'Enough is enough': Asylum seekers in small boats to be banned from UK as Sunak vows to end 'immoral' crossings

5 March 2023, 09:14 | Updated: 5 March 2023, 09:57

Rishi Sunak has pledged to halt Channel boat crossings under new laws aimed at working around the European Convention on Human Rights, with legislation to be unveiled next week.

The prime minister said he will put a 'brake' on record small boat arrivals using the Illegal Migration Bill to be unveiled on Tuesday.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris confirmed that the Government is set to bring forward legislation next week.

If passed, the government will have the power to ban those who come to the UK on small boats from making future claims.

Mr Heaton-Harris insisted that offering "safe and legal routes" is the government's aim.

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Mr Sunak told the Mail On Sunday: "I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats. 

"So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not to be able to stay."

The new Bill features a so-called 'rights brake' to prevent human rights protections considered spurious, the newspaper reported.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will formally propose the new legislation in the Commons on Tuesday.

She told the Sun On Sunday: "Enough is enough. The British people want this solved.

“They are sick of tough talk and inadequate action. We must stop the boats."

Home Office figures show 2,950 migrants have crossed the Channel already this year, compared with a record 45,000 during the whole of 2022.

"I know it has to be extremely clear because, like in my own portfolio of Northern Ireland, I know if you are not clear, people will pick at it," he told Sophie Ridge on Sunday.

Pressed on the limited options that asylum seekers have to arrive in the UK legally, he said: "I'm quite sure there'll be more safe and legal routes and that's why we have them.

"They've been proven to work. Safe and legal routes is absolutely the way forward. We should welcome people to come through those routes."

Under the new laws, asylum claims made by those who arrive in the UK on small boats will be inadmissable.

The home secretary will also be expected to send small boat arrivals to Rwanda or a "safe third country" as soon as "reasonably practicable".

Arrivals will also be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK.

The laws will also seek to ban Channel arrivals from returning once removed.

Red Cross strategy director Christina Marriott told the PA news agency that the proposals are “extremely concerning”.

She said: “The Home Office knows from its own research that this will also do little to prevent people risking their lives to seek safety.

“Again and again, we hear from people that they have no prior knowledge of the UK’s asylum system, so making it harsher is not an effective strategy."

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