Small Boat Crossings
Debate between Ashley Fox and Angela Eagle(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Dame Angela Eagle
That is certainly the balance that this Government are aiming to achieve.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
The Minister has said that her policy to smash the criminal gangs will reduce the number of migrants crossing the channel. Can she give the House her estimation of when that policy will start to work?
Dame Angela Eagle
I said in an earlier answer that there are no magic wands in this area. Tough operational processing and international co-operation will begin to bear down on this, and work by the National Crime Agency and by prosecutorial authorities, often cross-border in different jurisdictions. The fact that we have made such a good start with international co-operation and the significant shift in attention here will bear down on this, but I will not stand at this Dispatch Box and pretend that there is an easy timeframe or answer for when that will have the effect that we all want it to have. We will bear down on it and we will make progress.