'Labour plan won't deter the small boats... it'll just open Britain's front door for more immigration'

SIR Keir Starmer's plan to axe Rwanda asylum-seeker flights will make Britain a magnet for illegal migrants, a minister has warned.

- Martyn Brown

Michael Tomlinson said ending the scheme to send those arriving here unlawfully to the East African nation would "throw open the front door" to rising immigration.

The Labour leader, who is open to processing asylum applications overseas, has previously dismissed the Rwanda plan as a "gimmick".

But Mr Tomlinson, the minister for countering illegal immigration, declared: "This policy is not a deterrent to stop the boats.

"It just throws open the front door to Britain, increasing immigration.

"The National Crime Agency says that only a deterrent will stop the boats. Rishi Sunak's Rwanda plan is a deterrent, it will stop the boats, but Labour have voted against it." Mr Tomlinson added: "While Labour want open borders, the Conservatives are taking the long-term decisions to bring illegal immigration down."

Offshore

Meanwhile, it was reported that Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Immigration minister Stephen Kinnock have been speaking to asylum experts in a bid to draw up an alternative proposal tackling small boats crossing the English Channel.