Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

Debate between Sammy Wilson and Yvette Cooper

2nd reading
Monday 10th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

The purpose of this Bill is to pursue the criminal gangs who are undermining border security and putting lives at risk. That is the way the criminal gangs work, and that is why the Bill is so important. Unless we do that, any other measure we take in any direction will be undermined and will fail. The UK must always do its bit—it has always done its bit—alongside other countries to help those fleeing persecution. That is what we have done and continue to do for Afghanistan, for example. We also have to ensure that Governments, not gangs, choose who enters our country and that we prevent this criminal trade in people that is putting lives at risk.

The Bill will upgrade serious crime prevention orders, which are a potentially vital tool, but are currently underused. Under new interim serious crime prevention orders, the process will be streamlined, so that strict curbs can be placed on individuals suspected of involvement in organised immigration crime before they are prosecuted and convicted. That could mean, for example, restrictions placed on travel, social media access or the subject’s finances, so that early intervention can prevent dangerous action.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

The Home Secretary has outlined many of the measures she is taking to try to deal with the gangs, but the fact is that people come here because there are advantages in coming here. What is she doing to ensure that those advantages are removed, so that there is no incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom? Secondly, what role will Border Force have between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, since the Irish Republic is also a route for illegal immigrants to come to the United Kingdom?

[Yvette Cooper]

The right hon. Member will be aware that the common travel area has long been in place, and that means that arrangements have to be addressed differently. Part of the problem with the whole asylum and immigration system has been that issues around enforcement have just not been taken seriously enough for far too long. We have been clear that the rules need to be respected and enforced. That is why we have substantially increased the resources and staffing available for enforcement and returns. It is why we have had 19,000 people returned. It is why we have increased returns. For example, we have increased enforced returns by 24%. It is why we have also increased the illegal working raids by 38% just since the election. That is a substantial increase in the illegal working raids and arrests, because not enough action was being taken on illegal working and employers exploiting people. If we do not have that system of proper enforcement, people think it is just too easy to ignore the rules, to break the rules and to ignore the system, and that is what we have to turn around. There has to be some credibility underpinning the asylum and immigration system and some enforcement of the rules; frankly, there just has not been that for far too long.

We will introduce two new offences to criminalise the making, adapting, importing, supplying and offering to supply and the possession of a specified list of articles for use in serious crime. That includes templates for 3D-printed firearms, pill presses and vehicle concealment. We will introduce stronger powers to go after dangerous criminals—criminals who are planning to provide small boats, supplying small boats, putting lives at risk, undermining border security and organising serious crime.

Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Debate between Sammy Wilson and Yvette Cooper

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is right that this has to be about showing respect for victims and survivors; it cannot be about perpetuating misinformation online for the sake of clicks and audiences. We have a responsibility to make practical changes, and I hope we can stick to this House’s core tradition of sitting opposite each other, across the Dispatch Boxes and across the Chamber, to talk about what really matters to our constituents, rather than simply chasing headlines online.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

I welcome the measures that the Home Secretary has announced today on mandatory reporting, on grooming being an aggravating factor, and on the better use of data, but the fact remains that there is still widespread suspicion that there has been a cover-up because of the nature of these crimes and those who perpetrated them. Does she agree that there is a need for a national inquiry because it has been seen that the problem is wider than was originally envisaged, because there has been a disgraceful cover-up by public bodies, and because there are allegations that the CPS had a role in ensuring that people were not prosecuted? Rather than hiding behind the rhetoric that this is a far-right demand, does she not accept that this would be a reasonable response from a Government who say they want to deal with the problem and restore public confidence?

[Yvette Cooper]

The very reason why I and many of us called for an independent inquiry many years ago was because of the deep concern about the scale of the hidden abuse and about the total failure of institutions to respond. There were concerns about information being hidden, and about authorities not taking the action that was needed. That is why we called for an inquiry in the first place, and it is why the previous Government invested over £150 million in that inquiry over seven years.

The inquiry rightly included a two-year investigation into the grooming gangs and organised child exploitation, but further work needs to be done in local areas—I have mentioned Telford, and Oldham is now taking forward that work as well. Ultimately, this all goes back to the need for police investigations. The police are the ones who have the powers to get to the truth about the perpetrators who are committing crime, to gather the evidence, to get them before a court and to get them behind bars.

Migration and Border Security

Debate between Sammy Wilson and Yvette Cooper

Monday 2nd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is certainly right that the £700 million for four people is absolutely not good value for money at all. We will always make sure that we are looking for good value for money, as well as getting results.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

The previous Administration cannot, Pontius Pilate-like, wash their hands of this immigration mess that has placed intolerable burdens on mostly disadvantaged working-class communities, but the Government now have responsibility for this matter. They cannot pass it back again: they have responsibility. What I would like to hear from the Home Secretary today—despite what has happened since July, with 20,000 more immigrants coming into the United Kingdom, hotel places up and foreign criminals still waltzing through the courts claiming human rights to stop themselves being removed—is what she intends to do to remove the pull factor that encourages people to see Britain as an easy touch.

[Yvette Cooper]

One of the things we are doing is cracking down on illegal working and the exploitation by employers of people coming to the UK who are often not here lawfully and as a result are being exploited by employers. That has been too easy for employers to do for far too long. That is why we saw an increase of more than 30% in illegal working visits over the summer, a significant increase in the number of arrests as a result of those visits, and a consequent significant increase in penalties for employers. We will continue to take much stronger action, such as removing the ability to sponsor workers from any employer who is breaching important employment laws. We need to ensure that every bit of the system is being tackled and addressed, so that we can have a system that is fair and has public support.