Keir Starmer rejects ‘nonsense’ claims that Labour immigration plans would improve asylum seeker numbers

Sir Keir Starmer has described Conservative Party claims that Labour’s plans on immigration would improve asylum seeker numbers as “nonsense”.

Speaking solely to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, from a summit in Montreal, the Labour chief maintained the federal government has “no control” of UK borders.

He stated: “What concerns people is that basic idea that the government ought to control who comes to this country and now it’s the gangs that decide who should come to the UK.

“What I’m specializing in is how we’re really going to take care of this.”

Labour has already stated it’s going to contemplate accepting an EU migrant quota as a part of a returns settlement – if it will get into energy.

The new returns settlement at the moment being labored on by the EU would imply every member state takes a minimal annual quota of 30,000 migrants, or pays €20,000 (£17,200) for every individual they don’t settle for.

But Sir Keir clarified: “Let me be absolutely crystal clear about this, because the government has been pumping out complete garbage this week, in terms of the numbers that they are suggesting.

“Obviously an EU quota system for EU members… properly it is apparent we’re not an EU member.

“That scheme itself isn’t really working very well. So the idea that we’re going to join the EU scheme on quotas is complete nonsense. We’re not an EU member and that wasn’t what I was talking about.”

Labour additionally desires to finish the usage of inns for asylum seekers and improve cooperation with Europol to cease gangs from having the ability to set off small boats from the French coast within the first place. Sir Keir visited officers within the Hague to debate the plans this week.

Figures from the Home Office on the finish of August confirmed greater than 51,000 asylum seekers had been being housed in inns, costing round £6m per day, whereas the total invoice for the lodging within the final monetary 12 months was £2.28bn.

The backlog of asylum claims within the UK hit a file excessive in the identical month, with a complete of 175,457 individuals ready for an preliminary determination on their declare.

Read extra:
Starmer ‘clearly up for a battle on immigration’
Labour rejects ‘Nineteen Nineties tribute act’ criticism

Labour chief requested about ‘Beach Ken’ comparability

Speaking from the assembly of centre-left leaders, which embody Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand’s former chief Jacinda Ardern, Sir Keir additionally reiterated that he would use critical crime prevention orders on suspected individuals smugglers.

He stated: “We’ve had serious crime prevention orders for a long time in place in relation to terrorism and other serious offending, and that allows a court to impose restrictions of movement to chase money and freeze money of those involved in organised crime.

“Those orders have by no means been used to take care of these concerned within the vile commerce of placing individuals into the water to cross the channel. And I need them for use in that means.”

Asked about Commons chief Penny Mordaunt’s likening of him to “Beach Ken” from the brand new Barbie movie, Sir Keir stated it was “water off a duck’s back”.

After she claimed he, just like the character, has “zero balls” and “stands for nothing”, he added: “When a government has completely run out of energy and ideas, they go down this rabbit hole of ridiculous insults.”

The Labour chief, who will journey to Paris subsequent week for talks with President Emmanuel Macron, additionally hinted at tax cuts – and sticking to present commitments on internet zero.