Cooper won’t set timetable for cutting ‘dangerous’ boat crossings | Global News Avenue

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC the “danger” of illegal crossings of the Channel was “too high” but she refused to set a timetable for reducing numbers.

More than 20,000 people have arrived on British shores illegally since Labor came to power, up from 17,020 at the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the Home Office said the number of failed asylum seekers was on track to reach its highest level in five years, with nearly 13,500 deported since the July election.

During a visit to Rome, Cooper told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program that there was a “terrible history” of the home secretary making immigration promises and then failing to deliver.

Since the election, some 13,500 people have returned to their home countries.

Cooper said the four largest return flights had taken off since July and the number of raids and arrests for illegal work had increased by a third.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the return figures were a continuation of “the upward trajectory we have been on under the previous government”.

Cooper said restoring order and control to the asylum and immigration system was about “restoring respect for the rules, enforcing the rules and ensuring the return of these people”.

Increase in small boat transits Mainly due to the peak in OctoberInterior Ministry sources noted that the number of days with calm seas increased this month compared to last year.

Arrivals in Labor’s first five months were similar to the 20,839 between July and November 2021.

Cooper told the BBC: “These levels are too high and what is happening is dangerous.

“We certainly hope to continue to make progress and of course we hope to see the number of ferries reduced as soon as possible.

“What we won’t do is address this issue with slogans. Rishi Sunak said he would stop these ships within a year.”

Labor scrapped the previous government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda to stem border crossings.

The scheme was first announced in April 2022 under Boris Johnson but had not been launched by the time of the general election.

Cooper has previously described the policy as a “ridiculous waste of money”. Instead, the government said it would take action against gangs smuggling people into the UK in an attempt to reduce crossings.

The government announced on Sunday that it would invest £8 million in new technology, including body-worn cameras and fingerprint recognition kits, to “strengthen immigration enforcement operations”.

The new technology will support operations teams as they “target those working illegally in the UK or the unscrupulous businesses that employ them”.

Biometric fingerprint kits will be made available to frontline staff, which the government says will enable immigration enforcement officers to cross-check detainees against police databases “on the spot”.

The Home Secretary also said she wanted to quickly process the applications of those seeking asylum from countries deemed safe and remove them from the UK more quickly, with the possibility of adding more countries to the list of safe places people should return to middle.

Cooper denied immigration had fallen down the government’s priority list, although the Prime Minister did not set specific “milestone” targets.

She told the BBC: “We have made clear that border security… is one of the foundations. We have made clear that we need to reduce legal immigration and illegal immigration and that is a clear priority for the government to address these dangers.” ferry. “

Cooper, who is preparing to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni’s government in Rome to discuss cooperation in combating the illicit financing of the people-smuggling trade, said the government’s approach to combating illegal immigration is “step by step… our approach is very clear and direct” Talk to people about the complexities of this because these gimmicks don’t work”.

The meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Matteo Piandettosi came at the end of a week of diplomacy over border controls.

According to a transcript of the meeting released by the Home Office, Cooper and Piedettosi spoke about the importance of “taking an end-to-end approach” when addressing irregular migration.

The two leaders are said to have agreed to implement a commitment made by the two prime ministers in September to “track the money” when it comes to illegal financing of people-smuggling gangs.

Earlier this week, Germany and the UK agreed to tighten laws in Berlin to make it easier to prosecute those who help smuggle people into the UK.

According to the new agreement, The Home Office said Germany had committed to making the activity an explicit criminal offence.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg airs on BBC One at 09:00 GMT on Sunday 15 December