Following the Prime Minister’s statement on the NATO summit and the meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asks the PM when his new policies to deal with illegal migration across the channel, and to return illegal migrants from this country, can be expected to start having an effect.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (North Cotswolds) (Con)
I too congratulate the Prime Minister on what was obviously a successful series of meetings last week. He has set out some of his new policies to deal with illegal migration across the channel, and to return illegal migrants from this country. In what sort of timescale could the British people reasonably expect his new policies to start having a real effect?
The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)
We have taken early measures, because the British people want to see an impact and a difference. They feel very much that in recent years there has been a loss of control of the borders. That is a matter of border security and, actually, national security. That is why we have acted quickly to begin the steps to set up the border security command. It is why we have already begun to put more staff in the returns unit, and taken a decision on the upstream work needed to reduce the likelihood of migration in the first place. They are early steps, and I am not going to put an arbitrary date on that, but I do understand the thrust of the question; this is an area of great importance, where British people want to see a material change in the situation.