Labour responds to the Royal Navy's withdrawal from channel patrols

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to the Royal Navy's withdrawal from channel patrols, said:

“Yet another Conservative policy on channel crossings has completely unravelled while the number of lives put at risk in dangerous crossings is still rising. 

“Conservative Ministers have repeatedly chased headlines rather than doing the hard work to tackle the problem. The Navy was pulled into this because Home Office Ministers were already failing and this comes on top of damning reports into failings in the Home Office management of Border Force, as well as hundreds of millions of pounds wasted on the unworkable Rwanda scheme. 

“Labour has set out a serious alternative plan to fund a new cell in the National Crime Agency which will target the criminal gangs and prevent more lives being put at risk.”