Labour’s pledge to “‘scrap the gangs’ lies in tatters”, the Conservatives have said.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Channel crossings “are up by 31%” while SNP deputy Westminster leader Pete Wishart told Tory MPs to “shut up” as he said limiting paths to citizenship is “one of the most shocking and egregious things this Government has done”.
On Monday Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer convened a summit involving 40 countries to address illegal migration.
The start of 2025 has seen the highest number of people making small-boat crossings for the first three months of a year on record, but the Prime Minister insisted his approach to tackling the issue with international allies was starting to bear fruit.
During Home Office questions Mr Philp told the Commons: “Many seeking asylum including from Syria enter the UK by illegally crossing the Channel.
“This is, of course, completely unnecessary because France is a safe country with a well-functioning asylum system.
“So, in relation to those Channel crossings, will the minister now accept the Government’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’ lies in tatters?
“Crossings are up by 31% since the election, they’re about to break 300,000, and the first three months of this year have been the worst on record.
“Does she now accept it was a catastrophic mistake to cancel the Rwanda deterrent before it even started?”
Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle replied that the Conservatives had “failed to deter a single boat or deport a single person”, with 84,000 Channel crossings “from the day the Rwandan deal was signed to the day it was scrapped”.
She added: “They spent £700 million and sent four people, four failed asylum seekers, to start a new life in Kigali with free housing, free private healthcare, free university education at a cost of £150,000 each.
“If (Mr Philp) really thinks that paying £150,000 each per removed asylum seeker was adequate answer to the challenges of small boat crossings, then I don’t know what planet he lives on.”
Later in the session Mr Wishart said “there are no safe routes to get to the UK” and Tory MPs began to heckle as he raised the Government’s obligations under international law.
He told MPs: “One of the most shocking and egregious things this Government has done is to impose a blanket ban on British citizenship for all individuals who have entered the UK irregularly without any parliamentary scrutiny or public consultation, effectively disenfranchising all asylum seekers and refugees, including those who have made this country their home for years.
“The Refugee Council estimates that up to 71,000 refugees who have already been granted asylum could now be blocked from securing naturalisation.
“(Home Secretary Yvette Cooper) knows there are no safe routes to get to the UK, so nearly all asylum seekers have to arrive irregularly.
“Surely this clearly breaches article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which prohibits penalising those seeking protection for the mode of entry?”
Home Office minister Seema Malhotra said: “(Mr Wishart) will know that with the changes that we made we also explained that each citizenship application will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis and the Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there has been particularly exceptional or mitigating circumstances, such as modern slavery.”
