. Thank you.”
05:35 PMRishi Sunak: ‘Once you are removed, you will be banned’
Rishi Sunak said the purpose of today’s legislation was to “make clear” that illegal arrivals would not be able to stay in Britain.
“We will detain those who come here illegally and remove them in weeks, either to their own country if it is safe to do so, or to a safe third country like Rwanda.
“And once you are removed you will be banned, like you are in America and Australia, from ever re-entering our country. This is how we will break the model of the people smugglers, and this is how we will take back control of our borders.”
Mr Sunak insisted the new bill was “tough, but it is necessary and it is fair”, adding it would be “retrospective” to ensure that the measures applied to anyone who reached Britain illegally from today.
“I’ve always been clear that this is a complex problem that can’t be solved overnight and we must use all the tools at our disposal.”
05:33 PMRishi Sunak press conference starts
Rishi Sunak set out his speech by saying his policy was “very simple”: “It is this country, and your Government, who should decide who comes here, and not criminal gangs.”
The Prime Minister noted the number of illegal small boat arrivals had more than quadrupled in just two years.
“Those crossing the Channel are not directly fleeing a war-torn country, or a persecution, or an imminent threat to life. They have travelled through safe European countries. They are paying people smugglers huge sums to make this dangerous and sometimes tragic journey.
“People must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal. Once this happens, and they know it will happen, they will not come and the boats will stop.”
05:21 PMRishi Sunak’s lectern reads ‘Stop the Boats’ 05:14 PMPictured: Rishi Sunak visits Dover control room 
Small boats is a fight the Tories want to have, writes Christopher Hope, our Associate Editor.
And it is one which so far Labour, under Sir Keir Starmer, have no real answer (toughening enforcement doesn’t really cut it I am afraid).
The Conservatives know that if they can crack this problem they will get credit for it in the polls – immigration and asylum were top issues for nearly a third of Britons just eight weeks ago.
If the legislative package is blocked by Strasbourg, Sunak is prepared to consider leaving the European Court of Human Rights. In other words, today is the starting gun on a monumental battle with lawyers over the human rights of illegal migrants which could – I forecast – lead to the Tories fighting the next election pledging to quit the ECHR.
04:59 PMBoris Johnson meets Belarussian president-elect
Boris Johnson has met Svialtana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarussian opposition leader.
The former prime minister said it was a “real honour” to “reaffirm my support for a free and independent Belarus”.
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarussian leader, has allied his country with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and pledged to fight grassroots movements while signing a flurry of deals in Beijing.
04:35 PM’The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero’
The Argonne National Laboratory in the US has essentially cracked the battery technology for electric vehicles, discovering a way to raise the future driving range of standard EVs to a thousand miles or more, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.
It promises to do so cheaply without exhausting the global supply of critical minerals in the process.
The joint project with the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has achieved a radical jump in the energy density of battery cells. The typical lithium-ion battery used in the car industry today stores about 200 watt-hours per kilo (Wh/kg). Their lab experiment has already reached 675 Wh/kg with a lithium-air variant.
This is a high enough density to power trucks, trains, and arguably mid-haul aircraft, long thought to be beyond the reach of electrification. The team believes it can reach 1,200 Wh/kg. If so, almost all global transport can be decarbonised more easily than we thought, and probably at a negative net cost compared to continuation of the hydrocarbon status quo.
Read Ambrose’s full column here
04:20 PMSir Graham Brady’s full statement as he steps back
At the time of the next election, I will have served twenty-seven years as the Member of Parliament for Altrincham & Sale West winning seven General Elections and becoming the longest serving member in the constituency’s history.
Representing my home town in the House of Commons has been an immense privilege for which I will always be grateful.
My colleagues in the House of Commons have also given me the unique opportunity of chairing the 1922 Committee for longer than anyone else in its one hundred year history. I will continue to serve until the end of the parliament, if they want me to.
I will continue to do everything I can to support the Conservative cause and Rishi Sunak. He is bringing both stability and vision as Prime Minister.
In 2024, I will campaign locally and nationally for the return of a Conservative government, that is in the national interest and in the interests of my constituents. I will continue to work hard in the service of the residents of Altrincham & Sale West, offering my judgment and experience until the end of the parliament.
