Crackdown on illegal migrants WILL help those in need instead of ‘grandstanding and virtue-signalling’, Jenrick insists

LABOUR MPs were slammed as "virtue-signalling" for rejecting government efforts to stop small boats crossings.

In a major Westminster speech, Robert Jenrick described the flagship Illegal Migration Bill as "undoubtedly the morally just thing to do" to help save lives

And he said Labour MPs and lefty lawyers who hate it are only harming the most hard-up British households.

This is because masses of uncontrolled migration puts major pressure on public services, including health and social housing.

Mr Jenrick said: “These politicians grandstand and virtue-signal their supposed generosity, but there’s nothing virtuous about making generous offers at the expense of others when it comes to housing supply, waiting lists, and taxes.

“The current numbers of people arriving here illegally surpass any reasonable numbers that the state could be expected to provide for, or integrate successfully into our national community.

"And it is for the most disadvantaged in our society, that feel this most acutely.”

The Illegal Migration Bill will be debated in Parliament tomorrow, with Labour MPs lining up to try and stop it.

The new law would see a "zero tolerance" approach to small boats.

Arrivals would be detained and removed from Britain within 28 days.

And they would be barred from ever settling in the UK.

At his speech, Mr Jenrick insisted people who cross the channel illegally "tend to have completely different lifestyles and values to those in the UK".

And he insisted that they settle in hyper-diverse areas, therefore "undermining the cultural cohesiveness" of British democracy.

A whopping 5,000 illegal migrants arrived in Britain by small boat in the past four months.

And a record 45,755 migrants made the dangerous crossing in 2022.

Mr Jenrick said: “The basic fact is undeniable that the number of people who are willing and able to reach the UK today is astronomical and vastly outnumbers what we are capable or willing to take as a country.”