Ministers Struggle To Find Small Boats Fixes As Surge In Crossings Approaches
4 min read
The government has made little progress in its bid to tackle Channel crossings, with a Home Office insider describing the situation as "kind of a mess".
There is an enhanced urgency to tackle the issue, with an expectation that the number of attempted journeys by small boats will increase as spring approaches.
Last month Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed she was pressing ahead with a plan to turn small boats around and push them back to France, despite claims that it could be legally problematic and difficult to carry out. The controversial plan has been set out in the Nationality and Borders Bill, which ministers hope will enter law before the summer.
The announcement was one of several pledges made by Downing Street in a recent attempt to divert the news agenda away from the ongoing 'partygate' scandal. The plan was reportedly dubbed "Operation Red Meat" by Number 10.
However, a Home Office source said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was increasingly reluctant to carry out the policy and that there has been "a bit of a battle going on” between the two government departments over it.
"There's been even more reticence from the MoD over the last week or so to take on what was announced by the Home Office," the insider said.
They added that while Patel and Boris Johnson are intent on finding ways of reducing the number of Channel crossings, not least due to warnings from Conservative MPs that it had come up frequently on doorsteps in recent weeks, the Home Office would not be able to come up with the quick fixes desired by parts of the Tory party.
“It’s a kind of a mess at the moment,” they told PoliticsHome.
“The Home Secretary and Prime Minister are absolutely determined to sort this out but the infrastructure just isn't there to make the policies work."
It is expected that there will be an uptick in the number of attempted Channel crossings as the weather gets warmer, but “we are not going to be able to do anything about it".
There is concern among Conservatives MPs that it could be a salient issue while campaigning for the 5 May local elections.
Preventing people from attempting the perilous trip from France to Britain is a top priority for the Prime Minister as he attempts to get his leadership back on track.
Patel has said the MoD will be handed control of UK vessels with the aim of ensuring small boats do not land illegally on UK shores, while the Home Office is set to handle broader policy. A formal announcement with more details is expected this month.
The government is looking at developing large-scale detention centres in the UK to process asylum claims, PoliticsHome understands, though this is expected to take a number of months.
Government talks with other countries about potentially hosting offshore processing hubs on behalf of the UK have not yet been successful. Last month, the Ghanian government denied reports that it had held talks with the government about hosting an offshore hub, saying it had "not engaged with the UK on any such plan and does not intend to consider any such operation in future”.
John Major, the former Conservative Prime Minister, in a speech on Thursday at the Institute for Government think tank (IfG) called on the government to show more compassion towards refugees, describing the current policy as "criminalising migrants".
"Can it really be a crime to be frightened, homeless, desperate, destitute, fleeing from persecution or war or famine or hardship?," he said. "Can it really be a crime to cross half the world on foot and dangerous waters in an unsafe boat in hope of finding a better life?"
Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock said Labour would take "practical steps to improve joint security and co-operation operations with France in order to clamp down on traffickers who are risking vulnerable people’s lives for profit".
He told PoliticsHome: "Instead of taking the serious action needed the Home Secretary has made outlandish suggestions, including sonic waves and building processing centres in countries which had no knowledge of her plans.
“Meanwhile, there is complete confusion about who is in charge of this crisis – the Home Office or the Ministry of Defence".
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