LONDON – New legislation will revoke the right to remain in the UK for those who enter the country illegally, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today.
Speaking in the House of Commons on new immigration policies, Sunak said the newly announced measures will “deliver on our promise to tackle illegal immigration”, reported Anadolu.
Sunak’s announcement came following weeks of criticism of rising numbers of small boat arrivals from France via the English Channel.
Sunak said those who are removed because they arrive in the UK “illegally” will not be able to claim asylum in the UK in the future from abroad.
“We are announcing a new deal with Albania to speed up the return of Albanian asylum seekers, who make up a third of those arriving in the UK by small boats,” he said.
Sunak also said he will press on with the government’s controversial Rwanda plan, which has been widely criticised by human rights groups. The flights to take asylum seekers to the African country to apply for British asylum there were stopped a few months ago by legal representatives through court channels.
The UK is also forming a “dedicated and unified Small Boats Command Centre to step up how we police the channel,” Sunak said.
“This will bring together our military and civilian capabilities in a coordinated response to intelligence, channel boat crossing, processing, and enforcement,” he said, adding that hundreds of new officers will work to end the illegal crossings.
Sunak said the UK will also double funding for the National Crime Agency “to tackle immigration crime in Europe.”
“We’re also adding 200 new staff to step up our immigration enforcement. These extra resources in turn will allow us to increase raids on illegal working by 50%.”
Sunak also said the government will move “up to 10,000 people out of expensive hotel accommodation into low-cost sites like disused holiday parks and former student halls.”
The British premier said the government will double the number of caseworkers and radically streamline the asylum process.
“As a result of all these changes, we will triple staff productivity,” he said.
“I expect to abolish the backlog of initial asylum decisions by the end of next year.” – Bernama, December 13, 2022
