Sunak claims small boats crackdown going ‘much better than expected’ – despite upturn in crossings

PM says he knew numbers would rise during summer – after 700 asylum seekers arrive in one day

Rishi Sunak claimed his crackdown on small boats was having a “much better result” than expected – despite the arrival of nearly 700 migrants on Friday.

The PM also said the government “had” to get migrants out of hotels – just hours after it emerged the Home Office is spending more than half a million pounds a day to reserve thousands of empty beds.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the NATO summit in Lithuania, Mr Sunak denied that he had been wrong to claim his small boats policy was “starting to work” last month.

Friday saw a record numbers of crossings for this year – seeing 686 people arrive in small boats from across the English Channel, the highest number on one day so far in 2023.

However, the prime minister said he had always predicted that the numbers coming to Britain would rise during the summer.

“The fact that they [the numbers] are down for five months of the year, the fact that they are still down, even if it’s less than what people are expecting, is a much better result than anyone was expecting,” he said.

Mr Sunak said his policy had to be judged on the trends when he took office. At that stage the numbers were increasing every year, he said. The PM said: “I do think the plan is working … starting to work.”

He added: “You can see that most obviously with the Albanian deal we did. We’ve returned almost 2,000 illegal migrants to Albania and you’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the number of crossings. Right. That shows me deterrence works.”

He said he did not think a system where people were dying in the Channel in their bid to get to Britain was one that should “persist”, adding: “It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to happen overnight”.

Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak under pressure to ‘stop the boats’ (Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street)

The PM added: “We need to get people out of hotels, we need to save the taxpayer billions. We need to get the backlog down. But fundamentally we need to do what it compassionate and fair.”

The PM is under huge pressure from within his own party to deliver on small boats. In January he promised he would “stop the boats”, and urged voters to judge him on that pledge.

More than 13,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year, figures show. According to Home Office data, 338 people made the journey on Monday. It means 1,677 arrivals were recorded in four days, with 686 detected on Friday, 384 on Saturday and 269 on Sunday.

The Home Office data shows the number of small boat arrivals in the UK between January and June fell by around 10 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Freedom From Torture campaigners put up blue plaque (Freedom From Torture)

Campaigners at Freedom from Torture put a blue plaque outside Mr Sunak’s constituency office accusing him of being on “wrong side of history” and “closing the door” on refugees.

More than 60 people - who include victims of torture, refugees, asylum seekers and those already granted asylum in the UK - as well as around 30 campaign groups wrote to MPs to express their “horror” at the Illegal Migration Bill and urge them to oppose it.

MPs are discussing the small boats legislation in the Commons on Monday after the government agreed a series of concessions to push the bill through before parliament’s summer recess starts next week.

Home secretary Suella Braverman revealed the concessions on Monday evening – including limits on the detention of unaccompanied children, who will be granted immigration bail after eight days rather than the current proposed 28.

The government will also keep the current limit of 72 hours on the detention of pregnant women – though this can be extended to seven days on the authorisation of a minister.

Almost 700 migrants arrived on Friday alone (PA Wire)

Another change will prevent people who have already entered the UK without permission from being removed retrospectively after the legislation receives royal assent.

The government still faces potential challenges despite the changes, with Theresa May and Iain Duncan Smith among senior Conservatives to air concerns that the legislation must go further in offering modern slavery protections.

It comes as MPs heard the Home Office is paying for thousands of empty hotel beds reserved for migrants to avoid overcrowding at processing centres.

Home Office second permanent secretary Simon Ridley told the public accounts select committee the government keeps a “buffer” of about 5,000 beds across the country in case of a sudden influx of Channel crossings.

The Bill is central to Mr Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” remains mired in difficulties. It aims to ensure those who arrive in the UK illegally to be detained and promptly removed – either to their home country or a third country, such as Rwanda.

But critics have argued it is morally unacceptable and unworkable, and the Rwanda plan is now set for a battle at the Supreme Court after it was rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, the PM also told reporters that a prospective deal to rejoin the EU’s science research scheme had to work in “the interests of British taxpayers”.

Mr Sunak had been expected to finalise a deal, but No 10 insisted that he was still weighing up whether to sign an agreement – as British reportedly pushed for further concessions.

“Our preference is to associate to Horizon but we need to make sure that we do that on terms that work for the UK and are in the UK’s best interests,” he said.