Labor leader on day one of annual party conference Photo: PAUL ELLIS/AFP
Sir Keir Starmer says he will scrap the border plan with Rwanda, even if he manages to reduce the arrival of small ships.
The Labor leader said he intends to scrap the “hugely costly” policy despite its success in tackling illegal migration.
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His statement came as ministers returned to court on Monday seeking to overturn a decision to block the scheme on human rights grounds.
Senior Tories said the comments showed Sir Keir «does not care» about ending Channel crossings and is “ideologically opposed to border controls.”
The Labor leader made them when he was pressed about his immigration policy in an interview on the first morning of his party's conference in Liverpool.
The BBC asked him whether he would stick to his commitment to cancel the Rwanda plan even if it meant fewer small boats arriving.
Sir Keir replied: “Yes.” . . I think this is a wrong policy, it is very expensive. Only a small number of people will travel to Rwanda and the real problem lies at the source.
“You're telling me this on the basis that it works, the government has repeatedly told us that even if they say they have a scheme in Rwanda it will lead to a reduction in the numbers — that hasn't happened.”
The Labor Party leader outlined his plan to curb illegal migration, which includes a new asylum deal with the EU, during a visit to the Netherlands last month.
He said his solution was to work with other countries in Europe to «bring down the criminal gangs that are engaged in this vile trade» of people smuggling.
«As a pragmatist, I want to have a pragmatic plan that will actually be implemented. solve this problem, not the rhetoric that has gotten this government nowhere,” he added.
Britain has struck an agreement with Rwanda under which the East African country will accept illegal migrants arriving on small boats.
In return, the UK will pay Kigali hundreds of millions of pounds, with a government analysis estimating the cost at £169,000 each deported person.
The policy was unveiled by Boris Johnson in April last year and adopted by Rishi Sunak. , which says this will be a major deterrent to asylum seekers.
Ministers have already spent £140 million on the scheme, but in June the Court of Appeal ruled it illegal on the grounds that Rwanda is not a safe country.
Government lawyers will bring a case in the Supreme Court on Monday to overturn the conviction, with a final decision expected next month.
If they lose, ministers are considering withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on immigration as a way to stop flights to Rwanda.
A quarter to a third of cabinet members are estimated to support leaving the ECHR if the government loses , but such a step will most likely lead to a split in the party.
Mr Sunak is also said to be instinctively opposed to leaving the ECHR. from the ECHR, not least because of possible international condemnation from allies including the US and France.
A more limited derogation from the ECHR solely on immigration issues could provide a compromise solution around which the Cabinet could rally.< /p>
Emergency legislation will likely be needed to push it through before the next election, which ministers say will be difficult without opposition support.
Home Office modeling suggests the UK could deport 4,000 migrants to Rwanda before the election, expected in the autumn, if ministers can start flying in the new year.
Tory strategists see the plan as a key dividing line ahead of the election and immediately seized on Sir Keir's remarks to portray him as soft on illegal migration.
The Conservatives immediately posted a video of the attack on social media showing asylum seekers arriving in the UK, followed by his response to this diagram.
'Just another human rights lawyer' Greg Hands, the Conservative party chairman, told Labor Rwanda's opposition showed they were «not taking boats seriously and making the hard choices the country needs.»
Robert Jenrick, the immigration secretary, added: “They are ideologically opposed to border controls. Their solution is to force British communities to tolerate this outrageous crime.»
A government source said: «We now have the truth — Sir Keir doesn't care about stopping the boats at all. He will abolish our containment system in Rwanda, even when it is up and running, only because it does not suit his political ideology.
“Instead, he plans to go with his hand out to Brussels to beg for a scheme EU quotas. potentially allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants into our country.
“He is just another human rights lawyer from north London who puts party interests before the interests of the British people.”
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