Contributions
1,438 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBorder Security, Asylum and Immigration BillMy hon. Friend is right. We inherited a system in total chaos; asylum decision making had all but ground to a halt. Many, many tens of thousands of people were left having claimed…12 May 2025HANSARDSyrian Asylum ClaimsWe wish Mr Speaker all the best on his extremely important visit to our parliamentary colleagues in Ukraine. Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office withdrew the…31 Mar 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsHard, tough cross-border policing takes time. [Interruption.] Conservative Members may laugh, but on a recent joint action day led by German and Belgian authorities, 500 German…31 Mar 2025HANSARDSyrian Asylum ClaimsWe do not comment on where hotels are, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that there are 216 hotels across the whole country. We will be getting those numbers down as quickly as we…31 Mar 2025HANSARDSyrian Asylum ClaimsI understand the heightened anxiety among Syrian asylum seekers, but the Home Office relies on the country information in order to make decisions on whether particular people need…31 Mar 2025HANSARDSyrian Asylum ClaimsSome 84,000 people crossed the channel from the day the Rwandan deal was signed to the day it was scrapped. The Conservatives failed to deter a single boat or deport a single…31 Mar 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs I said earlier, we are keeping under close review the pause in Syrian asylum applications. We cannot decide asylum applications against a country policy that is no longer…31 Mar 2025HANSARDPeople SmugglingMy hon. Friend is exactly right. These criminals are cross-national, very sophisticated and operate across borders. In order to respond properly, we have to do the same, and that…31 Mar 2025HANSARDPeople SmugglingThe Government are today playing host to law enforcement counterparts from across the globe to discuss our joint response to organised immigration crime. The UK is not only…31 Mar 2025HANSARDPeople SmugglingThe summit is dealing with source countries. We are looking at how we can co-operate with countries all the way along the routes used by smuggling gangs to ensure that the right…31 Mar 2025HANSARDPeople SmugglingWe have a duty to ensure that those arriving on our shores who claim asylum are properly processed. The Conservatives prevented themselves from doing that by becoming obsessed…31 Mar 2025HANSARDPeople SmugglingI agree strongly with my hon. Friend and that is why today’s immigration summit, where 40 countries will be co-operating and attending, is such an important event. Today we also…31 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsWe do not believe that it is sustainable to keep hotel use indefinitely, and we are working to close hotels.25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsAs the right hon. Member is aware, the Home Office discharges its statutory duty to provide accommodation and to support destitute asylum seekers through seven asylum…25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsI am not going to comment on leaks.25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsYes. Of course, we have to crack down on abuse of our asylum system, but also on the exploitation of vulnerable and desperate people by vicious criminal gangs.25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsWe inherited a system in chaos and a series of asylum contracts worth billions of pounds that were 10 years long, with a break clause in 2026, so we are looking seriously at what…25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsThe right hon. Gentleman says that Wethersfield is now getting more people, but it is still not holding the numbers that his Government planned for it to hold when it was opened,…25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsMr Deputy Speaker—sorry, Mr Speaker. I do not know why I am calling you Mr Deputy Speaker today; I have gone back a very long time to when you were, but that was so long ago that…25 Mar 2025HANSARDAsylum Hotels and Illegal Channel CrossingsThe right hon. Lady is talking about the prime contractor, which in this case is Clearsprings Ready Homes. As with the other two contractors, the break clauses are with it. We…25 Mar 2025