Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

8. What steps she is taking to fast-track the removal of Albanian migrants without a right to be in the UK.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)]

Over the last calendar year, I have overseen the enforced removal of more Albanian nationals than any other nationality. We regularly return Albanian criminals and immigration offenders to Albania via chartered flights, a process that is aided by the returns agreement that I have signed with the Albanian Government.

[Mr Hollobone]

Recent reports suggest that despite passing through many safe countries en route to the UK, when the very large numbers of Albanians who have been crossing the channel in small boats in recent weeks land on our shores, they claim not only asylum, but modern slavery protection. Does my right hon. Friend agree that now is the time to reform our modern slavery laws to prevent an increased abuse of our good will?

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He is correct that over the summer the majority of arrivals in small boats from France—about 60%—have been Albanian nationals. He will be delighted to hear about the work that I have led on reform of the national referral mechanism, a key component of the reforms to the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which has been committed to within this Session of Parliament.

English Channel Small Boats Incident

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

The answer is yes, there is a role. The Home Office has been tasked to look at private sector companies and support. In fact, I put the offer on the table to my French counterpart this morning, not for the first time, to have other contractors join the collective effort.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Against the background of British troops being sent to Poland to help to secure the border with Belarus, can the Home Secretary confirm and clarify the basis of her broad and generous offer to the French? Has she offered Border Force cutters to work close to shore off the French coast in conjunction with the French, and has she offered the deployment of British troops and UK police, if necessary under French command, to operate on French beaches?

[Priti Patel]

Yes, I have.

Channel Crossings in Small Boats

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Monday 22nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I am not going to provide any commentary at all in terms of other countries that we are negotiating with. It is for the Government to go away and do this work, which we are doing, and not to start speculating and creating false expectations around much of this work.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Crossing the English channel in an overcrowded flimsy boat has been described as the equivalent of a pedestrian trying to cross both carriageways of the M25 in rush hour. In terms of humanitarian safety alone, the Home Secretary asked for constructive suggestions. Surely it is not beyond the wit of man for us to have joint naval patrols with the French, so that if migrants are intercepted at sea they are landed not at Dover, but back in France?

Salisbury Incident 2018: Update

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point with his question. The fact of the matter is that those powers were introduced as a direct response to the Salisbury attack, as part of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, to enable the police to effectively stop, question, search and detain individuals. Those powers came in after the attack and there is no doubt that they would have made a difference at that particular time. The fact of the matter is that those powers are now being used in the way we have spoken about and to which I referred in my statement. On a day-to-day basis people are being stopped, detained and asked significant questions. As I said in my statement, we will look at everything—all measures—in terms of how we not only protect our border but prevent individuals with malign intent from coming to our country.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I commend the Home Secretary for her statement and the action that she and the Crown Prosecution Service have taken. To follow on from the previous question, state-sponsored terrorism in the UK cannot happen if state-sponsored terrorists are blocked from entry. This case was made worse because they were carrying poison. Regardless of any new powers, people travelling on false passports should not be allowed into the country. Is the Home Secretary confident that the requisite changes have been made at the passport entry desk to prevent GRU agents—they used to be known as the KGB—from coming into this country when they want, leaving when they want and doing all sorts of things that we do not want them to do in the United Kingdom?

[Priti Patel]

Yes. My hon. Friend raises an important and serious point about wider security and how we keep out those who should not come into our country. As I mentioned, the changes introduced in 2019 speak exactly to that, but not only that: they also speak not just to the primary control point at the border but to the level of information exchanged behind the scenes among intelligence agencies, law enforcement operatives and Border Force, way before individuals even come towards our country. Those significant changes have been made over a period of time.

UK Border: Covid Protections

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 26th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

The hon. Lady makes a very important point. First of all, I am not going to get into speculation around new measures and things of that nature. It is a tragic day, a sad day; it is a terrible, terrible, shocking reminder of how coronavirus has touched the lives of so many people. It is right, quite frankly, that all our measures are kept under review, and today’s figures are a sobering reminder of why we do that.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

This is a really miserable time for everybody involved in the travel industry. Yesterday, Hays Travel announced that it is going to close 89 of its 535 stores. At the moment, it is unclear whether that will impact on the four stores in Northamptonshire, including the shop in Kettering. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that if the Government tighten the border controls, they revisit the financial help available to the travel industry?

[Priti Patel]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I completely hear his comments. As I said, our operational partners and the people in the sector have had a torrid time. It is for my colleagues across Government to continue that work and dialogue. I should emphasise that dialogue always takes place with sectors and businesses. That is important, and it will absolutely continue.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Wednesday 15th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

How many UK nationals have joined, or attempted to join, Daesh in Syria and Iraq, and how many have been apprehended and prosecuted?

[Priti Patel]

I do not have that information to hand. I will investigate and see whether I can share that information with my hon. Friend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Priti Patel and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 2nd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I re-emphasise the point that I made earlier: child poverty under this Government is down by 300,000. Inequality is being tackled very effectively by this Government through what we are doing to raise living standards and tackle the country’s economic problems head on.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend remind the House of the amount by which personal tax-free allowances have been increased since 2010 to help protect household budgets in an era of sluggish wage growth?

[Priti Patel]

As my hon. Friend will know, we have increased tax allowances by thousands of pounds to the new figure of £10,500, which will take an extra 3.2 million people out of tax.