EXCLUSIVE: The former immigration minister insists Nigel Farage’s party is the only one which can stop the small boats crisis
Royal Navy vessels could be deployed in the English Channel to stop small boat crossings under a Reform UK government, Robert Jenrick has said. He said it is “inconceivable” to think that the party won’t stop illegal migration, insisting it is “the most important” thing a government has to do.
The former immigration minister, who defected to Nigel Farage’s party last week, also vowed that a Reform government would drive down all immigration – both legal and illegal – to “zero or lower”. His remarks, during an appearance on our weekday news show the Daily Expresso, come after more than 41,000 illegal migrants arrived in the UK on small boats last year.
Robert Jenrick says Reform will put the Navy in the Channel to stop small boats (Image: PA)
Net-migration – the total number of people coming here minus those leaving – has now fallen to 204,000, although this number is still historically high.
Speaking about Reform’s migration policy, Mr Jenrick said: “Well, legal migration. We’ve been very clear, we’re going to have a legally binding cap.
“We’re going to set it as low as possible, net zero or lower.”
He added that it will “give the country a period of breathing space”.
He promised that Reform would be robust in stopping the boats, insisting it i s the only party that can do so.
“People who are here illegally need to leave.
“And so there are going to be deportations on a very big scale.
“And you should be prepared that if you don’t have the right to live here, you should either leave before there is a Reform government or you are going to be deported from this country, I think that’s perfectly fair.”
On small boats, Mr Jenrick said Reform would “do what’s necessary”.
“That means scrapping the ECHR, the outdated human rights laws, bringing those back to our own parliament, ensuring that this merry go round of legal appeals comes to an end. “You’ll be detained. You’ll be deported back home to your own country or to a third country. “And frankly, if you need to do more than that, you know, put the Navy in the channel, whatever it might be, we’ll do it.
“It’s inconceivable that a Reform government won’t stop the boats. That is the single most important thing the government has to do.
Small boat crossings have surged since Labour came to power 18 months ago.
Since his defection Mr Jenrick has claimed The Home Office is not fit for purpose and should be abolished in its current form.
The former Tory frontbencher said he would establish a new borders department that would be tasked with taking radical steps to stop small boat crossings.
In November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced “the most significant changes to our asylum system in modern times”.
These plans include successful asylum applicants having only temporary leave to remain before a review after two and a half years.
Human rights laws will be reformed so family members of asylum seekers are limited to parents and children.
And judges will be told to prioritise public safety and immigration control over a claimant’s human rights.
