Rupert Lowe
Main Page: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)Department Debates - View all Rupert Lowe's debates with the Leader of the House
(2 days ago)
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Lucy Powell
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are committed to the Young Futures programme, which, as she will know, is progressing well. I will ensure that the House is kept updated on it; that will give her a chance once again to praise the fantastic work of the youth club in her constituency.
Rupert Lowe (Great Yarmouth) (Ind)
Sincere condolences to the shadow Leader of the House on the loss of his father.
Mass deportation of illegal migrants and foreign criminals must be our ultimate policy objective. Will it be logistically straightforward? Absolutely not. Is it necessary? Absolutely, yes. It is mass deportations or a mass amnesty, and I choose deportations. Will the Leader of the House commit to a debate in Government time on how we can deport the numbers required on a rapid timescale that is acceptable to the British people, who reasonably expect our borders to be policed and the law to be upheld?
Lucy Powell
I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that these matters are not as simple as he might suggest. The Government are absolutely committed to protecting our borders. In fact, we have returned more illegal migrants than have been returned in recent years, and the number is going up and up. We have introduced the Border Security Command, which is already taking action at source, and we need to work internationally to ensure that people do not want to come here illegally in the first place. We must take a range of actions; presenting some false easy solution does not do the issue any good at all.