by Press Trust of IndiaBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday claimed his plan to “stop the boatloads” of illegal migrants arriving on UK shores is working as he called for them to be put on ships to ease pressure on taxpayer-funded hotels. announced the plan.
Addressing a news conference in the border town of Dover in Kent, Sunak said the first such vessel would be ready at the end of this month and two others would soon be ready to accommodate 1,000 migrants.
He pointed out that the landmark legislation, called the Illegal Migration Bill or Stop the Boats Bill, has cleared the House of Commons and gives his government the right to detain and deport migrants who have entered the country illegally. Will give
Sunak said, “I promised that we would get illegal immigrants out of hotels – and into alternative sites, including military facilities.”
“To ease pressure on local communities, we will also put people on ships. The first will arrive in Portland in the next fortnight. And we have secured two more today that will accommodate 1,000,” he said.
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New large sites will also open in Wethersfield and Scampton, where hundreds of migrants are expected to arrive over the next few months and will have the capacity to accommodate around 3,000 by the end of this year. Sunak said that in addition to adding alternative accommodation options, he is determined to make more efficient use of hotels.
“By asking people to share rooms, where it is appropriate to do so, we have found an additional 11,500 places which will save taxpayers an additional GBP 250 million a year. And I say to the migrants who are objecting: this is more than fair Sunak said in an apparent reference to reports that migrants protesting outside a central London hotel over the weekend were forced to share rooms.
“If you are coming here illegally, claiming asylum from death, torture, or persecution then you must be prepared to share a taxpayer-funded hotel room in central London,” he said.
Asylum system ‘overwhelmed’
The British Indian leader said the country’s asylum system is becoming “overwhelmed” with people traveling from safe countries, affecting the government’s ability to help those in greatest need and costing British taxpayers more money to house illegal immigrants. But this results in spending around 6 million GBP per day.
At the start of the year, Sunak had outlined “stop the boatload” among his five key priorities as prime minister, which included reducing inflation; booming economy; debt reduction; And reducing waiting lists in the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) is listed as his other four priorities.
“In the five months since launching the scheme, crossings are now 20 percent less than last year… But we are not complacent because we know smugglers are highly organized and if we let them, they will change their tactics. I will not rest till the boats are stopped,” Sunak said.
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He highlighted Migration Return Partnership Agreements signed with European countries, including France, Bulgaria and Albania, which are beginning to show results.