Rishi Sunak latest news: UK to house 1,000 more asylum seekers on two new barges

Rishi Sunak has announced the Government has secured two new barges to house approximately 1,000 more asylum seekers as he claimed his plan to stop small boat crossings was “starting to work”.

The Prime Minister said the Government’s first asylum barge will arrive at its home in Portland Port, Dorset, in the next fortnight.

He then revealed the Government had secured two more barges as part of intensified efforts to stop using hotel rooms to house asylum seekers.

However, Mr Sunak would not be drawn on where the two new barges will be located. He said the Government will “wait to announce” the location and there will be “extensive engagement” with the relevant local communities.

Delivering an update on his pledge to stop the boats at a press conference in Dover, Kent, Mr Sunak said that Channel crossings “are now down 20 per cent compared to last year” but there was still a “long way to go”.

Mr Sunak said he “will not rest until the boats are stopped” as he argued the UK “cannot allow our generosity of spirit to be used as a weapon against us or against those who are being pushed to risk their lives in the Channel by criminal gangs”.

You can follow the latest updates below. 

04:00 PM

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03:56 PM

Hancock apologises over 'minor breach' of MPs' code of conduct

Former health secretary Matt Hancock said he was “happy” to apologise after being found to have “inadvertently” breached the MPs’ code of conduct (see the post below at 12.35).

The MP, who is currently sitting as an independent after being stripped of the Conservative whip, told the Commons he was grateful to be able to make his statement “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

He said: “In March, I wrote to the standards commissioner to give context to an investigation he was leading about actions taken in response to a Government call-to-arms during the pandemic.

“The commissioner found that in doing so, I inadvertently committed a minor breach of the House rule that forbids members from lobbying the commissioner or members of the committee over an investigation.

“The Committee On Standards found that I did not seek to break the rules, had no prospect of personal gain and acted without malice. However, they recommended that I apologise to the House and the commissioner for this minor breach and underline that respect for the code and the processes of investigating potential breaches of the code is an important and necessary part of the code. I’m happy to do so.”

03:19 PM

Boris Johnson challenges Michael Gove to 'accelerate' levelling up reforms

Boris Johnson has challenged Michael Gove to “accelerate” the Government’s levelling up plans and “push forward urgently” with efforts to spread prosperity across the whole of the UK.

Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Johnson told the Levelling Up Secretary: “Given that the UK is one of the most regionally imbalanced of all the major economies and given the massive potential that is waiting to be unleashed, is it not time to accelerate the Levelling Up Bill now stalled and push forward urgently with Northern Powerhouse Rail, planning reform, devolution, secure affordable supply, gigabit broadband, and all the other levelling up measures that will make this the strongest and most prosperous economy in Europe?”

Mr Gove replied: “Can I take this opportunity to thank my right honourable friend for the leadership that he showed on this issue. The Levelling Up White Paper would not have been published without his determination to ensure that at the heart of government are 12 clear missions, which will ensure that this country achieves its full potential.

“It was to my mind interesting that the Leader of the Opposition, as he currently is and will long remain, decided that the way in which he could endear himself to this country was to have five missions. As ever he had nothing like the same scale of ambition and vision as my right honourable friend when it came to making this country great.”

03:01 PM

Use of migrant barges a 'terrible idea and should be abandoned'

Sacha Deshmukh, the chief executive of human rights group Amnesty International UK, said the plan to use accommodation barges to house asylum seekers should be scrapped.

He said: “Like the use of former military barracks and reported plans to use decommissioned cruise ships, corralling large numbers of people onto giant barges is a terrible idea and should be abandoned.

“Confining people who’ve escaped terror, torture and other cruelty in locations which will inevitably lead to their social isolation is immoral and potentially unlawful.

“Like the deeply cruel Rwanda scheme, the giant barges project is being used to distract from the urgent need to fairly and efficiently decide people’s asylum claims, something this Government is still failing to do.”

02:39 PM

Rishi Sunak: 'There's more work to do but the plan is working'

02:13 PM

Yvette Cooper: 'Huge gap between Rishi Sunak’s rhetoric and the reality' on small boats

Yvette Cooper claimed there was a “huge gap” between what Rishi Sunak said about tackling the small boats crisis and what was actually happening on the ground.