I have decided to bring this fascinating and fulfilling chapter of my life to a close while I am young enough to pursue other opportunities and interests, so I will not be standing at the next election.
04:17 PMGood afternoon
Dominic Penna, The Telegraph’s Political Reporter, guiding you through the rest of the day.
Rishi Sunak is expected to speak in just over an hour’s time at a press conference about the Government’s new plans to finally stop illegal Channel crossings.
We will be bringing you all the latest.
04:00 PMRishi Sunak: Migrant measures ‘starting to now bear fruit’
Rishi Sunak claimed initiatives taken last year to curb illegal migration have started to “bear fruit” and need to be implemented on “a larger scale”.
Visiting a Home Office joint control centre in Dover this afternoon, the Prime Minister told staff that plans to prevent small boat crossings need to have a “deterrent effect”.
“We’re actually already seeing that to some extent with the initiatives we put in place at the end of last year with Albania that are starting to now bear fruit,” he said.
“Early signs, but you can start to see actually the numbers coming off, people realising there’s not much point in this, and we need that on a bigger scale.
“As you’ve seen on your screens, tragically, people are dying and we’ve got to do something different to stop this from happening and that’s what we’re doing, actually.”
03:41 PMRishi Sunak visits Home Office control room in Dover
Rishi Sunak said “we’ve got to somehow break the cycle” of criminal gangs involved in migrant Channel crossings as he visited a Home Office joint control centre in Dover this afternoon.
The Prime Minister told staff: “What you do is incredibly important and the Home Secretary has just (been in) Parliament talking about it because we’ve got to somehow break the cycle of these criminal gangs, and you guys on the front line are doing that, and I’m very grateful to all of you for what you’re doing.”
Mr Sunak was shown around a control room where staff talked through how they use tracking radars and monitor movements in the Channel.
Large screens displayed footage of what would on a normal day show boats destined for the UK travelling in real time.
Staff told him that on busy days “we have to prioritise, we have to look in the boats and see if there are women and children in there”.
03:37 PMSir Graham Brady will stand down at next election
Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, has announced he will stand down as a Tory MP at the next general election.
Sir Graham said in a statement issued to The Messenger newspaper: “I have decided to bring this fascinating and fulfilling chapter of my life to a close while I am young enough to pursue other opportunities and interests, so I will not be standing at the next election.”
He has been the MP for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997.
03:21 PM’There is nothing fair, humane or even practical in this plan’
Amnesty International UK described the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill as a “shocking new low for the Government”.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, the organisation’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “Attempting to disqualify people’s asylum claims en masse regardless of the strength of their case is a shocking new low for the Government.
“There is nothing fair, humane or even practical in this plan, and it’s frankly chilling to see ministers trying to remove human rights protections for groups of people whom they’ve chosen to scapegoat for their own failures.
“People fleeing persecution and conflict will be irreparably harmed by these proposals, while the UK is setting an utterly terrible example to other countries around the world.”
03:17 PMSuella Braverman tells MPs small boats laws may not be compatible with ECHR
Suella Braverman has sent a letter to MPs in which she conceded the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Home Secretary told the Commons earlier today that she could not “make a definitive statement of compatibility” (see the post below at 12.47).
But in the letter, published by HuffPost, Ms Braverman went further and said: “Our approach is robust and novel, which is why I’ve made a statement under Section 19(1)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998. This does not mean that the provisions in the Bill are incompatible with the Convention rights, only that there is a more [than] 50 per cent chance that they may not be.
“We are testing the limits but remain confident that this Bill is compatible with international law.”
02:49 PMMPs and peers urged not to ‘neuter’ Illegal Migration Bill
Alp Mehmet, chairman of the Migration Watch UK campaign group, urged MPs and peers not to “neuter” the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill as he said it has “many of the right ingredients to solve the Channel crisis”.
He said: “It is vital that it is not neutered as it makes its way through Parliament. Enshrining in statute a requirement to detain and remove illegal arrivals is a vital first step.
“Furthermore, establishing the precedent that illegal entrants will be unable to claim asylum or other forms of refuge will serve as a powerful deterrent.
“It is equally important, of course, to plug the huge gaps created by the Human Rights and Modern Slavery Acts. These are all essential elements if the tide of illegal boat arrivals is to be stemmed.”
