Brexit promise IGNORED! Fury at Rishi Sunak's immigration failure: 'Get a grip!'

Speaking on Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel this morning, ex-Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib said: “What we were told before Brexit is that we would take control of our borders.

“That we would have a skilled-based points-system which would allow us to ensure that only skilled people came into the UK.

“But actually what we’ve done is completely turn our backs on our domestic labour market, we’ve filled jobs with cheap labour from abroad, we’ve dumbed-down the skills required in order to qualify and we’ve got completely open-border Britain.

“This is not what people voted for in 2016, it’s not good for the economy short-term and it’s not good for the economy [in the] medium and long-term.”

A Red Wall MP added: “Net migration is far too high. We are not a country of the size that can add 600,000 to its population every year.”

A European Research Group source also told GB News: “Time and time again the issue of both the levels of legal and illegal migration has been one of the main issues on the doorstep right across the country.

“It is simple. We must stop promising and start delivering urgently before it comes back to bite us badly at the general election.”

Former Tory MEP David Campbell-Bannerman meanwhile warned: “It is vital for the Government to demonstrate delivery on reducing immigration - not just illegal and stopping the boats but addressing the huge level of immigration.”

Taking back control of British borders was one of the main electoral pillars which propelled the Vote Leave campaign to victory during the referendum on EU membership.

The Tory Party doubled-down on the pledge at the last general election by promising to bring overall numbers down.

Despite immigration almost immediately losing its political salience after the referendum, Sunak’s Government is now grappling with immigration on two fronts as both legal and illegal arrivals continue to soar.

Net migration stood at 606,000 in 2022, up from 488,000 in the previous year.

The number of asylum seekers embarking on the perilous 21-mile journey across the Channel has also already exceeded 20,000 this year, having totalled 45,755 in 2022.

High levels of legal and illegal migration have ensured the issue has returned to the political fore, with many voters identifying it as a key policy area.

Two-thirds of people across Great Britain are dissatisfied with the way the Government has been handling the issue.

The latest Immigration Attitudes Tracker revealed the figure is at its highest level since the survey began in 2015 and has jumped from a low of 41 per cent in 2020.

However, not all Brexiteers were quite as damning about the Prime Minister’s record, with some claiming turbulence in Ukraine and Afghanistan ultimately inflated the number of legal migrants arriving in the UK last year.

Wellingborough MP Peter Bone, who headed up the Grassroots Out campaign in 2016, told GB News: “The survey probably represents what my constituents are telling me on the doorstep but it is slightly nuanced because the war in Europe and Afghanistan has distorted the legal figures.”

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However, the former deputy Commons leader was keen to stress how addressing illegal Channel crossings remained extremely important for Sunak’s Tories.

“If we don’t get this right then it is going to be very difficult to win the next election,” he said.

“In my area and perhaps others further north, immigration is possibly the key issue and if we get it right we have a real chance of holding onto voters but if we don’t we can’t hold onto them.”

But Bone also expressed his support for the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill and described the impending Supreme Court case as “stalling” Sunak’s efforts.

He added: “It’s not fair to say the Government hasn’t done anything and Labour’s plan to have a return deal with France has been blown out of the water by the EU after they said there’s no way we are going to have a return policy with a non-EU country.”

Another leading Leave-voting Tory MP claimed: “Most MPs will confirm that migration is probably the number one national issue raised in the postbags and the Prime Minister himself has said that it is one of his top priorities.

“He is under no illusions that the issue has to be gripped and I do believe that his approach is correct but the issue of the ECHR must be addressed.”

A Sunak-supporting MP took aim at former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for not getting a grip of the crisis sooner.

They argued: “In general, the Government has put the correct policy platform in place but the problem is we should have addressed Channel crossings four years ago. I don’t blame Rishi Sunak, I blame Boris Johnson. Boris had the opportunity after 2019 to put in policies and react to the situation.”

Sunak committed to stopping the Channel crossing crisis after succeeding Liz Truss in Downing Street as he unveiled his five priorities.

The Prime Minister is convinced his plan, which includes the controversial Rwanda policy, will help address the issue.

However, Sunak conceded it is unlikely he can stop all boats from making the 21-mile journey.

He said last month: “I want it to be done as soon as possible but I also want to be honest with people that it is a complex problem, there is not one simple solution and that it can’t be solved overnight and I wouldn’t be being straight with people if I said that was possible.”

Sunak added: “I am not complacent. I never said this would be easy, I never said it could be fixed overnight.

“We are going to attack it from every angle and not stop until we are done.”

A Home Office spokesperson told GB News: “The Government remains committed to reducing overall net migration.

"Most importantly we are tackling illegal migration by stopping the boats and delivering control of our borders.

"We have taken action to reduce migration by removing the right for most international students to bring family members, while continuing to benefit from the skills and resources our economy needs.

“We will continue to strike the right balance between supporting the UK economy through skilled worker visas and upholding our commitment to reduce migration over time.”