A minister has admitted that the government has so far failed to tackle the small boats crisis, as the number of people who have crossed the Channel since Labour took power looks set to surpass 50,000.
Home office minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the number of people coming to the UK after making the dangerous crossing is “a problem that, up to this point, we haven’t managed to tackle” – but insisted that it was the fault of the previous government.
“The last government enabled this hideous criminal activity to really get its roots across Europe”, she said, adding that there is now “really important action being taken to tackle it.”
It comes as the government ramps up its efforts to bring down migration amid growing public anger over the issue, announcing on Friday that the new “one in, one out” returns deal with France was up and running.
The Home Office has also expanded its “deport now, appeal later” scheme, which sees foreign criminals deported before their appeals have been heard.
But the government is yet to get a grip on the numbers of people making the dangerous crossing, with the latest Home Office figures showing that 49,797 people have arrived on British shores by small boat since Labour won last year’s general election.
It took Rishi Sunak 603 days in office to surpass the 50,000 milestone, while it took Boris Johnson 1,066 days – a figure which spanned over the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the figure was put to the home office minister on Sky News, she said: “This is a problem that has, up to this point, we haven’t managed to tackle in terms of the numbers who are coming here.
“But it is a completely legitimate claim to say that is happening is the result of the last government who chose to focus on gimmicks, the Rwanda scheme which returned four volunteers.”
She added: “We’re taking responsibility. I don’t believe it was our fault that it was enabled to take root in the way in which it has done by a government who failed to do what was necessary.”
But asked at what point in Labour’s government the numbers of boat crossings would become their fault, Baroness Smith declined to say.
“What I’m pointing out is that we’ve taken our responsibility to work internationally, to change the law… the last government did none of those things and focused on gimmicks”, she said.
“It’s because of that that the crime behind this got embedded in the way in which it did and that won’t be solved overnight. And we’re absolutely clear about that responsibility.”
Labour has put a pledge to crack down on the number of people coming to the UK on small boats at the centre of its plan for government.
But with boat crossings at a record high, and the asylum backlog still above 75,000, there is mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action, pressure which is exacerbated by the success of Reform UK in the polls.
The government is hoping its latest measures will turn the tide on the numbers of people arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel, amid mounting tensions over the issue in recent days.
There have been protests across the UK opposing the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, with a number of people arrested.
Figures from last month showed that the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel topped 25,000 – the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 25,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.
