Tories say migration deals ‘won’t work’ as Government vows to ‘tackle upstream’

Shadow location caput Chris Philp has said “Italy-style” migration deals volition not “work arsenic a deterrent”, arsenic Transport Secretary Louise Haigh did not contradict that the Government is negotiating with Libya, Tunisia and Kurdistan.

Their comments travel arsenic authoritative figures amusement that implicit 1,000 migrants crossed the English Channel successful the past week.

It had been reported that the Government is negotiating “co-operation and security” agreements specified arsenic those reached by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni that has seen a 62% autumn successful arrivals to Italy implicit the archetypal 7 months of 2024.

Such deals impact payments to countries that person precocious levels of emigration to promote them to bash much to forestall migrants attempting to marque the travel to Europe and the UK.

Latest figures from the Home Office and Border Force amusement 1,018 radical attempted to transverse the English Channel successful 17 tiny boats successful the week to November 15.

Mr Philp said prevention deals are a “constructive step” but would not enactment without a deterrent, arsenic helium defended the erstwhile government’s Rwanda deportation scheme.

He told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “(The Government) are not proposing, arsenic acold arsenic I tin see, to person a returns statement with those countries. They’re proposing to enactment with those countries to forestall departures successful the archetypal place.

“Now that’s each good and good. I’m perfectly blessed to enactment that, but it’s not going to enactment arsenic a deterrent.

“To deter people, they request to cognize that if they illegally and dangerously transverse the English Channel, they’re going to beryllium instantly removed determination else. And that’s what Rwanda did. These deals don’t bash that.”

“Rwanda wasn't moving good earlier we scrapped it connected coming into office, it was costing the payer a fortune. It intelligibly wasn't moving arsenic a deterrent, and it wasn't resolving the contented astatine root - what we're talking astir is resolving the contented upstream

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh

He added: “The Rwanda strategy ne'er really started. It was owed to commencement connected the 24 July and it would person saved america a batch of wealth had it been started, due to the fact that the deterrent would person stopped radical crossing the English Channel. We cognize that due to the fact that it worked successful Australia.”

Elsewhere, Ms Haigh was grilled arsenic to however specified preventive migration schemes with 3rd countries were antithetic to the Rwanda program which Labour were highly captious of and ended upon entering Government.

She told Sky News: “Rwanda wasn’t moving good earlier we scrapped it connected coming into office, it was costing the payer a fortune.

“It intelligibly wasn’t moving arsenic a deterrent, and it wasn’t resolving the contented astatine root – what we’re talking astir is resolving the contented upstream.

“So, tackling and smashing the gangs arsenic Keir Starmer has repeatedly talked astir successful bid to halt the boats coming implicit astatine all, the Rwanda strategy wasn’t deterring boats.”

She would not beryllium drawn connected the imaginable outgo of idiosyncratic deals, adding: “What I tin accidental is this perfectly characterises our approach, moving with planetary partners successful a agelong term, superior way.”