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Labour’s plan to increase detention capacity is unlikely to stop small boat crossings and the “only real solution” is a deal with the EU, the former head of the UK’s Border Force has said.
Tony Smith told Sky News while the new government’s announcements – including reopening removal centres and staffing up the National Crime Agency (NCA) – showed it was “serious about immigration enforcement”, the challenge is vast.
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The scepticism comes as a local MP in the area where one of the detention facilities is located vowed to fight the plan, saying the site has a “dark history” and accusing Labour of dodging scrutiny.
Mr Smith said that while the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme would have targeted people from high-intake countries – essentially those who would qualify for asylum – the focus now is on a smaller cohort of people who have no right to remain.
That will likely only lead to a “fairly modest” increase in removals, he said.
He added: “There are steps under way in the Home Office to try to raise the removals rate which are all good things.
“But it’s going to be a big ask to see what kind of a dent this makes on small boat and irregular migration intake going forward.”
‘Only so much government can do’
The Tories’ flagship Rwanda scheme intended to send people who arrived in the UK by small boat to Kigali to have their asylum claims processed there. If they were successful, they would have been granted refugee status to stay in the East African nation, not the UK.
The controversial plan failed to get off the ground after years of legal challenges, with Sir Keir Starmer declaring it “dead and buried” within days of taking office.
Labour’s returns plan is different in that it will target people who are here illegally – for example, if their asylum claims are rejected…
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