Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood took a grilling this morning by MPs in the Home Affairs Committee over small boats crossings. She admitted there is no guarantee they will come down, even by next year…
Pressed by LibDem MP Ben Maguire on whether she expected the numbers to fall by this time next year, Mahmood said:
“Those numbers are obviously not where I want to be either. These are unacceptable and the numbers need to come down. What I would say is this is a fiendishly difficult problem to resolve. I would love to be in that position. I can’t guarantee I’m going to be in that position.”
Meanwhile, there was a 13% increase in crossings last year. Mahmood discovering the job is a little trickier than a few slogans and glitzy press releases…
