Mark Francois accuses Labour of 'encouraging' illegal migration

Mark Francois said: "In the real world, the effect of this change is, it will be a pull factor. If you make it easier for people who get across the channel to claim asylum, if you make it quicker, if you speed that up, more people will be tempted to make a very perilous journey.

"And they're crossing the most congested shipping lane in the world. Tragically, a number of people, including children, have died mid Channel.

"But if word gets round that it'll be a lot quicker to get asylum status, more people will try and come.

"The Rwanda scheme was controversial. Some people liked the plan, some didn't. But it was one more plan than Labour have got. All this talk about smashing the gangs - well, the boats keep coming.

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"So, what this does is there will be more boats with more people on it, because they will take a chance and get a political asylum quicker than they otherwise would do.

"So the practical effect, not the Islington dinner party consequence, the practical effect is more people will come.

"We lost hundreds of British servicemen who were killed, thousands who were maimed with life changing injuries attempting to defend democracy in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, Afghanistan is now under the rule of the Taliban, who we fought for two decades.

"I don't think that it's right to criticise Britain for the fact that people are trying to get here from Afghanistan, when we spend so much blood and treasure trying to make that a democratic state.

"The Ministry of Justice's planned increase in legal aid funding has sparked fierce criticism from opposition figures.

Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice MP condemned the move as "left wing Government funding lefty lawyers to game the legal system."

"Those that come here illegally should not be allowed to remain in the country, for Labour to not only support this but fund it to the tune of millions makes a mockery of our already weak system," Tice added.

A Conservative Party spokesman called the decision "outrageous," saying Labour was "forking out extra cash for lawyers to represent asylum seekers, whilst hardworking taxpayers, pensioners, and businesses struggle to make ends meet."

Currently, lawyers receive a fixed fee of £413 for initial asylum claims and £52 an hour through appeals.

The government argues the increase is necessary as legal aid funding "hasn't kept up with inflation for years."

The asylum system is currently facing significant backlogs, with 62,891 claims awaiting outcomes at first-tier tribunal courts - more than double from the previous year.

Each appeal takes an average of 46 weeks to process, with tens of thousands of migrants left in limbo due to lawyer shortages.

Last year, 37,450 asylum seekers were unable to obtain publicly funded representation, compared to just 6,245 in 2020-21.