Rishi Sunak has doubled down on his support for the Government’s Rwanda deportation policy – saying ‘no option is off the table’ to make it work if he becomes Prime Minister.
The former Chancellor used a pool broadcast interview to elaborate on how he would tackle Channel crossings in small boats as both he and leadership rival Liz Truss try to woo Conservative members.
Control of Britain’s borders dominated weekend jousting between the pair, with the Foreign Secretary vowing she ‘will not cower’ to the European Court of Human Rights – that recently blocked Boris Johnson’s Rwanda migrants plan.
Ms Truss yesterday vowed to take on the ECHR as immigration was thrust into the spotlight of the Tory leadership run-off.
The former Chancellor used a pool broadcast interview to elaborate on how he would tackle Channel crossings in small boats
In a political arms race on immigration, Mr Sunak said he would cap refugee numbers and even touted that asylum seekers could be housed on cruise ships
In an interview yesterday, Mr Sunak said: ‘I’ve said that we need to look at all creative solutions to make sure that we have the places we need to detain refugees and ensure that we can process them as quickly as possible.
‘And I’m prepared to look at novel solutions. Indeed, Scotland and other countries have also looked at this. We need to tackle this problem creatively because it is a big challenge.
‘And right now it’s not working as well as it should. As prime minister, I will fix that.
‘I’ve said that no options should be off the table. We have a new British Bill of Rights that’s being introduced into parliament that I believe will help solve the challenges.
‘And I’ve put some other further points in the plan today saying how we could do things differently from the European Convention to strengthen our ability to deport people who shouldn’t be here and protect our borders.’
Mr Sunak’s rival Liz Truss has also been tough on the ECHR’s impact on British immigration policy, saying yesterday: ‘As Prime Minister, I am determined to see the Rwanda policy through to full implementation as well as exploring other countries where we can work on similar partnerships.
‘I’ll make sure we have the right levels of force and protection at our borders.
‘I will not cower to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and its continued efforts to try and control immigration policy.’
Mr Sunak’s leadership rival Liz Truss pledged to revisit the controversial idea of asking Border Force to intercept Channel migrants and tow them back to France
Campaign sources said Miss Truss would explore ‘all possible tactics’ for turning around boats to discourage others from the perilous crossing
Miss Truss also pledged to revisit the controversial idea of asking Border Force to intercept Channel migrants and tow them back to France.
The idea was abandoned by Boris Johnson this year after warnings it posed too great a risk to life. But campaign sources said Miss Truss would explore ‘all possible tactics’ for turning around boats to discourage others from the perilous crossing.
In a political arms race on immigration, Mr Sunak said he would cap refugee numbers and even touted that asylum seekers could be housed on cruise ships.
Mr Sunak was, however, unable to give clear assurances that all of his plans to tackle illegal migration would be legal.
In The Sunday Telegraph, the ex-chancellor said the immigration system was ‘broken’, adding: ‘The system is in disarray, and law-abiding citizens are understandably shocked when they see boats filled with illegal immigrants coming from France to our shores, with our Border Force seemingly doing nothing to stop them.’
But critics questioned whether this would be legal. Welsh Secretary Robert Buckland, who is supporting him, struggled to explain how it would comply with obligations under the United Nations Refugee Convention, saying there would be ‘exceptions for emergency situations’. Mr Sunak said he would ‘tighten’ the definition of who can qualify for asylum to be in line with UN guidance. ‘Where the ECHR is an obstacle, I will tackle it,’ he said.
. Dame Angela Eagle said proposals appeared to be aimed at the 0.2 per cent of the public who are Tory members
Mr Sunak yesterday defended the focus on immigration, saying there was ‘absolutely nothing racist about wanting Britain to have secure borders that work’.
On the campaign trail, he said: ‘We have always been a compassionate, tolerant and welcoming country. Indeed, I am the product of that and my family emigrated here, but it’s absolutely right that the system works fairly for all.’
It came as a senior Labour MP suggested concerns about illegal immigration were ‘bigoted’. Dame Angela Eagle said proposals appeared to be aimed at the 0.2 per cent of the public who are Tory members.
‘They seem to think those 0.2 per cent are all rabid, bigoted people who only care about the Rwanda scheme. They are trying to appeal to the prejudices in their own party,’ she told Times Radio.