02:42 PMLee Anderson to host TV show
Conservative MP Lee Anderson will become the latest politician to host a show on GB News, the channel has announced.
The Ashfield MP and Tory deputy chairman said: “GB News is the true voice of the Great British silent majority.
“I’m joining the people’s channel to ensure their voice is heard.”
02:08 PMLib Dems label new small boats laws ‘immoral, ineffective and incredibly expensive’
Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesman, said the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill is “immoral, ineffective and incredibly expensive”.
He said: “Surely a law that is designed to circumvent human rights laws is not one that is fit for purpose? The UK has a proud history of offering sanctuary to those in need of international protection, but the Conservatives are more intent on trashing that legacy than ever before.
“Just like their botched Rwanda plan, this new legislation is immoral, ineffective and incredibly expensive for the taxpayer. It does nothing to punish the evil gangs who are responsible for these dangerous crossings, and instead criminalises their victims.
“This is not a practical or sustainable solution, it’s another vanity project for this Conservative Government. The only way to stop these dangerous crossings is to create safe and legal routes for refugees so small boats are not their only option.”
01:48 PMRishi Sunak rebukes Matt Hancock over plot to block disability funding
Downing Street has rebuked Matt Hancock after it emerged he had discussed a plan to block funding for a new disabled centre to pressure a Tory MP to back lockdown restrictions.
You can read the full story here.
01:44 PMEx-Cabinet minister says UK should leave ECHR if it blocks new small boats laws
Simon Clarke, the Tory former Cabinet minister, sought a promise from Suella Braverman that the Government will take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights if it stands in the way of implementing the Illegal Migration Bill.
He told the House of Commons: “We all hope this legislation will succeed but will my right honourable friend promise that if it is frustrated by the European Convention on Human Rights that we will commit to leave it because leave it we must if in the end this legislation is forestalled?”
Ms Braverman replied: “As we saw last year the Strasbourg court issuing its rule 39 order, pursuant to an opaque process and one in which the UK wasn’t represented was deeply regrettable and therefore we are addressing that particular issue in this Bill to avoid that scenario playing out again.
“In our view this Bill complies with our international obligations and we must take these measures now promptly.”
01:31 PMGovernment to bolster UK ability to challenge rulings by Strasbourg judges
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory former leader, welcomed the Illegal Migration Bill but asked what specifically the Government is doing to stop European judges being able to block its small boats plans.
He said: “Could my right honourable friend expand a little bit on the issue that stopped the migrants being taken to Rwanda last time which was the intervention of the Court of Human Rights. I didn’t really hear anything in this statement to suggest that anything has changed on that matter?”
Ms Braverman said: “He is right to identify the difficulties that we had in effecting flights to Rwanda last year in the summer and as I mentioned the Strasbourg court issued what is called a rule 39 order pursuant to an opaque process at the last minute without UK representation or right of challenge.
“We will be introducing some detail in the Bill to address that scenario and inject some conditions upon which we will deliver the measures in rule 39.”
01:17 PMTory MP urges UK to seek ‘joint Rwanda-type’ deal with France
Tory MP Tim Loughton urged Suella Braverman to ask France to join a “joint Rwanda-type scheme” to offshore the processing of asylum claims to a third country.
He told the Commons: “When the Home Affairs Select Committee visited Calais recently we were told that when the Rwanda scheme was announced there was a big upsurge of migrants in France approaching the authorities asking about staying in France because there was a deterrent factor.
“It hasn’t happened because the Rwanda scheme has not got off the ground so when she sees her counterparts in France on Friday, can we suggest that the French might like to join us in a joint Rwanda-type scheme because they face the same problems and can they do more now we do have safe and legal routes to stop people getting in the boats, arrest them and stop this illegal trade at source on their side of the Channel.”
Ms Braverman said Mr Loughton was “absolutely correct” and “deterrence is the key theme running through these measures”.
12:59 PMLabour accuses Government of ‘groundhog day’ on small boats plans
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said that the unveiling of the Illegal Migration Bill felt like “groundhog day” because the Government has made similar promises on tackling the migrant Channel crossings crisis before but had failed to deliver.
Ms Cooper said: “If the Government was serious it would be working internationally to get a proper new agreement in place with France and Europe, including return agreements and properly controlled and managed legal routes such as family reunion and reform of resettlement.
