By Blessing Chinagorom
The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has disclosed that his Government is in a battle with callous, sophisticated, global criminal gangs who care nothing for the lives risked in unseaworthy dinghies.
Sunak who made this disclosure in a statement on the next stage of the plan to stop the boats of illegal migration revealed that nine people have died already while attempting to cross the sea just this year, including a seven-year-old girl.
He recalled last week, peers in the House of Lords contrived to stop the Safety of Rwanda Bill, adding that for almost two years now his opponents have used every trick in the book to block flights and keep the boats coming.
Sunak said, “Enough is enough. No more prevarication. No more delay. Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes. No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda. We are going to deliver this indispensable deterrent so that we finally break the business model of the criminal gangs and save lives”.
The Prime Minister who is determined on no going back to stop the boat said starting from the moment that the Bill is passed his government will begin process of removing those identified for the first flight. “We have prepared for this moment.
“To detain people while we prepare to remove them, we’ve increased detention spaces to 2,200. To quickly process claims, we’ve got 200 trained dedicated caseworkers ready and waiting.
“To deal with any legal cases quickly and decisively, the judiciary have made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days.
“The Strasbourg Court have amended their Rule 39 procedures in line with the tests set out in our Illegal Migration Act and we’ve put beyond doubt that Ministers can disregard these injunctions with clear guidance that if they decide to do so, civil servants must deliver that instruction.
“And most importantly, once the processing is complete, we will physically remove people. To do that, I can confirm that we’ve put airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots.
“And we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda, with 300 more trained in the coming weeks. This is one of the most complex operational endeavours the Home Office has carried out. But we are ready. Plans are in place”, he said.
Sunak thanked the government of Rwanda for their work in strengthening their asylum system, passing legislation, and setting up a new appeals tribunal, he said the next few weeks will be about action. “But whilst I’m conscious people want deeds not words, I’m not going to outline now exactly what will happen when.
He added that there are good operational reasons for this. “There is a loud minority who will do anything to disrupt our plan so we wont be giving away sensitive operational detail which could hinder all the progress made to date.
The PM stated that teams across the govt need to be able to get on and deliver without interference. “They are working flat out to deliver this genuine game changer. The first flight will leave in 10 to 12 weeks. Now of course, that is later than we wanted.
Sunak made it known that because of lives that have lost to this illegal migration his Government secured the largest ever deal with France to strengthen interceptions on the French coastline. “And because a third of all arrivals were coming from Albania we struck a deal that reduced illegal Albanian migrants by 90 per cent.
“Taken together we’re doubling illegal working raids and returning 150 hotels back to our communities, we got the number of small boat arrivals last year down by more than a third, the first time they had fallen since this phenomenon began, and at a time when European countries were seeing numbers rise exponentially”.
He said despite his efforts, these sophisticated gangs are changing tactics. “As well as piling twice as many people into small dinghies and increasing violence against French police, shifted attentions towards vulnerable Vietnamese migrants.
“Vietnamese arrivals have increased ten-fold and account for almost all of the increase in small boat numbers we have seen this year. And just as we succeeded in reducing Albanian arrivals dramatically, I’m confident we will do the same when it comes to the Vietnamese”, he said.
He noted that French President Emmanuel Macron and himself have agreed to work with European partners on closing loopholes to enter Europe in the first place.
Sunak said, “The Home Office have signed a Joint Statement with the Vietnamese Govt committing to deepen our already very strong migration relationship.
“And just last week officials from the Government of Vietnam were at Western Jetfoil and Manston to observe Border Force operations on the front line as they continue to manage small boat arrivals.
“But we can’t keep reacting to the changing tactics of these gangs. The truth is we need innovative solutions to address what is a global migration crisis to disrupt business model of people smuggling gangs and save lives. And that means a systematic deterrent”.
The Prime Minister stated further that the only way to stop the boats is to eliminate the incentive to come by making it clear that if someone is in the country illegally, that person will not be able to stay.