NO BOATS DEADLINE
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refuses to set a timetable on solving small boats crisis
Ms Cooper said she is taking a 'step by step' approach
THE Home Secretary has refused to set a timetable on solving the small boats crisis — despite more than 35,000 Channel arrivals this year.
Yvette Cooper admitted the figure is “far too high”, but would not set a deadline on bringing it down.
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She told the BBC: “What we’re not going to do is deal with this by slogans.
"There is a history of Home Secretaries and Prime Ministers making grand promises but never actually having a plan.”
Ms Cooper said she is taking a “step by step” approach, which will include strong returns agreements and law enforcement.
She insisted that lacking a target did not mean migration was not a top priority.
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And she did not rule out processing asylum claims in a third country despite the Labour Government axing the Tories’ Rwanda scheme.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp yesterday said: “You need a deterrent to stop the boats.
“Law enforcement alone is not enough.”
He compared the Rwanda scheme with a similar project which he said “completely stopped” boats crossing from Indonesia to Australia.
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Home Office Minister Angela Eagle also said yesterday it wasn’t possible to know how many undocumented migrants are in the UK.
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