Halt migrant boats or face defeat, Braverman tells Tories
‘It’s about competence. It’s about being faithful to the British people who put us in office to fix this problem’
THE Tories will not be forgiven if they do not stop migrant crossings, the Home Secretary has warned her party.
The Government needs to halt the small boats in the Channel if the Tories are to win the next election, Suella Braverman told The Daily Telegraph.
She said the party’s reputation for competence was “on the line” as she issued a rallying call to unite behind the plans in face of “formidable forces” seeking to scuttle them.
Ministers anticipate major opposition in the House of Lords and a surge of court challenges to the new Bill which will give the Government powers to bar migrants who arrive illegally from claiming asylum in the UK.
There are also divisions within the Tory party between those who want the Government to go further and quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and those who fear the plans could breach international law, including the Refugee Convention.
Ministers may seek to introduce the Illegal Immigration Bill before the February recess at the end of next week as they seek to bring in measures as soon as possible to deter the record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel.
The Bill will give the Home Secretary powers to detain any migrants who enter the UK illegally and “swiftly” return them to their home country or to a safe country, like Rwanda, where their claim for asylum will be considered.
Asked about the consequences if it fails to stop the boats, Mrs Braverman said: “I just don’t think we’ll be forgiven. We need to earn the trust of the British people on all issues and every single day we’re in government.
“This issue is of huge frustration to many, many people that I meet but also the British people at large.
“I believe my reputation and the reputation of the Conservative Party is on the line here.
“It’s about competence. And it’s about being faithful to the British people who put us in office to fix this problem.”
Asked if it could cost the Tories the next election, she said: “Well, I think we need to stop the boats to win the election. No ifs, no buts. That’s why the Prime Minister has made migration one of the five priorities.”
Mrs Braverman acknowledged it was the last chance to stem illegal immigration after successive promises by governments to get a grip. “The main objective is that there is no excuse anymore. The Government needs to deliver on the promise,” she said.
“The British people are rightly fed up with this problem that has now gone on for years. And I really do think that it’s the last chance for the Government to get this right.
“It’s not about tweaking at the edges. This is not about sticking plasters. It’s about ensuring that people can have a regained confidence in our immigration system.”
The Bill is likely to place a legal duty on the Home Secretary to remove migrants who arrive illegally or enter the UK indirectly through a safe third country. This is designed to buttress the Government against legal challenges and effectively enshrine the Rwanda policy in law after it was stalled by legal challenges. Asked if she was confident
the Bill would accord with the Refugee Convention, Mrs Braverman said: “I was attorney general as well. So I do know the importance of legal frameworks, legislation and lawfulness.
“We are working extremely hard to ensure that ultimately, there is a framework in place that allows the Home Office, the Home Secretary to detain someone who arrives here illegally and then swiftly remove them.
“That’s the promise we’ve made. That’s the promise we need to deliver.”
She refused to be drawn on whether the Government would withdraw or derogate from the ECHR, saying only “my views on the ECHR are very clear”. She has previously said the UK should be prepared to quit.
But she admitted there would be “formidable forces working against us” in a “highly litigious” area. “There are very, very big challenges that we need to overcome to fix this,” she said.
Her interview coincides with the second anniversary of the Hong Kong British National Overseas route that has helped 144,000 people escape the regime in China. She said it was a “great example” of the Government’s plans to open up “legal and safe” routes to asylum and citizenship in the UK.
“We want to make it clear that if you are genuinely fleeing oppression or hardship or political turmoil or conflict, then there is a route to seek refuge in the UK,” she said.
A new analysis suggested taxpayers could face an annual £1billion bill to detain nearly 47,000 Channel migrants who cannot be removed from the UK.
About two-thirds of migrants who cross the Channel cannot be deported because Britain does not have return agreements with countries to which they could be removed, according to research by the Refugee Council.
Of the 45,746 who crossed the Channel in small boats last year, the study calculated 32,247 cannot be removed under the Government’s proposed new bar on asylum for migrants who enter the UK through illegal routes.
“If the number crossing the Channel increased to 65,000 in a year then, based on previous arrivals and current asylum grant rates, this would result in 19,114 people removed overall (including 18,582 Albanians),” said the report. “This would then leave 46,866 stuck not having their asylum claim considered and being unable to be removed.”
It warned that proposals to detain the migrants would cost £148 million a year if they were held for 28 days, and up to £950million a year if it was for six months.