'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH'
Rishi Sunak announces illegal immigration crackdown and reveals ‘small boats command’ will tackle Channel crossings
THOUSANDS of Albanians will be sent home in months and illegal migrants will all be processed abroad under a major new crackdown on small boats announced today.
This afternoon a defiant Rishi Sunak set out his five point plan for controlling Britain's borders and ending illegal migration once and for all.
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It comes as the number of people arriving by dingy since June skyrocketed to 30,000.
Mr Sunak's plan includes ending the use of tax-payer funded hotels to house migrants, tightening the definition of modern slavery and forming a small boats operational command to hunt down evil people smugglers.
Addressing MPs in the Commons, the PM blasted: "It is unfair that people come here illegally.
"It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of criminal gangs who trade in human misery, and who exploit our system, and laws.
"Enough is enough."
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Mr Sunak pledged to clear the ballooning asylum backlog by the end of 2023.
More than 40,000 migrants have now waited between one and three years for a decision on their asylum claim, costing the taxpayer millions and clogging up the system.
Under the new clampdown, a permanent 'small boats command' will be formed.
Around 700 new workers will be tasked with intercepting smuggling operations so less vessels arrive on Britain's shores.
The unit will use military capabilities and technology like drones to hunt down gang chiefs and increase prosecution rates.
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With the command in place, immigration officials will be freed up to focus on catching illegal migrants living and working under cover in Britain.
The PM vowed to increase the number of Home Office raids by a whopping 50 per cent.
"It's frankly absurd that today illegal migrants can get bank accounts, which help them live and work here," he said.
Mr Sunak also promised to stop spending millions of hard earned tax payer's cash on migrant hotels.
The government forks out around £6.8m a day for accommodation, with some people even being placed in four star luxury hotels.
Now, for half the cost of hotels, those waiting to be processed will be put in disused holiday parks, former student halls and unused military barracks.
The Home Office says it's already found sites to take on 10,000 people.
To tackle the unsustainable migration backlog, Mr Sunak will double the number of Home Office caseworkers, and they will be given shorter guidance and less paperwork.
Modern slavery rules will be tightened, with staff having to see objective evidence a migrant has been enslaved to settle them, rather than just a suspicion.
To tackle the issue of Albanian illegal migration, British Border Force officers will base themselves in Tirana Airport for the first time.
Last year Germany, France, Sweden rejected nearly 100 per cent of Albanian asylum claims.
Meanwhile, the UK's rejection rate is just 45 per cent.
The government has now received confirmation from Albania that genuine victims of trafficking will be protected there, meaning most people who now come over from the country can be sent straight back.
A dedicated new unit of 400 specialists will work to ensure thousands of Albanians are returned in months, with weekly flights taking off until the backlog is cleared.
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And in a final big blow to sick smuggling gangs, the PM vowed that from next year anyone who enters the UK illegally won't be able to stay.
A new law will be introduced enabling Britain to send people home straight away or process their claim in a third country.
And the government will fight tooth and nail in the courts to restart deportation flights to Rwanda as soon as possible.
Mr Sunak pledged to push back against any lawyers who try to stand in his way.
"We cannot persist with a system that was designed for a different era,"; Mr Sunak said.
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";We have to stop the boats and this government will do what must be done."
He added: "We will be tough but fair, and where we lead others will follow."
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