Minister The for Hot Air
Almost every week since being appointed Home Secretary exactly two years ago, Priti Patel has promised to stop illegal migrants coming over the Channel. But this analysis shows, she’s simply become
‘PATEL VOWS TOUGHER ACTION TO STOP CHANNEL MIGRANT GANGS’ THE TIMES, AUGUST 30, 2019
HER VOW: After meeting her French counterpart, she said: ‘I will not let the ruthless gangs of criminal peoplesmugglers continue to put lives in danger, which is why I’m doing everything in my power to put a stop to these illegal crossings.’ WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: At the time, 151 migrants had arrived in boats over six days, and, in total, 1,835 had landed in the UK on cross- Channel boats in 2019, according to the think-tank Migration Watch.
The total figure last year was 8,713, and so far this year there have already been nearly 9,000 Channel crossings.
‘PRITI PATEL TO EXAMINE WAYS OF DEPORTING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS MORE QUICKLY AND IN GREATER NUMBERS’ DAILY TELEGRAPH, JANUARY 1, 2020
HER VOW: To follow the example of Australia, which drastically reduced the number of illegal entries, saying that anyone smuggled by gangs would be sent straight back to where they travelled from. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: The Home Office has failed to send migrants back to France or Europe. For instance, of the nearly 9,000 who have crossed the Channel so far this year, not one has been returned to France.
‘PRITI PATEL SEEKS NEW AGREEMENT WITH THE EU TO RETURN MORE CHANNEL MIGRANTS TO FRANCE’ DAILY TELEGRAPH, APRIL 30, 2020
HER VOW: She had met France’s interior minister to renegotiate the Dublin Agreement, which stipulates that asylum seekers must apply for asylum in the European country they first entered.
Post-Brexit, Britain isn’t part of this agreement so Ms Patel now needs to make separate arrangements with individual EU countries to ensure that those arriving here must claim asylum in France or in countries on the European mainland where they first arrived. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: No new deals have been struck, which is why no asylum seeker from France was deported this year.
‘PATEL VOWS TO TURN BACK ALL FRENCH MIGRANTS’ BOATS’ SUNDAY EXPRESS, MAY 24, 2020
HER VOW: To demand that the French authorities t ake back migrant boats even if found in British waters. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: No agreement has been reached with Paris. Even worse, last month it was reported that UK Border Force vessels went into French waters to help bring a migrant boat to Dover.
‘NAVY ON CALL TO STEM FLOW OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS’
DAILY TELEGRAPH, AUGUST 7, 2020 HER VOW: A review to see if Royal Navy vessels could help in the Channel. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: A week l at er, t he Navy s ai d it would not deploy any vessel to deter migrants.
This followed condemnation from the United Nations and other organisations that said that the Navy’s presence could risk migrants panicking and drowning.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence agreed to occasionally use drones to monitor the Channel.
‘PRITI BOATS DEAL’ THE SUN, NOVEMBER 29, 2020
HER VOW: With her new French counterpart, Gerald Darmanin, she agreed a new deal to stop migrants, which included doubling patrols on French coasts. WHAT’S S I NCE HAPPENED: Despite the agreement – with Britain contributing £ 28 million towards the cost – the number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK has already overtaken last year’s total. Last week, Ms Patel agreed to give the French a further £54 million to better police their beaches and waters.
‘PATEL VOWS TO COMBAT PLAGUE OF CHANNEL PEOPLE-TRAFFICKERS’
THE TIMES, FEBRUARY 5, 2021
HER VOW: She told Conservative MPs t hat she would i ncrease prison terms for people-smuggling gangs from the then maximum of 14 years. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: The Borders and Nationalit y Bil l proposes to raise the l i mit to life imprisonment.
However, there have been no reports of anyone being jailed for that long.
‘PATEL TELLS GOOGLE: END CROSSING ADS’
THE SUN, JUNE 7
HER VOW: She t ol d i nternet giants Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Google to remove posts advertising illegal Channel crossings to migrants. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: As yet, there has been no commitment by any firm to do so.
‘PRITI PATEL PLANS FOR MIGRANTS TO BE HELD IN OFFSHORE HUB’ THE TIMES, JUNE 28
HER VOW: To introduce laws to enable the Government to send asylum seekers abroad for processing as she began talks with Denmark over sharing a centre in Africa. WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: The proposal is now part of the Nationality and Borders Bill, but it’s not clear if it will actually be implemented because it is opposed by many MPs and charities.
‘PRITI PATEL ANNOUNCES HARSHER SENTENCES FOR MIGRANTS IN BID TO DETER CHANNEL CROSSINGS’
THE INDEPENDENT, JULY 4 HER VOW: To increase jail sentences for migrants who enter Britain illegally from six months to up to four years. WHAT’S S I NCE HAPPENED: Longer j ai l t erms have been proposed by the Nationality and Borders Bill. But the Crown Prosecution Service has since published new guidelines saying that migrants who have not committed any other offences, except entering the UK illegally, should not be prosecuted, but merely removed from the UK.
‘MIGRANT BOATS WILL BE TURNED AROUND IN PRITI’S SHAKE-UP’ DAILY MAIL, JULY 6
HER VOW: New powers for UK Border Force to turn away migrant boats. She said: ‘It is sickening that so many people who have no right to be here are able to play the system and stop us removing them.’ WHAT’S SINCE HAPPENED: Two weeks later, a French patrol vessel was seen by a GMB TV reporter escorting a flimsy, overloaded migrant boat into British waters and leaving it there.