The shadow home secretary told the BBC Radio 4 World At One programme: “I think there is a huge gap between Rishi Sunak’s rhetoric and the reality which shows that really the Conservatives still odn’t have a grip of the system.

“The asylum backlog the Prime Minister promised to clear is now at a record high, only one per cent of last year’s cases have had a decision, enforcement is still lower than before the pandemic.”

Ms Cooper said the Tories are “still making a mess of” clearing the asylum backlog.

01:59 PM

Lib Dems accuse ministers of 'cynical spin' over small boats

The Liberal Democrats accused the Government of “cynical spin” following the announcement by Rishi Sunak of two new barges to house 1,000 more asylum seekers (see the post below at 11.09).

Alistair Carmichael, the party’s home affairs spokesman, said: “Make no mistake, the Conservatives have broken our asylum system - despite the cynical spin we continue to see.

“The asylum backlog is still at a record high, with people waiting longer than ever before. Returns are still exceptionally low. The public need clarity and transparency from the Government on where these barges will be and how long they will stay there.

“The Government’s approach to asylum is immoral, ineffective and incredibly expensive for the taxpayer - and their awful small boats bill will be no different.”

01:04 PM

Starmer criticises Sunak for 'self-congratulatory pat on the back' on small boats

Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of giving itself a “self-congratulatory pat on the back” over small boat policies “that aren’t working” as he responded to Rishi Sunak’s press conference in Dover this morning.

Speaking during a visit to the Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, the Labour leader said: “We need to stop the boats. We’re clear we don’t want anyone making that dangerous journey.

“But all we’ve had from the Government is policies that aren’t working, then the reannouncement of the same policy, with a self-congratulatory pat on the back. It feels like groundhog day and it’s costing the taxpayer a fortune.”

Sir Keir said there was a “growing sense of frustration about the Government’s dither and delay”.

12:45 PM

Pictured: Starmer talks to workers at Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset

12:35 PM

Hancock breached Commons code of conduct by lobbying standards tsar

Former health secretary Matt Hancock is expected to apologise to Parliament for breaching the MPs’ code of conduct by attempting to influence the Commons standards tsar.

Mr Hancock committed the “minor breach” by writing an unsolicited letter to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg in defence of senior Tory Steve Brine, who was under investigation for an alleged breach of lobbying rules.

The Commons Committee on Standards said: “This was a minor breach of the Code; however, Mr Hancock has still not acknowledged his mistake.”

The committee recommended that Mr Hancock should make a personal statement to apologise to the House of Commons and the commissioner. He should also attend a “briefing on his obligations under the code with the commissioner”, the committee’s report said.

The committee said Mr Hancock did not set out to breach the rules, had no prospect of personal gain and did not act with malice by writing to the commissioner.

But it said the former Cabinet minister had displayed a “lack of attention to the rules” and “it is concerning that a member with this experience has not taken account of these provisions of the code”.

12:24 PM

Reader poll: Is Rishi Sunak measuring up to his five key pledges?

11:42 AM

'Other people will judge how well we are doing'

Rishi Sunak was asked what success would like on his pledge to stop the boats as he was challenged over his failure to set a firm deadline for delivering on the promise.

The Prime Minister told reporters in Dover: “On numbers, other people will judge how well we are doing. The purpose of today’s update is to give people a sense of progress and I believe there is reasons to be confident that our plan is working.

“We have been through the numbers, but it is not just the number of people coming that is coming down, we are making progress on hotels, we are making progress on getting the backlog down...”

11:29 AM

Rishi Sunak refuses to be drawn on where two new migrant barges will be located

Rishi Sunak was asked where the Government’s two new barges for asylum seekers will be located but he refused to be drawn.

The Prime Minister said the Government will “wait to announce where they are going to be” and that it was “really important” to reduce the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, something which is currently costing £6million a day.

Asked how much notice the local communities where the barges will be located will be given, Mr Sunak said there would be “extensive engagement”.

