SUELLA Braverman hasn’t ruled out housing migrants on cruise ships as part of a major crackdown on small boats.
The Home Secretary told a committee of peers this morning all options are on the table for reducing migrant accommodation costs.
Suella Braverman didn’t rule out housing migrants on cruise ships today as she gave evidence to a Lords committee
Taxpayers are currently footing the £5m-a-day bill for hotels where illegal migrants wait months for their asylum claims to be processed.
The government wants to move migrants to holiday parks and student halls to lower the financial burden.
And today Ms Braverman confirmed cruise ships are also being considered as an accommodation option.
She said: “We want to end the use of hotels as quickly as possible because it’s an unacceptable cost to the taxpayer.
“We will bring forward a range of alternative sites, they will include disused holiday parks, former student halls – I should say we are looking at those sites – I wouldn’t say anything is confirmed yet.”
The Home Secretary added: “But we need to bring forward thousands of places, and when you talk about vessels, all I can say is… everything is still on the table and nothing is excluded.”
The comments come as the High Court ruled on Monday that government plans to deport migrants to Rwanda is legal.
The move marked a major victory for ministers who insist the policy is vital to stopping the small boats crisis in the Channel.
A cabal of left-wing organisations had mounted a legal battle to block the scheme – arguing the “authoritarian” East African country has appalling human rights.
But after months of wrangling, Lord Justice Lewis ruled: “The court has concluded that it is lawful for the Government to make arrangements for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than in the United Kingdom.”
Deportation flights and moving migrants out of hotels form part of a wider Home Office operation to finally stop small boats landing on Britain’s shores.
Earlier this month Rishi Sunak set out his five point plan for controlling Britain’s borders.
The plan includes tightening the definition of modern slavery to stop dodgy asylum claims getting through the system and forming a small boats operational command to hunt down evil people smugglers.
Ministers hope that by the end of next year the ballooning migrant casework backlog will be cleared.
More than 40,000 people have now waited between one and three years for a decision on their asylum claim, costing the taxpayer millions and clogging up the system.
This month the PM vowed to introduce new legislation after Christmas that will mean from next year anyone who enters the UK illegally won’t be able to stay.
