Rishi expected to give a sobering update on his illegal migration policy as pressure grows on the PM after it is revealed that only ‘hundreds’ of Albanians are sent home
- About 12,000 Albanians entered the UK in boats via the Channel last year
- Majority of Albanians arriving illegally have not returned to their home country
Rishi Sunak came under increasing pressure over illegal migration across the Channel after it emerged that only ‘hundreds’ of Albanians have been returned home so far.
The Prime Minister is expected on Monday to give an underwhelming update on the success to date of plans to curb small boat crossings, which is one of his five top priorities.
It came as his Immigration Minister was forced to admit that the vast majority of Albanians arriving illegally had not been returned to their home country, with an unknown number said to have absconded from hotels.
Robert Jenrick confirmed that ‘hundreds’ of Albanians who arrived on small boats have been returned to their homeland since Britain signed a deal with the eastern European nation in December last year.
The latest figures suggest about 12,000 Albanians entered the UK via the Channel last year, up from around 800 in 2021.
Rishi Sunak came under increasing pressure over illegal migration across the English Channel after it emerged that only ‘hundreds’ of Albanians have been returned home so far
Pictured: A view of the scene outside the Comfort Inn hotel on Belgrave Road in Pimlico, central London, on Friday where the Home Office have reportedly asked a group of refugees to be accommodated four to a room
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith asked last night: ‘What the hell is the hold-up?’
He added: ‘Is the Civil Service simply failing to do what it is supposed to have done?
‘We need to have a real reason as to why with a full agreement that people are lauding we haven’t got into priority mode and literally kicked these people out.
‘There needs to be a full explanation from the Home Office as to why this hasn’t happened.’
Tory former minister Sir John Hayes added: ‘The Home Office has done a good job in a deal with Albania, which has meant that the number coming here has fallen sharply. But clearly the ones that are here already, presumably encouraged by fat cat lawyers and dodgy interest groups, are gaming the system to avoid deportation.
‘We need to take every step to deport them and any other illegal immigrant in this country.’
The Albania deal was cited by Mr Sunak as part of his plan to cut migration. But Mr Jenrick told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that only ‘hundreds’ had been returned from the UK. ‘It’s relatively early days,’ he said. ‘Some [Albanians] are being accommodated, some have returned home voluntarily, and some may well have absconded – but that’s absolutely the reason why we are taking this action.’
Earlier this year Mr Sunak committed to paying France almost half a billion pounds as part of a three-year deal to fund a new detention centre on the Continent and hundreds of extra French law enforcement officers in an effort to end the migrant crossings.
He also set up a unified Small Boats Operational Command, bringing together the military, Border Force and the National Crime Agency, with more than 700 new staff working on intelligence-gathering on people traffickers and intercepting vessels in the Channel.
Robert Jenrick (pictured on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg) confirmed that ‘hundreds’ of Albanians who arrived on small boats have been returned to their homeland since Britain signed a deal with the eastern European nation in December last year
Earlier this year Mr Sunak set up a unified Small Boats Operational Command, bringing together the military, Border Force and the National Crime Agency, with more than 700 new staff working on intelligence-gathering on people traffickers and intercepting vessels in the Channel
The Prime Minister is expected to give a sobering reflection on immigration when he makes a speech this morning in Kent, a county on the frontline of the migrant crisis, with Dover a frequent landing point for inflatable boats crossing from France.
Net migration to the UK – both through legal and illegal routes – is estimated to have reached a record 606,000 in 2022, up 24 per cent from 488,000 in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The backlog in processing asylum cases that Mr Sunak promised to abolish this year stands at more than 150,000 cases after hitting record levels.
Mr Jenrick also defended asking asylum seekers to share hotel rooms as he sought to reduce the burden on taxpayers.
He said he did not think it was unreasonable to ask single men to occupy rooms together after a protest by migrants at a hotel in Pimlico, central London, last week. And he vowed to never put the interests of migrants above those of the British public.
Mr Jenrick told the BBC that officials asked the asylum seekers in Pimlico to share rooms to save money for the taxpayer where it was legal to do so.
He added: ‘Anyone who is genuinely destitute would, I think, accept that offer. They had nowhere to stay, we had offered them a safe bed with board and lodgings in a good-quality hotel in central London.’
The Home Office is currently using about 400 hotels to house asylum seekers as the backlog to process their claims soars, which is estimated to be costing the taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
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