“Instead this Bill makes this harder, unilaterally choosing to decide no asylum cases at all but expecting every other country to carry on.”
Suella Braverman hit back and said of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer: “Deep down, the Leader of the Opposition doesn’t want to stop the boats. He thinks it’s bigoted to say that we’ve got too much illegal migration abusing our system, it’s because Labour MPs would prefer to write letters stopping the removal of foreign national offenders, it’s because the Labour Party would prefer to vote against our measures to penalise foreign national offenders, to streamline our asylum system.”
12:54 PMYvette Cooper tells Tories: ‘The asylum system is broken and they broke it’
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, is responding to Suella Braverman’s statement for Labour.
Ms Cooper told the House of Commons that over the last four years Tory governments have allowed criminal gangs to “take hold along the Channel and along our border”.
She said ministers had presided over “deeply damaging chaos and there is no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it”.
“They have been in power for 13 years, the asylum system is broken and they broke it,” she said.
12:50 PMSuella Braverman: UK’s ‘patience’ on small boats ‘has run out’ and this ‘cannot and will not continue’
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, said the nation’s “patience” over the small boats crisis has “run out” and the situation “cannot and will not continue”.
Concluding her statement in the House of Commons, Ms Braverman said: “The British people are famously a fair and patient people. But their sense of fair play has been tested beyond its limits and they have seen the country taken for a ride.
“Their patience has run out. The law abiding patriotic majority have said enough is enough. This cannot and will not continue.
“Their government, this Government, must act decisively, must act with determination, must act with compassion, must act with proportion.
“So make no mistake, this Conservative Government, this Conservative Prime Minister will act now to stop the boats.”
12:47 PMHome Secretary ‘confident’ Illegal Migration Bill compatible with international law
Suella Braverman said she is “confident” the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill will be compatible with international law.
She told the House of Commons: “Our approach is robust and novel which is why we can’t make a definitive statement of compatibility under section 19 1b of the Human Rights Act.
“Of course the UK will always seek to uphold international law and I am confident that this Bill is compatible with international obligations.
“And when we have stopped the boats the Bill will introduce an annual cap to be determined by parliament on the number of refugees the UK will settle via safe and legal routes. This will ensure an orderly system.”
12:43 PM500 per cent increase in small boat crossings in two years
Suella Braverman told the House of Commons: “We have seen a 500 per cent increase in small boats crossings in two years. And this is the crucial point of this Bill.
“They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.”
12:41 PMHome Secretary: Need for asylum reform ‘obvious and urgent’
Suella Braverman said that “unless we act today the problem will be worse tomorrow and the problem is already unsustainable” as she unveiled the new Illegal Migration Bill.
The Home Secretary told the House of Commons that asylum hotels are currently costing the taxpayer £6million a day.
She said that the “need for reform is obvious and urgent” and that the Government has “not sat on its hands” to address the issue.
“Yesterday’s laws are simply not fit for purpose,” she said.
12:37 PMSuella Braverman: New laws ‘will allow us to stop the boats’
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is now delivering a statement in the House of Commons as she unveils the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill.
In a sign of the significance of the policy both Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, are sat on the Government front bench to listen to Ms Braverman.
The Home Secretary said that the legislation “will allow us to stop the boats that are bringing 10s of thousands to our shores in flagrant breach of both our laws and the will of the British people”.
12:24 PMSmall boat Channel crossings in 2023 are outpacing last year 12:14 PMDowning Street repeats backing for Simon Case
Downing Street said Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, continues to do “hugely important work” amid speculation over his future in the wake of The Lockdown Files (see the post below at 09.00).
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said he did not recognise reports suggesting Mr Case is considering stepping down this year.
The spokesman said: “The Cabinet Secretary continues to do hugely important work to deliver the Prime Minister’s pledges to the British people.
“He has played a key role in delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority areas including the work to stop the boats.”
Asked if Rishi Sunak still had confidence in Mr Case, the spokesman said: “Yes.”
12:02 PMPM tells Cabinet Stop the Boats Bill will deliver ‘tough, fair and necessary action’
Rishi Sunak told Cabinet this morning that the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill will take “tough, fair and necessary action” to stop small boat Channel crossings.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: “The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by looking ahead to the introduction of the Stop the Boats Bill which will be set out to parliament later today.
