Small boat Channel crossings hit 20,000 under Labour

Labour has scrapped the previous government’s plan to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda in a bid to deter crossings.

The scheme was first announced in April 2022 under Boris Johnson, but the scheme had yet to get off the ground by the time of the election.

Speaking in the Commons , Home Secretary Yvette Cooper branded the policy a “grotesque waste of money”.

Instead, the government says it will attempt to reduce crossings by taking action against the gangs that smuggle people into the UK.

It wants to give police more extensive powers to tackle gangs, and wants to step up co-operation with law enforcement authorities in other countries.

Last week, ministers unveiled a deal under which the UK will give money to Iraq to improve its border security, with the promise of greater intelligence sharing and more joint enforcement operations.

Ministers also want to allow police to use Blair-era counter-terror powers to search people suspected of being involved in people smuggling.

Before the election, Labour also said it wanted extra powers to restrict smugglers’ access to the internet and travel, and “live monitoring” of their financial accounts.

Legislation to grant police the new powers is yet to be published, and will take months to get through Parliament.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the government’s approach as “weak and vacuous”, urging ministers to “urgently re-instate” the Rwanda policy.

“These figures show that under Keir Starmer, the gangs are thriving,” he added.