A scheme that would see migrants offered £3,000 to go to Rwanda is recognition that the Government’s policy has failed, according to Labour’s Shadow Education Minister Catherine McKinnell.
In a debate during PMQs Live on GB News, she said: “We've had 14 years of Conservative government and this is all about just hiding their border chaos.
“We've seen inadequate security checks, billions spent on asylum hotels, child refugees held completely inappropriately, and huge backlogs in the system. This is a recognition now, starting to try and pay people to take part in this scheme is a recognition that it has just failed.
“It's already cost £400 million and not one asylum seeker has actually been sent to Rwanda, it’s utter chaos. We do not support this plan.
“We think that they should be focused on going after these criminal gangs, getting a cross border police force, we need to focus on returns, we need to focus on clearing this backlog and ending this use of hotels, and throwing more and more money at the issue.”
During a discussion hosted by Political Editor Christopher Hope and Gloria De Piero, Environment Minister Robbie Moore responded: “Labour have no plan, because one of the ultimate things is stopping the boats and that involves having the ultimate deterrent which is what this is about.”
Asked about leaving the EHCR as part of the solution, he said: “I absolutely agree with what the Prime Minister has said and that is it’s unfair and completely inappropriate that any foreign court should have an ability to overrule what we're wanting to do as a sovereign state.
“The PM gave the answer very clearly at the dispatch box that no foreign court should be telling us what to do and I think that's true. I feel I think we need to look at everything in the round, but I'm taking the view that there should be no foreign court telling us as a sovereign state what we should be doing when it comes to this very issue that we need to resolve.”
Asked about legislation announced today to quash the convictions of sub-postmasters caught in the Horizon IT scandal, Moore said: “It's absolutely right that we've taken action and introducing the primary legislation today to quash all convictions that have previously happened. What happened to sub-postmasters was horrendous.
“All of us as MPs have had some sort of story within our own constituencies on how badly impacted and how they have been treated, not only by the Post Office, but the delay that's been associated with that. So it's right that this primary legislation is being introduced.
“There will be measurables associated with the amount of funds that can be drawn down, particularly for those that have been convicted. There is a figure that of 600,000 that has been introduced, but that will potentially be up for negotiation based on the primary legislation that's being introduced. And it's right that the Government are acting swiftly on this.”
Labour’s McKinnell responded: “I have to say, I wouldn't define this as acting swiftly. I think this has gone on for far too long.
“I think it's right that it's being addressed and we have taken this unprecedented step of passing legislation to quash these convictions and Labour absolutely supports it. But to be in this situation is very, very unsatisfactory. Clearly it's only going to go a tiny way towards really resituting the pain, the trauma, that these postmasters have been through.”
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