“The Prime Minister said that over 45,000 people illegally crossed the Channel in small boats last year, putting pressure on public services and costing taxpayers around £3 billion in hotel accommodation.
“He said that tragically the crossings have led to people losing their lives. The Prime Minister said the current approach was not right, not fair and not sustainable which is why stopping the boats is one of his five priorities.”
Mr Sunak told the Cabinet that the Bill will take “tough, fair and necessary action, acting within international law, that would enable the UK to have control of our borders so that we can continue to be a compassionate and generous country, providing refuge to the most vulnerable”.
11:31 AMSimon Case ‘very unlikely’ to step down this year
Simon Case is “very unlikely” to step down from his role as Cabinet Secretary this year after reports he was considering his future in the wake of The Lockdown Files (see the post below at 09.00).
A Cabinet Office insider said they considered a departure this year as “very unlikely”.
11:24 AMPictured: Suella Braverman leaves No10 after briefing Cabinet on small boats plans 
Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak briefed the Cabinet on the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill this morning.
The Home Secretary will then formally unveil the Bill in a statement to the House of Commons at lunchtime. That should get underway just after 12.30pm.
The Prime Minister is then expected to hold a press conference on the plans early this evening.
10:52 AMNigel Farage accuses Government of ‘cynical politics’
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party, described the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill as “cynical politics” as he suggested it will fail to solve the migrant Channel crossings crisis.
He predicted the Conservative Party will fight the next general election on leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. Here is his tweet:
10:17 AMAngus Robertson backs Humza Yousaf in SNP leadership race
Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson has given his backing to Humza Yousaf in the contest to become the country’s next first minister.
Mr Robertson, a former SNP Westminster leader and former party depute leader, is one of the most senior members of the party to publicly declare who they are backing in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.
He cited Mr Yousaf’s willingness to “take on the Tories and protect Holyrood from their dirty tricks” as a key reason for giving him his support.
Mr Yousaf is up against Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and former community safety minister Ash Regan in the race for the top job.
10:10 AMMatt Hancock was ‘drunk on power’ and should be questioned in Commons over Lockdown Files, says Jake Berry
Sir Jake Berry has described Matt Hancock as “drunk on power” during the pandemic as he said the former health secretary should be questioned in the House of Commons over his leaked WhatsApps.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed the former health secretary discussed a plan to block funding for a disabled children’s centre as a way of pressuring a rebel MP to vote for new lockdown restrictions.
You can read the full story here.
09:44 AMPictured: Suella Braverman arrives at No10 for Cabinet meeting 
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, said the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill will “stop the boats” as she said the UK’s asylum system has been “overwhelmed” and “enough is enough”.
The Home Office published a video statement from Ms Braverman this morning in which she said the following:
“Last year, over 45,000 people made the unsafe, unnecessary and illegal journey across the Channel. Our asylum system has been overwhelmed.
“We are now spending almost £7million a day on hotels. Stopping the boats is one of the five promises the Prime Minister has made to the British people and it is my top priority.
“That is why today I am announcing a new Illegal Migration Bill to do exactly that. The Prime Minister and I have been working flat out for months to bring this legislation to Parliament.
“This Bill will mean that if you come here illegally you will not be able to stay. You will be detained and removed to your home country if safe or a safe third country like Rwanda.
“We are committed to helping those in need like the hundreds of thousands of people we have supported from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong in recent years.
“But it is not fair that people who travel through a string of safe countries and then come to the UK illegally can jump the queue and game our system. This Bill will bring an end to that. Enough is enough. We must stop the boats.”
09:27 AMPictured: Ministers arrive in Downing Street for Cabinet meeting 
Simon Case, the nation’s most senior civil servant, is considering stepping down from his role as Cabinet Secretary after a backlash over his leaked WhatsApp messages revealed in The Lockdown Files, it has been claimed.
The Financial Times reported that Mr Case has told friends that he is “genuinely undecided” about whether to stay in the role for the next general election or to resign this year.
The Cabinet Office has been approached for comment.
Leaked messages from Mr Case showed him appearing to mock travellers forced to stay in Covid quarantine hotels when returning to Britain, calling it “hilarious”.
He also spoke candidly about Cabinet ministers, at one point saying Rishi Sunak, the then chancellor, was “going bonkers” in a row over contact tracing and calling Boris Johnson a “nationally distrusted figure”.
