The prime minister is set to announce new laws to clamp down on migrant crossings – telling those who arrive on small boats: “If you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.”
Speaking to the Sunday Express, Rishi Sunak said he and senior aides at the Home Office have drawn up new laws to stop lawyers using the right to family life and legislation created to combat modern slavery to stop their clients being deported.
“I have made the issue of illegal migration one of my top five priorities – pledging to stop the boats once and for all,” he said.
“Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade.
“I’m determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats.
“So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.”
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote in the Sun on Sunday: “Enough is enough. The British people want this solved. They’re sick of tough talk and inadequate action. We must stop the boats.
“That’s why myself and the prime minister have been working flat out to bring forward necessary and effective laws which will tackle this problem, once and for all,” Ms Bravermanwrote.
Image: Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman. Pic: UK government
“It has to be that if you come here illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed. Our laws will be simple in their intention and practice – the only route to the UK will be a safe and legal route.
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“So far, Labour has opposed every effort to bring a stop to illegal migration. They are not serious about tackling the issue that is only becoming ever more serious and allows criminal gangs to exploit vulnerable people.
“The prime minister and I will do whatever it takes. You can judge us by our actions.”
A new law that aims to reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The law would give powers to the home secretary to remove anyone who arrives on a small boat “as soon as reasonably practicable” to Rwanda or a “safe third country”.
Arrivals would be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK and stopped from returning once removed.
Ms Braverman is expected to unveil the plan on Tuesday after Mr Sunak made “stopping the boats” one of his five priorities.
The pair are also due to travel to Paris on Friday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Christina Marriott, executive director of strategy at the Red Cross, called the legislation “extremely concerning”.
“The Home Office knows from its own research that this will also do little to prevent people risking their lives to seek safety,” she said.
“Again and again, we hear from people that they have no prior knowledge of the UK’s asylum system, so making it harsher is not an effective strategy.”
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A Sky News team has witnessed chaotic scenes in Calais
Sonya Sceats, chief executive at Freedom from Torture, called the proposals “vindictive and dysfunctional”.
“This legislation will do nothing to reduce the number of deaths in the Channel or the chaos and incompetence that blights our asylum system, nor will it guarantee sanctuary for those who need it,” she said.
“Instead, it will lead to more torture survivors being unfairly denied protection and potentially removed to Rwanda.”
Two people who died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness have been named by police.
Lincolnshire Police said 48-year-old Lee Baker and his 10-year-old daughter Esme Baker, both from the Nottingham area, were killed in the blaze.
However, formal identification is still yet to take place and “could take some time”, the force said.
Emergency services were alerted to a fire at Golden Beach Holiday Park, in the village of Ingoldmells, at 3.53am on Saturday.
In a statement issued through police, a member of the Baker family said: “Lee and Esme were excited to be spending the first weekend of the holidays together.
“We are all utterly devastated at what’s happened.
“This loss is incomprehensible at the moment, and we ask for people to give us space to process this utterly heartbreaking loss.”
A GoFundMe page set up for the victims’ family described the father and daughter as “two peas in a pod” who were “both happy-go-lucky people who loved life”. It has so far raised more than £3,000.
The police force, together with Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, are continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze.
Detective Inspector Lee Nixon said: “We believe we might be close to arriving at a working hypothesis.
“We are working hard to validate the facts available to us to be able to provide answers for the family and loved ones of those who were very tragically taken by this fire.
“Yet the evident intensity of the fire has made this task incredibly challenging.”
Dan Moss, from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, said: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family at this time.
“Our Fire Investigation Team is working with colleagues from Lincolnshire Police, and a full investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
“Once investigations are complete, local fire crews and our community fire safety team will be on hand to talk to people in the area and address any fire safety concerns they may have, at what will be an upsetting time.”
A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
Image: The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Image: More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Image: Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
Police are investigating after a man was shot dead in County Durham.
Officers were called to an address in Elm Street, Stanley, at about 5.20pm on Saturday after reports of a “disturbance”, Durham Constabulary said.
A man in his 50s was found to have been shot and despite the efforts of paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene.
His family have been told and are being supported by specially trained officers.
Specialist crime scene investigators are at the scene, and officers are carrying out house-to-house enquiries.
A cordon is in place and is expected to stay there for some time.
Detective Superintendent Neil Fuller said: “This is a truly shocking incident in which a man has been shot and has sadly died.”
He added: “Residents may see an increased police presence in the area. I would like to thank them for their support while we carry out this investigation.
“Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this time.”