He said the announcement of the two new barges showed the Government was “putting in the hard yards” to tackle the migrant Channel crossings crisis.

11:13 AM

Rishi Sunak says Government 'not complacent' on tackling small boat crossings

Rishi Sunak said the UK cannot allow its “generosity of spirit to be used as a weapon against us” as he defended the Government’s small boats plans.

Speaking in Dover, Kent, the Prime Minister said: “I know these are tough measures and I make no apology for that. We cannot allow our generosty of spirit to be used as a weapon against us or against those who are being pushed to risk their lives in the Channel by criminal gangs.

“Our approach is working. For the first time crossings are down by 20 per cent. But we are not complacent. This won’t be solved overnight and people will continue to come this summer which is why it is so important that we change the law.”

11:09 AM

Government secures two more barges to house asylum seekers

Rishi Sunak said that arrests of illegal workers in the UK had “more than doubled” in recent months.

On the asylum backlog, the Prime Minister said that “numbers published today show that the initial decision legacy backlog is down by over 17,000 and we are on track to clear it entirely by the end of the year”.

Mr Sunak said the first asylum barge is due to arrive at Portland Port “in the next fortnight” and that the Government had today secured two more barges to house another 1,000 people.

11:05 AM

Rishi Sunak: Channel crossings down 20 per cent on last year

Rishi Sunak said the Government’s small boats plan is “starting to work”.

He said that there was still a “long way to go” but “in the five months since I launched the plan, crossings are now down 20 per cent compared to last year”.

“I will not rest until the boats are stopped,” he said.

11:04 AM

Rishi Sunak delivers update on small boats

Rishi Sunak is now on his feet in Dover, Kent as he delivers an update on the Government’s efforts to stop the boats.

The Prime Minister said he had been out in the Channel this morning and it had reinforced his view that the migrant Channel crossings crisis was “tragic” and also “profoundly unfair”.

10:50 AM

Reader poll: Are you happy with Rishi Sunak's progress on illegal migration so far?

10:42 AM

Labour government would 'hand over whatever is required' to Covid inquiry, says Starmer

A Labour government would “hand over whatever is required” to the official Covid inquiry, Sir Keir Starmer said this morning amid a legal standoff between the Government and the inquiry over the disclosure of evidence.

Sir Keir told broadcasters: “I’ll be very clear. If you had a Labour government, and we set up an inquiry of this importance, of course we would cooperate and hand over whatever is required by the chair of the inquiry.

“And I’ll tell you for why – because many people lost relatives in Covid, many people lost their jobs and their livelihoods and they deserve answers and so I’ll be very clear – we would hand over whatever is required by the chair and we would do it having a mind for those that lost so much during Covid.”

10:37 AM

Starmer: Sunak announcements on small boats 'like Groundhog Day'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Rishi Sunak promising measures to tackle small boat crossings was “like Groundhog Day”.

He told reporters in Somerset this morning: “I think everybody wants to make sure that we stop the boats, we don’t want people making that dangerous journey.

“All we’ve really had from the Government though is the announcement of a policy that doesn’t work and then the reannouncement of the same policy, essentially.

“It often feels, I think, like Groundhog Day and meanwhile that’s costing a fortune for the taxpayer and there’s this growing sense of frustration.”

10:19 AM

Lockdown benefits ‘a drop in the bucket compared to the costs’, landmark study finds

Lockdown saved as few as 1,700 lives in England and Wales in spring 2020, according to a landmark study which concludes the benefits of the policy were “a drop in the bucket compared to the staggering collateral costs” imposed.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University and Lund University examined almost 20,000 studies on measures taken to protect populations against Covid across the world.

Their findings suggest that lockdowns in response to the first wave of the pandemic, when compared with less strict policies adopted by the likes of Sweden, prevented as few as 1,700 deaths in England and Wales. In an average week there are around 11,000 deaths in England and Wales.

You can read the full story here.

09:58 AM

Starmer vows to increase supply of nuclear power in UK

Sir Keir Starmer is visiting a nuclear power plant in Somerset today to highlight what he claimed was the “shambolic” failure of the Conservatives to open any new sites during 13 years in power.