08:38 AMJack Straw predicts Rishi Sunak’s new small boats laws will fail
Jack Straw, the former Labour home secretary, said the Government keeps coming up with “desperate measures” to try to resolve the migrant Channel crossings crisis.
He predicted Rishi Sunak’s latest crackdown will fail and the Prime Minister will be left “very, very embarrassed” at the general election that he has not delivered on his pledge to “stop the boats”.
Mr Straw told Sky News: “This latest measure which is to try and override all the international obligations and turn ourselves into a kind of pariah amongst Western European states is not going to work anyway, I promise you.
“We will in a year, 18 months’ time, when there is a general election, Mr Sunak will be very, very embarrassed about the fact that the numbers may have come down a bit but they have not stopped and there are all sorts of reasons for that.”
08:31 AMJack Straw: Current ‘bureaucratic’ approach on asylum claims is ‘crackers’
Jack Straw, the former Labour home secretary, said the Government has created a “crisis of its own making” on migration as he said the current approach to processing asylum claims is “crackers”.
He told Sky News: “What we do know is that this Government has got the worst possible record on handling asylum claims.
“They did go up when I first became home secretary, I think in the following year 1998 they went close to where they are today and that was because my predecessor had introduced a new computer system… it had collapsed.
“We sorted that out and progressively got the numbers down. But what the Government has done is created a crisis of its own making. They have progressively cut the money to the Home Office for enforcement and they have allowed the system to become much more bureaucratic. It takes all week for one official to deal with a case. That is crackers.”
08:21 AMWhat will be in the Government’s new immigration bill?
You can read the full overnight story on what will be in the Government’s new legislation here.
08:15 AMRishi Sunak recommits to Rwanda policy as he prepares to unveil small boats crackdown
Rishi Sunak has recommitted to the Government’s Rwanda migrants plan as he prepares to unveil new laws to stop the small boats crisis.
The Prime Minister held a phone call with Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, last night and Downing Street said they had “committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully”.
The Government has paid more than £140 million to Rwanda but no flights forcibly carrying migrants to the capital of Kigali have taken off because of legal challenges.
A Downing Street spokesman said the two leaders had “discussed the UK-Rwanda migration partnership and our joint efforts to break the business model of criminal people smugglers and address humanitarian issues”.
08:11 AM’There is no simple, sweeping answer’
Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, said there is no “simple” answer to solving the migrant Channel crossings crossing.
He told Sky News: “There is no poetry in this. There is no simple, sweeping answer. It is going to take hard grind and individual action with certain countries which are the source of the problem to deal with this.”
08:09 AMSenior Tory MP: Past governments ‘over promised and under delivered’ on tackling migrant crisis
Sir Robert Buckland said past Tory governments had been guilty of “over promising and under delivering” on the issue of solving the small boats crisis.
Told that past governments have made similar promises to Rishi Sunak on tackling the issue but have failed to deliver, the Tory former justice secretary told Sky News: “We have had a lot of over promising and under delivering.
“What I like about the tone and the approach of this Prime Minister is that he acknowledges that this is a huge challenge, it is not easy.
“I think what he wants to do is go one step at a time but also not just rely on legislation here in Westminster but to take action more generally and internationally to see what can be done to avert the problem from reaching the Channel in the first place.”
08:04 AMNew small boats laws likely to face repeated legal challenges, says former justice secretary
The Government’s new plans to tackle the migrant Channel crossings crisis will likely face repeated legal challenges, a former justice secretary has suggested.
Sir Robert Buckland said he had received assurances that the “Government isn’t seeking to break international law” but he agreed the proposals will almost certainly become tied up in the courts.
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, said overnight that the Government has “pushed the boundaries of international law to solve this crisis”, with the plans due to be unveiled later today.
It was suggested to Sir Robert during an interview on Sky News this morning that if that is the Government’s approach then the plans are likely to be challenged “time and time again in the courts”.
He said: “It does sound like it. I have had assurances that the Government isn’t seeking to break international law, that is its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the refugee convention.
“I welcome that because I think a lot of other countries in Europe and elsewhere are struggling with this problem and I think it would be a bit of a free-for-all for everybody to try and do their own thing in a way that is not coordinated.”