Thank you for contacting me about the migrants crossing the Channel.
Like so many, I was appalled and deeply saddened by the tragic drowning and loss of life last week. I cannot even begin to imagine the circumstances that have driven so many people away from their homelands and into taking such a dangerous and difficult journey to the UK.
These crossing by small boats show the danger of such journeys as well as highlighting the callous and ruthless nature of the criminals who exploit vulnerable people. I am determined to bring justice to these criminal gangs whose actions are directly responsible for every death crossing the Channel. The Home Secretary has made it clear that she is taking every step possible to identify, disrupt and bring to justice these criminal networks and I wholeheartedly support her in this work.
As someone who has campaigned for the UK to retain its development budget, I believe that we have to deal with issues and crises at source. It is no good waiting until people have reached EU countries before we try to help them. No one is born wishing to become a refugee or an asylum seeker. The UK with its allies must do more to help some of the world’s poorest and those in the most hostile and difficult circumstances. The Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary have both been clear about the need for co-operation between international partners not just to address the issue of Channel crossings but in assisting those in need.
I believe there are two key elements to ending these dangerous crossings - changes to the UK’s asylum system to remove the pull factors and immediate operational and diplomatic work to stop the boat crossings.
The Government’s new plan for immigration will be put into law through the Nationality and Borders Bill. This Bill includes far-reaching reforms to the asylum system to address many of the underlying factors to deter illegal migration. Measures include a one-stop appeals process; the ability to process claims outside the country; the ability to have differentiation and declare inadmissible to our asylum system those who arrive in the UK having passed through safe countries; and life sentences for people smugglers. People should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, and nobody needs to flee France in order to be safe.
However, the Home Secretary has been clear that we cannot simply wait for the Nationality and Borders Bill to become law. The Government has been taking and will continue to take, action to prevent crossings now. While co-operation with France has resulted in more than 20,000 crossings being stopped this year with 17 organised criminal groups dismantled and over 400 arrests and 65 convictions. There is far more that can be done and I hope the French will re-invite the Home Secretary to take part in discussions on migration.
I know that the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have reached out, in the spirit of co-operation, to France and other key partners to intensify talks and discussions. The UK has put forward a number of ideas to prevent these dangerous journeys from taking place. These include joint France-UK patrols, maritime patrols, airborne surveillance and the deployment of advanced technology such as ground sensors and radar. I believe it is also vital that action is taken to deepen intelligence sharing to deliver arrests and prosecutions on both sides of the Channel.
This action, both immediate and longer term reflects the Government’s urgency in stopping these crossings, saving lives and securing the UK border.
I hope you can see from this response that the Government is taking firmer action to stop these crossings. I am encouraged by this work but will push the Government to continue to act fast to make this route unviable and to end the cruel and dangerous people smuggling between France and the UK.