The Labour leader has vowed to “get Britain building” as he stressed the “critical” need for nuclear to drive growth, boost energy security and tackle the climate crisis.

Labour has claimed the Tories’ failure to open any of the 10 nuclear sites approved under the last Labour government has cost 7,000 British jobs. Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C were identified in 2009 but they are still not operational.

A Tory spokesman responded to the criticism by saying that “in 1997 the Labour Party cut the legs off Britain’s nuclear industry declaring ‘no new nuclear’, nationalising British Energy and handing our energy dependency to China and France”.

Sir Keir tweeted this morning: “The next Labour government will lower energy bills, create jobs, and increase Britain’s supply of secure, home-grown energy like nuclear. Only Labour will get Britain building and power our future.”

09:33 AM

Rishi Sunak: 'Illegal migration is fundamentally unfair'

09:26 AM

UK may not have to comply with European court injunctions blocking Rwanda flights

The UK may not be obliged to comply with European court injunctions blocking deportation flights to Rwanda, says a report by one of Britain’s top constitutional experts.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has no authority to make such injunctions because it was never granted such powers by the founding member countries, according to the report for the think tank Policy Exchange by Richard Ekins, professor of law and constitutional government at Oxford University.

Prof Ekins argues that Britain can legally refuse to comply with such interim measures, known as rule 39, because the ECHR has no authority to require the UK to do so.

You can read the full story here.

08:57 AM

Ex-minister: Government used WhatsApp to discuss coffee orders, not pandemic policy

The Government did not make big pandemic decisions via WhatsApp and most of the messages were about coffee orders, a former health minister said this morning.

Lord Bethell, who was a health minister between March 2020 and September 2021, was asked if he was concerned about the Covid inquiry potentially asking him to hand over his messages.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “Not really because most of the WhatsApp messages are about coffee and who needs to have what kind of coffee for what kind of meeting. Most of this is about frothy material, not about meaningful decision-making.”

Asked if he was saying that no discussions were held via WhatsApp, Lord Bethell said: “What I am saying is that the decision-making took place through the red box system with formal submissions by officials, minuted meetings between ministers and officials and an extremely well-organised Whitehall machine. There is no way that big decisions were taken over WhatsApp…”

His comments came amid an ongoing legal standoff between the Government and the inquiry over the disclosure of unredacted evidence.

08:33 AM

Rishi Sunak to hold press conference to provide update on small boats crackdown

Rishi Sunak is set to hold a press conference in Kent later this morning to provide an update on his priority to stop small boat Channel crossings.

The Prime Minister is expected to claim that the Government’s crackdown on illegal migration is starting to work, with figures understood to show Albanians now make up as few as one per cent of those crossing the Channel.

Mr Sunak will cite a sharp decline in the number of Albanians arriving as evidence that a tough stance on deportations will deter illegal migrants.

The numbers are down from around 30 per cent of Channel arrivals last year to one or two per cent in the first four months of this year.

It is understood that thousands of Albanians are being tracked down and targeted by Home Office immigration enforcement officers for deportation, although immigration minister Robert Jenrick admitted yesterday that the Government had so far only returned hundreds of Albanians who arrived in small boats.

You can read the full story here.

08:27 AM

Poll: Public thinks Government doing a bad job on Sunak’s priorities

Voters believe Rishi Sunak is doing a bad job in delivering on his five priorities, and think Sir Keir Starmer could do better, a new poll has found.

Mr Sunak set out five priorities at the start of the year, including halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting NHS waiting lists, reducing the national debt and stopping small boat crossings.

But five months later, a poll by Ipsos UK, carried out between May 26 and 30, found more than 50 per cent of people think the Government is doing a bad job on almost all those priorities.

Some 60 per cent said the Government was doing a bad job on easing the cost of living, with only 18 per cent saying it was doing a good job, and 62 per cent thought it was not delivering on reducing NHS waiting times.

On growing the economy, 50 per cent said the Government was doing a bad job. On each of Mr Sunak’s priorities, the public was more likely to think a Labour government could do a better job than the Tories.