Immigration minister Robert Jenrick promised a “more radical” approach to illegal migration, after Suella Braverman was condemned for claiming Britain faced an “invasion” on the south coast.
The home secretary made her alarming remarks in the Commons yesterday while under pressure due to overcrowding at the Manston asylum processing center in Kent, where disease has broke out under woeful sanitary conditions.
This morning Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We need I’m afraid now need to look at some more radical options to ensure that our laws are appropriate, that economic migrants are returned swiftly, and that we deter people from coming to the UK.”
The home secretary has previously suggested banning people who arrive across the channel in small boats from claiming asylum.
Ms Braverman was yesterday accused of putting lives at risk with her “invasion” claim, which followed the day after a firebomb attack at an asylum processing facility in Dover.
Refugee charities said her remarks were “heinous” and “dehumanising” for refugees and migrants, adding that she also put Home Office staff and volunteers at risk.
