Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says criminal gangs running illegal boat crossings have “taken hold along the Channel” meaning the UK’s border security is “dependent on the weather”
“This is a global criminal industry worth billions of pounds” she said
The Home Secretary said that that the government has got new agreements with France and the French government has changed the rules so its police force will now “take action” in the Channel to prevent migrants crossing to the UK in small boats.
The government is looking at other countries it could process asylum seekers in,Cooper told Sky News that she had been speaking to the Italian interior minister about their deal, which means asylum seekers wanting to settle in Italy will be processed in Albania.
The media appearance come as the Government will be hosting an “unprecedented” border security summit on Monday with interior ministers and law enforcement from more than 40 countries
She also revealed that The Government are reviewing how international human rights law is being applied to allow people to stay in the UK after entering by irregular means.
She also announced a crackdown on illegal workers in the gig economy, adding that bosses that hire illegal workers could face unlimited fines or five years in prison in a bid to end the “jobs on tap that undercut the labor market.”
She also confirmed confirmed to BBC’s Laura on Kuenssberg that ministers are reviewing how article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a family life) is applied in the U.K. over “real significant concerns” it is frustrating deportations. She said the review is to make sure that the immigration-asylum system works effectively in the way that parliament means it to.
In wide ranging interviews this morning she said that she has “made clear” to police that the government’s priorities are reducing serious violence and increasing neighbourhood policing
