Image captionYvette Cooper said she was “shocked” to learn that 1,000 civil servants had been working on Rwanda policy but that it has now been scrapped.Article informationAuthor, Thomas McIntoshPosted by BBC News
16 minutes ago
The Home Secretary announced that car washes and parts of the beauty industry would be targeted as immigration authorities step up their crackdown over the summer.
Writing in the Sun on Sunday, reporter Yvette Cooper said officers had been redeployed to staff a “restitution and enforcement programme” targeting businesses suspected of employing illegal workers.
Yvette Cooper said she was “shocked” to learn that 1,000 civil servants were working on a plan to send migrants to Rwanda.
The Rwanda Plan was a flagship policy of the previous Conservative government but was scrapped by Labour just days after Sir Keir Starmer won the general election.
Cooper wrote in the paper: “We have instructed Immigration Enforcement to step up its operations over the summer, focusing on employers who are facilitating criminal gang trade by exploiting and facilitating illegal work in the UK, including in the car wash and beauty industries.”
“And we are developing new plans for rapid decision-making and return to safe countries.”
“Most people in this country want a well-managed and well-run asylum system. The UK will do all it can to help people fleeing conflict and persecution, but those who have no right to stay in the country will be quickly removed.”
Labour has made border security one of its top priorities under government and has already taken steps to set up a Border Security Command, as promised in the party’s manifesto.
Cooper acknowledged in the article that measures for small boats would take time and require “hard work, not band-aid fixes”.
The Prime Minister also indicated he would discuss migration with other European leaders at the European Political Community summit this week, and was open to considering an overseas processing agreement like the one between Italy and Albania.
But he has come under criticism from his Conservative Party for scrapping the Rwanda Plan on his first day in office, with opponents arguing it was a necessary deterrent to would-be border crossers.
At least 15,489 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, with further arrivals on Saturday putting the number well above 15,500.
Fatal accidents continue to occur across the English Channel, with two deaths recorded last week and four reported so far today (12 July).
