SIR Keir Starmer is under huge pressure to take a tougher line on immigration — as even his own MPs reckon his asylum shake-up is not enough.
The Prime Minister has been warned he will lose the next election unless the Government gets a grip on the Channel crisis — with one backbencher calling for a “national emergency” to shut down most asylum claims.
It came as Nigel Farage cranked things up with a blueprint that pledges a mass deportation blitz within 30 days of arrival at No10.
Last week, Home Office figures revealed that a record number of people have claimed asylum in the UK since Labour came to power.
Just over 111,000 made claims in the year to June — with 32,000 migrants currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels .
Even yesterday, migrants continued to board dinghies off the coast of France to attempt the dangerous Channel crossing.
Reform UK leader Mr Farage is today due to unveil plans to arrest all illegal arrivals on entry, detain them on disused military bases and deport them within a month.
Under the blueprint, the UK would leave the European Convention on Human Rights and scrap the Human Rights Act , replacing it with a new British Bill of Rights.
The hardline stance will be pitched directly against the package unveiled by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper at the weekend.
If the Government’s current measures don’t end the boat crossings, then we must go further and faster, including declaring a national emergency if necessary
Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: “The Reform plan will defeat the lawyers using human rights laws to stop deportations.
“Labour’s plans will still allow the lawyers to use the ECHR and human rights to stop removals.”
Ms Cooper promised to scrap the tribunal system and replace it with panels of “professionally trained adjudicators” to fast-track appeals and reduce the backlog of 51,000 cases, which each take an average of more than a year.
She insisted the “broken” process was leaving thousands of people in the system for years on end and vowed to substantially reduce the numbers in asylum hotels .
It comes after the High Court granted a temporary injunction that will force the Home Office to relocate around 138 male asylum seekers from a hotel in Epping, Essex , in a matter of days.
Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash told The Sun yesterday: “The British people expect our borders to be secure and they are rightly angry at the situation on our south coast.
“If the Government’s current measures don’t end the boat crossings, then we must go further and faster, including declaring a national emergency if necessary and closing our country to all asylum claims except for unaccompanied children.
“The message must be crystal clear — if you cross the Channel illegally, you will be detained and returned immediately. No loopholes, no delays, no excuses.”
Veteran Labour MP Graham Stringer echoed his comments, saying: “We need to persuade people who are coming here in the belief they will be allowed to stay and get priority in terms of housing and healthcare, that this won’t be the case.
“And if that means withdrawing from international treaties, then so be it.” He also warned: “It will be very difficult to win the next election if we don’t solve the problem of illegal immigrants being given the right to stay.
We need to make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to want to come to this country
Jo White, leader of Labour’s Red Wall Caucus
“We need a more fundamental look at how to tackle illegal migration than the Government is currently pursuing.”
Jo White, leader of Labour’s Red Wall Caucus, also urged tougher action, saying: “I want Yvette Cooper to look at every possible solution — and there are many more than just looking at how fast the appeal system is working.
“We need to make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to want to come to this country.”
She went on: “I firmly believe that if we don’t sort it, then Labour are under threat at the next election.
“So I want this Government to look at every solution possible. And I’m very, very keen that Britain does take a look at what (Denmark) is doing.”
Denmark has pursued some of the toughest asylum policies in Europe, including plans to process claims in third countries, tighter rules on residency and benefits, and measures aimed at discouraging new arrivals.
Surge in foreign national sex raps
MORE foreign nationals are being convicted of sexual offences than this time four years ago, data suggests.
They accounted for one in seven, or 14 per cent, of such convictions.
The figure has risen 62 per cent since 2021, according to Ministry of Justice data obtained by think tank the Centre for Migration Control.
By comparison, sex crime convictions by British nationals rose by 39.3 per cent for the same period.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This is yet more concerning data that shows mass, uncontrolled migration is fuelling serious crime. The Government needs to wake up, publish the full data and act to keep the public safe.”
Theft convictions by foreign nationals have risen by 77.9 per cent since 2021 — against 55.8 per cent for British nationals.
Robbery convictions by foreign nationals increased by 18.9 per cent, compared to 2.8 per cent by Brits.
The MoJ said the data should be treated with caution as an offender could have multiple nationalities listed, and one suspect could be responsible for multiple crimes.
Net migration hit a peak of 906,000 in 2023 under the Tory Government.
Foreign-born people make up 15 per cent of the population.
