‘Hundreds of extra officers to protect borders’
THE HOME Office is recruiting an additional 1,000 border staff to beef up checks at ports and airports after Brexit, Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced.
The announcement brings to 1,300 the number of additional border officers who will be in place by the end of the UK’s transition out of the EU in 2021.
The Home Office has already announced a further 1,200 caseworkers to process EU nationals’ claims to settled status in the UK after Brexit, while HM Revenue & Customs is expected to need thousands of staff to deal with extra work.
The announcement yesterday came in a bruising clash with Commons Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper, who questioned whether the Home Secretary was being “honest and open” with the public about immigration.
Ms Rudd repeatedly dodged the West Yorkshire MP’s demand to say whether she was still aiming to meet the Government’s goal of reducing net migration below 100,000 by the time of the 2022 election.
After receiving the reply from the Home Secretary that she was “still focused on making sure that we continue to reduce net migration to sustainable levels”, Ms Cooper asked: “Is that yes or no to the target?” Ms Rudd responded: “I think I have given my answer.”
Ms Cooper said that the Government’s target could be met only by transforming the current net immigration of around 100,000 EU citizens into the UK each year into a net outflow of 50,000 after Brexit, given that measures to reduce non-EU immigration had already been tried.
Grilling Ms Rudd at a hearing of the Home Affairs Committee in Westminster, she repeatedly demanded to know whether the Home Office was drawing up plans to achieve this. But the Home Secretary responded only that the target was “challenging”.
She repeatedly stressed that she was also concerned to help businesses in being able to employ the staff they need. And she declined to say what immigration arrangements the Government was seeking in the agreement on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.