Sir Keir Starmer has said he has no doubt the government will get flights off the ground to Rwanda but Labour would “cancel the scheme straight away” if they win the next general election.
The Labour leader, announcing his party’s policy on illegal immigration in Dover, said the government’s flagship policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda will not work.
“They will get flights off the ground, I don’t doubt that but I also don’t doubt it will not work,” he said.
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When asked by Sky News political editor Beth Rigby if that means he would stop any deportation flights to Rwanda on day one of a Labour government, he said: “We will scrap the Rwanda scheme.
“I said that to you when we last met last week, the time before last and you know, that means ending the scheme.
“Absolutely. Flights and all.”
He added: “We will cancel the scheme – of course that means we won’t operate the scheme at all, it’s a gimmick, I won’t flog a dead horse.
“We’re going to get rid of the policy straight away.”
Labour later clarified the party would not stop any flights already planned but would not schedule any further.
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1:32
‘Small boat crossings is one of the greatest challenges we face’
The government’s Rwanda scheme, aimed at deterring asylum seekers arriving in the UK in boats over the Channel, has been stalled by legal arguments but last month became law. However, no flights have yet departed.
The scheme means any asylum seeker entering the UK illegally from a safe country such as France could be sent to Rwanda where their asylum claims would be processed. They would not be allowed to apply to return to the UK.
As Sir Keir announced Labour’s plans to stop small boats coming across to the UK, Sky News witnessed a Border Force boat with about 70 migrants, including at least one child, disembarking in Dover after being picked up in the Channel.
• A new Border Security Command, funded by scrapping the Rwanda scheme, with “hundreds of specialist investigators” from the NCA, Border Force, CPS, MI5 and Immigration Enforcement
• Hopes for a new partnership with Europol and new intelligence-sharing networks
• New counter-terrorism powers to allow officers to conduct stop and searches at the border, close bank accounts, trace movements and shut off internet access of people smugglers
• A rules-based asylum system with fast-track reforms, an enforcement unit and a returns agreement with the EU.
Given the impressive GDP figures released this morning, Labour needed a counter narrative to Conserative crowing.
And so it was to Dover and migration for Sir Keir Starmer to put some flesh on the bones of what a Labour government would do to tackle the small boats crisis.
More money, hundreds of more specialist investigators and the involvement of counter-terrorism are all part of the plan – funded by savings from abandoning the Tories’ Rwanda scheme.
It’s fascinating that Starmer now feels confident enough, not only talking about illegal migration (not traditional Labour territory) but taking the government head-on, on an issue that he feels is up for grabs.
It demonstrates Starmer’s strength inside Labour but also the Conservatives’ perceived weakness on illegal migration.
The Rwanda scheme though, is in principle popular with lots of the public, so if Labour is to abandon it, with this frankly less eye-catching alternative announced today – it leaves one big question – will their plan cut it with voters?
The Labour leader said: “We will restore serious government to our borders, tackle this problem at source and replace the Rwanda policy permanently.”
Turning a blind eye to people smuggling was “not a progressive or compassionate position”, Sir Keir said.
He said “our asylum system must be rebuilt and our borders must be secured”, and accused the Tories of being driven from a serious party of government “onto the rocks of their own delusion” in their pursuit of “gesture politics” over immigration.
“Our rules-based system should align with global rules that protect individual human rights,” Sir Keir added.
“That is in our interests and the right thing to do.”
Image: Sir Keir Starmer with new Labour MP Natalie Elphicke. Pic: PA
Sir Keir insisted new Labour MP Ms Elphicke’s defection from the Tories on Wednesday reflected the mood of the country as Rishi Sunak is “clinging on” to power.
Asked if he was concerned about the backlash from within the Labour Party to Ms Elphicke’s defection, he said: “This is a very important and significant crossing of the floor for reasons Natalie set out.
“I think anyone reading the words she set out this morning would be persuaded this is a very significant thing, you’ve got a Tory party that is losing votes, losing MPs, losing councillors, losing mayors across the country.”
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2:46
Migrant pays to return to France
Reacting to Sir Keir’s announcement, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Labour have no plan to stop the boats.
“Labour have an illegal immigration amnesty, Labour blocked of the deportation of violent sexual offenders and Labour voted over 130 times against tougher legislation to stop the boats. They will create a haven for criminal gangs, not stop them.
“Even Labour MPs are saying Labour can’t be trusted to stop the boats which shows you nothing will change.
“If people can apply for asylum from outside the UK then unlimited claims can be made, many of which will have to be accepted under the law and even then, many of those declined will then get on a small boat anyway.”
Major developers will only deal with one regulator under planning reforms which ministers say will “rewire the system” to get Britain building – all while protecting the environment.
A review by former Labour adviser Dan Corry into Britain’s sluggish system of green regulation has concluded that existing environmental regulators should remain in place, while rejecting a “bonfire of regulations”.
But Mr Corry suggested there might be circumstances in which the government look at changing the wildlife and habit rules inherited from the EU, which protect individual species.
The government has now explicitly ruled out any such change in this parliament.
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Campaigners have questioned whether the changes go far enough and will make a major difference to the rate and scale of building in the UK.
Speaking to Sky News, Environment Secretary Steve Reed insisted that accepting nine of the recommendations from the Corry review would amount to wholesale reform.
