Downing Street to focus on small boat crossings this week, with plan involving UK overseas territory under consideration despite being rejected three years ago
Good morning. Downing Street has reportedly decided that today marks the start of “small boats week” in terms of its summer news grid and, on the basis of today’s front pages, whoever is running the No 10 spin operation seems to be, so far, doing a pretty good job.
The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express have both splashed on an announcement from the Home Office about fines for people who employ or rent property to migrants without a lawful immigration status are rising sharply.
Ministers have resurrected proposals to send illegal migrants to Britain’s overseas territories as part of alternative options to tackle the small boats crisis …
The volcanic island, 4,000 miles from the UK in the middle of the South Atlantic, was previously considered as a location to process asylum seekers. Ministers believed its remote location would create a strong deterrent factor for migrants planning to cross the Channel in small boats.
We are pretty confident that Rwanda is a legal policy. The high court and the lord chief justice found that it was, so that is what we are focusing on.
But like any responsible government, we look at additional measures, so we are looking at everything to make sure our policy works. We need to reduce the pull factor of illegal criminal gangs getting people to this country, basically abusing the system.
Well, times change. We look at all possibilities. This crisis in the Channel is urgent, we need to look at all possibilities and that is what we are doing.
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