PM: 'RELENTLESS ACTION' IS STOPPING ILLEGAL MIGRATION

RISHI Sunak insists that his "relentless action" to drive down illegal migration is "working".

- Steph Spyro

He said Channel small boat arrivals have fallen year-on-year for the first time since current records began and vowed to "work day and night" to end the problem.

Defending the Government's record, the Prime Minister claimed the UK is defying trends across Europe as fewer migrants cross to Britain. He pledged: "I am determined to end the burden of illegal migration on the British people." Writing for this newspaper, Mr Sunak went on: "Express readers, and the wider British public, are reasonable, generous, hard-working people people who want to help the most vulnerable but also want to ensure we can support those already on our shores.

"But there is nothing reasonable or generous about allowing illegal migration. It risks lives, undermines our border security and places unacceptable pressures on our public services.

"We will ensure it is this Government, not people smuggling gangs, who decide who comes.

"The UK is defying trends across mainland Europe...by seeing small boat arrivals fall for the first time since this phenomenon began with arrivals down 36% year-onyear. That progress is the result of relentless action to tackle illegal migration over the past year." Government records yesterday showed that the 29,437 arrivals last year were more than a third lower than the record 45,774 in 2022.

Mr Sunak, who is expected to call a General Election later this year, said: "The Conservatives are the party committed to stopping the boats.

"Keir Starmer's only idea is to give back control of our borders to the European Union and let them send us 100,000 extra illegal migrants. That's the exact opposite of what the British people want.