Downing Street has insisted the government is “making progress” on tackling illegal migration, even as the number of small boat migrants is set to cross a whopping 200,000 since records began eight years ago. The Number 10 spokesman said at the Lobby briefing of political hacks this afternoon:
“The previous government left our borders in chaos and we are still living with the consequences. We must do whatever it takes to restore order to our borders. The statistics show that we are making progress. Since coming into office this government has deported nearly 60,000 people, with 2025 marking the highest rate of returns in nearly a decade. Deportations of foreign criminals are up more than 30%… Of course, we must go further…”
The spokesman then pointed to the supposed merits of the ‘one in, one out’ deal with France, claiming 600 migrants have been returned under the policy. As a hack pointed out in the room, that isn’t a net figure. The net figure is… around zero. To which the spokesman conceded “it’s a pilot scheme”…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”