The minister said: “We can get a win-win for economic growth and for nature. And that is why we are moving ahead with proposals such as appointing a lead regulator for major developments so that the developers don’t have to navigate the architecture of multiple regulators.
“They just work for a single regulator who manages all the others on their behalf. Simplifying the online planning portal.
“These are huge changes that will save developers billions of pounds and speed up decisions doing damage to the environment.”
Mr Reed insisted that there would be “no more bat tunnels” built, even though the Corry review suggests that more work needs to be done to look again at the relevant guidance.
It says: “Rapidly reviewing the existing catalogue of compliance guidance, including on protecting bats, will identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency.
“Natural England has already agreed to review and update their advice to Local Planning Authorities on bats to ensure there is clear, proportionate and accessible advice available.”
The review will mean:
• Appointing one lead regulator for every major infrastructure project, like Heathrow expansion
• A review on how nature rules are implemented – but not the rules themselves
• Insisting regulators focus more on government priorities, particularly growth
Economist and former charity leader Mr Corry, who led the review, said it shows that “simply scrapping regulations isn’t the answer”.
“Instead we need modern, streamlined regulation that is easier for everyone to use. While short-term trade-offs may be needed, these reforms will ultimately deliver a win-win for both nature and economic growth in the longer run.”
However, Sam Richards from Britain Remade, a thinktank trying to get Britain growing, said that while the steps are welcome, the number of regulators that report to the environment department would remain the same before and after the review. He questioned whether this would have the impact ministers claimed.
Kentucky’s finance watchdog has dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase over the exchange’s staking rewards program, following its peers in Vermont and South Carolina.
Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions filed the stipulation to dismiss jointly with Coinbase on April 1, ending the state’s legal action against the exchange first filed along with 10 other state regulators in June 2023.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal posted to X on April 1, calling for Congress “to end this litigation-driven, state-by-state approach with a federal market structure law.”
Financial regulators from 10 states launched similar suits against Coinbase in June 2023, on the same day the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange — a lawsuit the SEC dropped last month.
Seven suits against Coinbase still active
Alabama, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin are the seven states that are still continuing with their lawsuits, which all allege Coinbase breached securities laws with its staking rewards program.
Vermont was the first state to end its suit against Coinbase, with its Department of Financial Regulation filing an order to rescind the action on March 13, noting the SEC’s Feb. 27 decision to drop its action against the exchange and the likelihood of changes in the federal regulator’s guidance.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s securities division followed Vermont days later, dismissing its lawsuit in a joint stipulation with Coinbase on March 27.
Kentucky’s decision to drop its case against Coinbase follows just days after the state’s governor, Andy Beshear, signed a “Bitcoin Rights” bill into law on March 24 that establishes protections for crypto self-custody and exempts crypto mining from money transmitting and securities laws.
The axed state-level lawsuits come amid a stark policy change at the SEC, which has dropped or delayed multiple lawsuits against crypto companies that it filed under the Biden administration.
The federal securities watchdog has also created a Crypto Task Force that is engaging with the industry on how it should approach cryptocurrencies.
Sir Keir Starmer has said US-UK trade talks are “well advanced” ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed by Donald Trump on the UK this week – but rejected a “knee-jerk” response.
Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, the prime minister said the UK is “working hard on an economic deal” with the US and said “rapid progress” has been made on it ahead of tariffs expected to be imposed on Wednesday.
But, he admitted: “Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war.
“But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table.”
Sir Keir added: “We are discussing economic deals. We’re well advanced.
“These would normally take months or years, and in a matter of weeks, we’ve got well advanced in those discussions, so I think that a calm approach, a collected approach, not a knee-jerk approach, is what’s needed in the best interests of our country.”
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Downing Street said on Monday the UK is expecting to be hit by new US tariffs on Wednesday – branded “liberation day” by the US president – as a deal to exempt British goods would not be reached in time.
A 25% levy on car and car parts had already been announced but the new tariffs are expected to cover all exports to the US.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, earlier told Sky News he is “hopeful” the tariffs can be reversed soon.
But he warned: “The longer we don’t have a potential resolution, the more we will have to consider our own position in relation to [tariffs], precluding retaliatory tariffs.”
He added the government was taking a “calm-headed” approach in the hope a deal can be agreed but said it is only “reasonable” retaliatory tariffs are an option, echoing Sir Keir’s sentiments over the weekend.
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0:28
‘Everything on table over US tariffs’
Mr Trump will unveil his tariff plan on Wednesday afternoon at the first Rose Garden news conference of his second term, the White House press secretary said.
“Wednesday, it will be Liberation Day in America, as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it,” Karoline Leavitt said.
“The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades. He’s doing this in the best interest of the American worker.”
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3:09
Trump’s tariffs: What can we expect?
Tariffs would cut UK economy by 1%
UK government forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said a 20 percentage point increase in tariffs on UK goods and services would cut the size of the British economy by 1% and force tax rises this autumn.
Global markets remained flat or down on Monday in anticipation of the tariffs, with the FTSE 100 stock exchange trading about 1.3% lower on Monday, closing with a 0.9% loss.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% after a volatile day which saw it down as much as 1.7% in the morning.
However, the FTSE 100 is expected to open about 0.4% higher on Tuesday, while Asian markets also steadied, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 broadly unchanged after a 4% slump yesterday.