Home secretary considers laws to end 'abuse' of UK immigration rules

Suella Braverman is looks at options as government’s Rwanda policy is challenged in courts

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Reuters

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman will call for the French to stop more boats crossing the English Channel and is considering laws to make it easier to deport people who come to the UK illegally.

At the Conservative Party Conference, Ms Braverman will promise to allow “the kind of immigration that grows our economy” but “end abuse of the rules”.

She is looking at new powers as the government’s policy on sending asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is challenged in the courts.

She will set out her intention to ensure that the UK’s policy on immigration cannot be derailed by modern slavery laws, the Human Rights Act or the European Court of Human Rights.

“It’s right that we extend the hand of friendship to those in genuine need," Ms Braverman will tell the conference in Birmingham, according to early released transcripts of her speech.

“This country has always done so. It did so for my father in the 1960s as a young man from Kenya.

"We have now welcomed hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Syria, Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Migrant crossings on the English Channel surge amid heatwave - in pictures

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel from northern Europe has reached record-breaking figures as people in Britain are experiencing an exceptionally hot summer. PA

A lady carries a toddler to a bus after a group of people thought to be migrants were brought in to Dover, Kent, on the south-east English coast. PA

A group of migrants are brought in to Ramsgate, Kent, on August 1 - the day on which almost 700 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in a single day, a record for the year so far. PA

It was only the second time in 2022 that the daily figure has topped 600. PA

A woman carries a newborn baby in a life cradle as she is brought in to Dover on a Border Force vessel in July. PA

About 3,683 migrants made the crossing on 90 boats in July, the highest monthly total this year. PA

A warehouse in Dover for boats used by people trying to cross the Channel. PA

Migrants hold up an inflatable boat before attempting to cross the Channel to Britain, near the northern French city of Gravelines, in July. AFP

A police officer stands guard on the beach at Dungeness, England, as migrants get off a lifeboat after they were picked up at sea in June. AFP

A group of people thought to be migrants walk up the beach after being brought in to Dungeness in May. AP

Migrants on the beach at Dungeness, after crossing the English Channel in an inflatable dinghy in January. Reuters

“At the same time, we should use our newfound control to deliver the kind of immigration that grows our economy, for example that helps projects that have stalled or builds relationships with our friends and allies.

“Parts of the system aren’t delivering. We need to end abuse of the rules and cut down on those numbers that aren’t meeting the needs of our economy.”

UK's first Rwanda deportation flight cancelled - video

Ms Braverman will pledge to increase efforts to stem the flow of people risking their lives to cross the Channel.

This includes trying to increase interceptions by the French, providing more British support and co-operation to tackle the criminal gangs responsible, and making use of the powers in the Nationality and Borders Act to prosecute those who enter the UK.

Rwanda prepares for refugees - video