The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is set to announce new laws aimed at halting the tide of migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.
The Illegal Migration Bill, to be announced on Tuesday, will give the Government new powers to allow the mass detention of thousands of asylum seekers before they are sent to Rwanda.
The Bill will make all asylum claims from those who arrive on small boats inadmissible, placing a duty on ministers to remove anyone who comes through that route as soon as reasonably practicable.
Mr Sunak believes he has found the answer to a problem which has dogged the Government for the past four years, after weeks of work carried out in relative secrecy by senior aides in the Home Office and No 10.
The group has drawn up new laws to slam a “brake” on any abuse of human rights laws that allows illegal migrants to escape deportation from the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister has made it clear that he is determined to deliver on his promise to stop the boats. Last year, more than 45,000 people arrived by small boat, of whom 90 per cent claimed asylum.
Home Office sources say that without drastic action, the figure will hit 80,000 this year.
Conservative MPs insist that this is a top issue for voters ahead of the next election, with exclusive Techne polling revealing the depth of public frustration.
Nearly six out of 10 people (57 per cent) say the Government has been “too slow” with legislation to deal with small boats crossings.
However, the opposition Labour Party has set out a series of tests before it will support the proposed legislation.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We need a proper, practical plan to stop the criminal gangs, prevent dangerous small-boat crossings, clear the asylum backlog and end inappropriate and costly hotel use.”
Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch, believes it is vital that the problem is resolved quickly.
He said: “New legislation must address the loopholes in the system and legal framework which must be plugged, once and for all. Anyone arriving illegally should not be considered for asylum nor permitted to remain.”
But Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, warned the Government’s strategy would not work.
He said: “Deterrence will never work because a tiny minority of people fleeing war and persecution will always need the UK to be a place to seek safety. Ministers refuse to accept this reality and it’s putting more lives at risk.”
