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Yvette Cooper, the UK’s Home Secretary, has acknowledged that illegal crossings over the English Channel by boat are “dangerous” and that the current levels are “far too high”. More than 20,000 people have arrived illegally on UK shores since Labour took power, up from 17,020 during the same period the previous year. However, Cooper refused to lay out a timetable to reduce the number of crossings.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show during a visit to Rome, Cooper emphasised that slogans would not solve the problem. She cited the “bad history” of previous home secretaries who gave pledges on migration but then failed to deliver them. Despite this, she indicated that the government was taking action, claiming that the number of raids and arrests concerning illegal working had risen by a third since the summer, while nearly 13,500 failed asylum seekers had already been returned to their home countries.
The rise in small boat crossings has largely been attributed to a sharp increase during October, with the Home Office citing calmer seas on more days during the month as the primary cause. The government has now earmarked £8m for new technology, including body-worn cameras and biometric fingerprinting kits, to help tackle the smuggling gangs responsible. Cooper suggested that entries from those seeking asylum from countries deemed safe could potentially be fast-tracked, while those deemed to be safe may also be added to the list.
Cooper denied that migration had fallen down the government’s priority list and that tackling both legal and illegal migration was a clear priority, describing border security as “one of the foundations”. She also confirmed she was due to discuss measures to address people smuggling with the Italian Prime Minister and her Italian counterpart towards the end of a week of diplomacy on border control
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