Starmer: “Much more” needed to address small boats crisis than UK-France deal

Keir Starmer has argued that the government’s deal with France to increase co-operation in addressing the small boats crisis is a “step in the right direction” but stressed that there is “so much more that needs to be done”.

The government signed a deal with France this morning pledging a 40% increase in the number of patrols trying to detect small boats about to make the journey across the Channel. The deal will see UK officers joining with their French counterparts for the first time.

The government has agreed to pay France an additional £8m per year as part of the deal, increasing the amount the UK contributes towards the surveillance of French beaches from £55m to £63m.

The Labour leader said: “Most people will look at this and say: “Look, there’s more taxpayers’ cash now being spent on a problem of the government’s making.” This has been going on a very, very long time, and the Home Secretary has said that the asylum system is broken. She’s right about that, they broke it.”

He added: “This is a step in the right direction, but there’s so much more that needs to be done. We need the National Crime Agency working upstream to tackle the people smuggling in the first place, and we desperately need a much better processing of applications here.

“I think most people watching this have been pretty shocked to learn that, of all the people that have arrived by small boats in 2021, only 4% have been processed by this government. So a small step in the right direction but a much bigger challenge that the government still isn’t gripping.”

The deal covers investment in drones, night vision equipment and CCTV in French ports, funding for detection dogs at ports and investment in reception and removal centres in France.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News this morning: “The people traffickers are working incredibly hard to try and dissuade law enforcement. We need to work just as hard to counter their illegal activity.

“These agreements do have an effect. They are not the complete solution. We have to work with the countries these people travel through, and also of course we need to make sure that our legal processes are fast, effective and fair”

Suella Braverman told the Commons last month that the asylum system is “broken”, declaring: “I am utterly serious about ending the scourge of illegal migration, and I am determined to do whatever it takes to break the criminal gangs and fix our hopelessly lax asylum system.”

The Home Secretary was widely criticised for the language she used during her statement. She said she was “serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast”, adding: “Let us stop pretending that they are all refugees in distress.”

Responding to Braverman, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper argued that decision-making at the Home Office had “collapsed”, telling MPs: “The Home Office has taken just 14,000 initial asylum decisions in the past 12 months, compared with 28,000 six years ago.

“Some 96% of the small boat arrivals last year have still not had a decision, and initial decisions alone are taking more than 400 days on this Conservative government’s watch.”