This morning at about 9am, 8 illegal entrants motored into Britain. This is the dinghy they arrived in. This is the reality of the small boats crossings.
Only when migrants and traffickers alike know that they will be stopped and returned will these journeys come to an end.
In all my years of helping people who are homeless, in cities like London and Manchester as well as my own local area in Dover and Deal, at no time, ever, has anyone said the answer lies in the removal of tents.
Today’s verdict is one that brings profound sorrow. It ends my 25 year marriage to the only man I have ever loved.
I would ask for some personal space and time to come to terms with the shocking events of the last 3 years.
I will not be commenting further.
Disgraceful that a national newspaper thinks it is okay to print something that they have been told is simply not true - I am hugely impressed by Home Secretary
@patel4witham
& the job she is doing
@observeruk
The Observer were told their article was factually incorrect this afternoon but refused to amend the piece or carry our statement.
This is categorically untrue. Mark Thomson made the decision to leave the Home Office before the current Home Secretary was appointed.
Boris Johnson has delivered Brexit, the vaccine, got us out of Covid first, led the way in backing Ukraine and is providing unparalleled support to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Boris Johnson delivers for the British people, time & again. Tonight, I will be backing Boris.
Vital that strong action is taken to combat the people traffickers’ illegal trade & put a stop to these dangerous journeys across the English Channel. The best way to stop these journeys is a UK/France agreement that anyone found in the Channel should be returned safely to France
Last year there were nearly 1900 small boat arrivals to the UK. In 2020 this needs to come to an end.
The best way to end these dangerous crossings is to ensure that anyone found in the English Channel is returned to the safety of France.
This is simply outrageous. People who are perfectly safe in France brazenly break into Britain day after day. First it was a few, then hundreds and now heading towards a thousand in a single day. The French just waving them through with a cheery Bon Voyage.
If the French won’t stop the small boats then we need to. By turning boats back, making returns and taking firm control of our borders. I fully support emergency legislation to do that, if that is needed. This needs a fresh approach urgently.
Illegal entrants should be returned to France - the best way to stop this is for migrants and traffickers to know they will not succeed.
During the pandemic public health must be the priority. If return is not possible, 14 days quarantine should be mandatory.
Boris Johnson was a great Prime Minister. He won a huge Parliamentary majority, delivered on Brexit, got us through Covid and led the World on Ukraine. I was proud to be elected as an MP as part of his landslide victory - and to welcome him to Dover and the White Cliffs.
The answer lies in building more homes - especially affordable homes - and providing accommodation, including support for those with complex needs. That’s what my Operation Homemaker programme is all about.
Strong debate in Parliament today on the small boats crossings. We can bring this to an end and I raised with the Immigration Compliance Minister the steps to make that happen.
Delighted to welcome the Prime Minister
@10DowningStreet
@BorisJohnson
to Dover today as the Royal Navy takes the lead on tackling the small boats crisis.
The
@conservatives
are delivering on the priorities of Dover & Deal.
Homelessness is complex and needs full support & specialist services.
We should always be there to lend a helping hand to people most in need - to provide more housing, life chances and opportunities.
That is what the future we seek to build should be all about.
The number of illegal entrants breaking into Britain is unacceptable. More action is needed to stop boats leaving French shores in the first place and turn them back to France.
This latest survey shows that there is overwhelming support to change the law on illegal migration.
Today’s brazen illegal crossings as we celebrate
#VEDay75
is another reminder why firm action is needed to stop the ruthless smuggling gangs & return boats to France.
This BBC investigation is truly shocking - both the blatant criminality & the ease with which people can get a bus from the migrant camps to the Dunkirk departure beaches.
I will be asking the Home Secretary to raise this urgently with France.
I have long said that the small boats crossings route will only come to an end when boats are stopped in France, turned round in the English Channel and illegal entrants returned.
Today I visited the Dover Food Bank with Scarlett Smith, where we put together parcels for people this Christmas time. Scarlett also handed in donations of food and toys for Christmas that she has been collecting.
I was so impressed with the vital work of the Dover Food Bank
Delighted to have been selected unanimously to fight my home seat of Dover & Deal tonight for
@Conservatives
to Get Brexit Done, deliver better healthcare and more jobs & money
A beautiful sunrise over the English Channel today - and border force are already busy this morning looking for boats of illegal entrants, after more crossings overnight.
Today in Parliament we will be discussing the problem of the small boat crossings.
At
#PMQs
today a very muddled and confused performance by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
A strong reminder that all the opposition offer is a Lib/Lab/SNP coalition of chaos that would take our country backwards on Brexit and break up the United Kingdom.
