Contributions
1,953 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationAgain, it is easy to criticise—it is easy to criticise ineffectually. Sadly, that is what I hear from Opposition Members far too often: no credible alternatives, just criticism.…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI assure my hon. Friend and the House that we are doing extensive work with France—I once again pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Immigration Minister—and it is working.…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI am wondering whether the microphones are working. There has been a tenfold increase in the pace of asylum processing this last year. We are increasing it. The things are not…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationMy understanding is that officials from my Department meet regularly on these issues. If there are specific cases, the hon. Member should please bring them to my attention.15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI am always delighted to meet my right hon. Friend. He will know, of course, that I am now in a position where I have to be careful about the commitments I make, certainly about…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationOnce again, the hon. Lady is asking me to comment on something in parallel to the things that I have set out. My commitment to her and the House is that we will focus on the…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI would caution the House against grasping for silver-bullet solutions. Sometimes, the most effective Government policy is just focus and graft. I assure the House that the Home…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI hear the point my hon. Friend makes about a powerful deterrent—we are absolutely committed to that—but I do say again that, in circumstances as challenging as this, there are…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI am not able to give certainty on timelines—I wish that I was—but my hon. Friend will know that I have a constituency interest in getting this right, as RAF Wethersfield in my…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationThe right hon. Gentleman tempts me to refer back to my previous role as Foreign Secretary. I can assure him and the House that a huge part of the work that is done by the Foreign,…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI thank the hon. Gentleman. I will take the opportunity to go back to my old school and get their congratulations directly at some point. Of course, I will let the hon. Gentleman…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI completely sympathise with the frustration that the hon. Lady’s constituent must feel, which is reflected in the frustration that I detect in the question. I remind her and the…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI can assure my right hon. Friend that as a thoughtful and proactive Department, the Home Office looked seriously at the range of potential outcomes from the judgment. I cannot…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI will absolutely take that idea on board. We want to do everything we can to make sure that this process is as quick and as smooth as possible.15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationMy hon. Friend makes a good point, and one of the few things that the former Leader of the Opposition and I share is a passion for Arsenal football club. Rwanda is a country that…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationFewer than 30,000. So, we are delivering on our commitment to work through that backlog of cases. It was one of the areas where we made a commitment, we are delivering on it, and…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationMembers have asked me the same question over and over again. I hate doing this, but I will refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave some moments ago.15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI shall quote a very wise woman, Giorgia Meloni—who was herself quoting an even wiser woman, Margaret Thatcher—by saying: this is a constant battle. In that battle, both…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationMy long-standing friend and predecessor is absolutely right. We will break the people-smuggling gangs. We will undermine their business model. We will pursue all the various…15 Nov 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationA friend of every country except their own, I think.15 Nov 2023