In response to an increase in Albanians using tiny boats to enter Britain, MPs urged the government to step up their efforts to deport migrants to Rwanda.
According to numbers that have been leaked, migrants from the Nato member and EU aspirant nation in the Balkans now account for four out of every ten arrivals in northern France.
In the six weeks leading up to July 12, an increase saw 1,075 Albanians arrive in the UK on dinghies and small boats.
Overtaking all other nationalities, including Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis, and Syrians, they made up 37.5% of all migrants transported to the UK by gangs in small boats during that time.
The future prime minister was urged by Tory backbenchers to take quick action.
The majority of Albanians arriving in the UK in tiny boats, according to Natalie Elphicke, a Tory MP for Dover, are not seeking asylum because of conflict or persecution; rather, they are coming for economic reasons.
It is urgent to move through with Rwanda and similar plans since this is plain illegality.
The ‘really eye-opening’ statistics, according to Ipswich Tory MP Tom Hunt, ‘underline why it’s so vital that the Government gets on and launches the Rwanda scheme,’ and we need to put an end to this farce.
The first item on the “in tray” when Parliament reconvenes after the summer break should be legislation to implement the Rwanda plan.
A source in Liz Truss’ leadership campaign said: “Liz has a proposal to expand border force, make sure the European Convention on Human Rights works for Britain, and reform modern slavery rules that are being exploited.”
The need for deterrence is crucial, therefore we’ll make sure the migration deal with Rwanda is successful and strive to make more agreements.
‘It is utterly unacceptable that migrants from peaceful nations, like Albania, are seeking to enter the UK illegally,’ a spokeswoman for Rishi Sunak’s campaign said.
He said that blocking crossings would be a major priority for him.
The country is far further down the list of arrivals based on the number of Albanians who arrived by small boat over the course of a six-week period, according to the most recent government data.
In the first three months of this year, just 271 tiny boats arrived in Britain, and 757 did so over the entire 2021 period. But in the year leading up to March, Albanians filed close to 5,000 asylum requests, suggesting that an increasing number of people may be using small boats instead of other entryways into the UK, such as sneaking in under lorries.
The spike in Albanian asylum claimants yesterday night was unjustified, according to the Home Office.
If these people are not truly fleeing for their life, it is not the responsibility of the British public to support them, according to Richard Tice of Reform UK, who got the leaked study.
If the Albanian increase might be considered a “anomaly,” Clare Moseley of the refugee organisation Care4Calais questioned.
According to the data, the bulk of those who crossed the English Channel in recent years were real refugees, she claimed.
If there has been a change, it appears that the popularity of small boat crossings is having an impact on smugglers’ actions.
‘The growth in risky Channel crossings is unacceptable,’ a government spokeswoman said.
We have instituted life penalties for individuals who aid in unlawful entry into the country, and the Nationality and Borders Act makes it a crime to enter the UK with knowledge of doing so.