Channel Crossings in Small Boats Debate

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Department: Home Office

Channel Crossings in Small Boats

Suzanne Webb Excerpts
Monday 22nd November 2021

(3 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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In the interests of accuracy, 70% of people crossing are single men and they are economic migrants.

Suzanne Webb Portrait Suzanne Webb (Stourbridge) (Con)
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Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is the UK Government who are addressing the challenge of illegal immigration for the first time in decades, tackling the people smugglers, tackling illegal arrivals and removing those who should not be in our country, with a Bill that will protect those in genuine and immediate need, and that Opposition Members have perversely and repeatedly voted against?

Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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My hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head, because at the heart of the Bill is the simple principle that our immigration system should protect those in genuine need—people fleeing persecution and those in immediate need—and not act as a magnet for those living in safe places such as France and Belgium.