GOVERNMENT Minister Michael Tomlinson has paid tribute to Alexei Navalny - and says the blame for his death “lies firmly with Vladimir Putin”.
The Minister of State for Illegal Migration also said the Government had a “moral obligation” to stop boat crossings into the UK and said it was vital the Rwanda deal was allowed to work.
Reflecting on the Tories disastrous by-election results he also warned that a vote for Reform now represented a vote for Labour and would take Britain back to square one.
He told Camilla Tominey on GBNews: “May I say at the outset that Alexei Navalny was a courageous politician, somebody who stood up against Putin. If you think about it, if we think that politics is difficult in the West, how much harder was it for Navalny to be standing up to Putin? And obviously, my sympathy goes out to his wife and family and to all the Russian people. And I think the Foreign Secretary's been very clear on this, laying the blame firmly at Putin. He was absolutely right to do so.”
On the further sanctions Russia might not face he told Camilla Tominey: “Well, we've already seen, for example, since Russia's Ukraine invasion of Ukraine, there have been 1700 individuals and entities who have been sanctioned. We know that that has had an effect because Putin himself has accepted the difficulties that they have presented clearly, that is an option for the Foreign Secretary to look at.
“And I'm sure he'll have the time and the space to do that. But more broadly, I think you can see from our support for the people of Ukraine, you may have seen overnight, the extension of the Visa scheme for our Ukrainian friends who are over here seeking shelter and refuge in the United Kingdom. They now have the security and knowledge that they can be in the United Kingdom for a further 18 months. It was important to give them that certainty. And I think our broader support for Ukraine has been second to none.”
On his record for stopping the boats he told Camilla Tominey: “Well, let's look at last year. Boat crossings were down by 36% - 16,000 fewer people got in and made those dangerous crossings coming over. Of course, there is more to do. I was in France 48 hours ago seeing the work that was going on with our French counterparts, our French allies in this and it's a joint mission. It is a joint endeavour, stopping the boats between the French side the United Kingdom.
“There’s more that needs to be done. We have a moral imperative to make sure that we don't let people don't get on those boats for the last three months. We have seen fatalities in the channel. These people smugglers do not care if you're going to live or if you're going to die. They care about the bottom line. They care about profit. That's why the Rwanda scheme is so important. And we see that back in the House of Lords tomorrow. We need to get that on the statute book. We need to get this bill through the House of Commons and the House of Lords and we need to get those planes off the ground. And that's my mission.
Asked if he was confident the Bill was legally sound he told Camilla Tominey: “You wouldn't expect me to comment on legal advice, but what you would expect me to do is to say what I will do as Minister and what the Prime Minister has said he will do. The Prime Minister has been very clear that he will not let a foreign court block our Rwanda plan. I'm very clear that about the legislation in clause five. That's there in the statute. It says that it's for a Minister to decide and that is fundamental. That's why we ought to be on the statute book. And when that law is on the statute book, that's when decisions will be made and the planes will get off the ground.”
Reflecting on the Tories defeats in the by-elections last week he said: “There is no doubt that the by-election was set against a very difficult backdrop. One message that I have received from the by-election loud and clear, is that if you vote for Reform, you get Labour and you go back to square one with Labour. The message is loud and clear. A vote for Reform is going back to square one and you get Labour.”
