Labour Minister Refuses to Say How Many Will Be Returned Under One-In-One Out ‘Learning Exercise’ – Guido Fawkes

WATCH: Labour Minister Refuses to Say How Many Will Be Returned Under One-In-One Out ‘Learning Exercise’

Home Office minister Angela Eagle is this morning refusing to say when the one-in-one-out small boat returns deal will be operationalised. The scheme is only a pilot and is slated to return circa 50 small boat crossers per week. About 6% of crossers at the current rate – 3% of last week’s figure…

Eagle said the deal would be signed this week but refused to say what number the Home Office wants to be detained and sent back under the pilot, nor what figure was the government’s ambition in a year’s time. She began saying people “will be” before saying they will “possibly be” returned to France under the deal. Some nervousness from Labour after the French negotiated the figure down at the last minute in June/July…

On the timing of what she called a “learning exercise” Eagle said Yvette Cooper “will make that announcement in due course but it will be soon… work is ongoing very quickly.” 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year alone. Would’ve been nice if a deterrent was already in place by summer last year, something rhyming with ‘veranda’ comes to mind…