Having assessed both candidates & their plans, I believe that Liz Truss offers the most credible plan to stop illegal immigration.
Liz can be trusted to deliver on her promises and has the fortitude to tackle the small boats crisis.
#liz4leader
Incredibly disappointing to see French border control problems once again adding to traffic mayhem just as families are trying to getaway for the Easter holidays.
The facts are clear, Labour do not want to stop the boats.
Tonight, they have sided with criminal gangs and those who exploit our system and law.
Labour's plan on immigration revealed 👇
A real honour to have been appointed as a PPS to the Ministers of Housing, Communities and Local Government
@mhclg
. Looking forward to my first day supporting Ministers in the House of Commons for Housing questions.
I would like to thank everyone for their immense kindness throughout this difficult period.
Today I am back fully focused on serving the people of Dover & Deal and getting the best for our community. I was pleased to join PM Boris Johnson today on a Zoom call with colleagues.
That was a heartbreaking result to end
#Euro2020
but Gareth Southgate and his
@England
squad played like heroes. They have done the nation proud and deserve great credit 🏴
With illegal entrants in small dinghies now regularly landing on our beaches, I met with Kingsdown resident Mike to discuss the impact on our coastal villages.
It’s an unacceptable situation and vital that these small boats crossings are brought to an end.
Astonishing interview with Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary.
A reminder that Labour back fewer and weaker border controls when it comes to illegal arrivals on our shores.
A fresh approach is needed so that anyone picked up in the English Channel is returned to safety in France. That is the surest deterrent & also the compassionate thing to do as when people know that they will not succeed then they will not make these very dangerous crossings.
What a wonderful day’s canvassing, in glorious coastal sunshine. The number one issue on the doorsteps of Dover? - Get Brexit Done & move forward
@Conservatives
Today in Parliament asking the Home Secretary
@patel4witham
about action to stop illegal migration routes between Calais and Dover to protect those at risk from people trafficking gangs
This week I called for action to be taken on Dover’s roads.
Dover is becoming almost as famous for its traffic jams as for its White Cliffs, as reported in the Dover Express.
Raising Dover’s M20/A20 traffic queues at PMQs today. Setting out the need for roads investment along with tackling Brussels bureaucracy & red tape.
#KeepDoverClear
Labour leader’s latest relaunch completely ignored the small boats crisis. Here it is in numbers:
🛶 45,756 people
🛶 1,104 boats
🛶 £1.3 billion+ a year
Boats, what boats?
Another reminder Labour have time and again opposed action to tackle the Channel crossings.
If Labour’s only policy is to rely on the French, then they are not serious about stopping small boats, tackling criminality, protecting people from the smuggling gangs or saving lives in the Channel.
My article in the
@MailOnline
today calling for an end to the small boats crisis.
“Our border is our front door. No one has the right to walk in uninvited. That is why we have border controls - and why strong border security is vital.”
What’s needed is a step-change in approach with joint border patrols and a Channel-wide joint security zone.
It’s only when migrants and people smugglers alike know that they can’t succeed in crossing the Channel in a small boat that this crisis will come to an end.
Thanks for all the good wishes for my first day in the office. Straight to work
@UKParliament
dealing with urgent casework. If you need to contact me please email: Natalie.elphicke.mp
@parliament
.uk
This is a groundbreaking move that will provide the powers to do just that - turn round boats and stop them reaching our shores.
Only when migrants and traffickers alike know that they will not succeed in breaking into Britain will the small boats crisis come to an end.
Huge thanks to the voters of Dover & Deal for electing me to serve as the Member of Parliament. I will work tirelessly to get Brexit done, deliver better healthcare and more jobs & money for our area
#GE2019
Dominic Cummings has given a clear explanation of a family matter in difficult circumstances.
Let’s concentrate on the Roadmap to Recovery for our country.
We are sailing.
Lorries are now leaving from Dover.
@Port_of_Dover
will continue sailings on Christmas and Boxing Day to help with the backlog.
Huge thanks to all ferry, military & emergency crews who are making this happen.
Testing well underway, but will take days to clear.
This is devastating news for all P&O workers & their families.
It is a u-turn on assurances given to me and the RMT Union over the last two years.
It is shabby corporate behaviour by Dubai’s DP World and an insult to the decades of loyalty and hard work by Dover’s workforce.
Worrying reports of many small boat crossings overnight in dreadful winter conditions. Much has been done, it is clear there is more to do. More to do tackling the people traffickers behind this shocking trade in people.
Congratulations to Scarlett on her fundraising for Dover Food Bank. My thanks to Laura and the team for all they do. Please do support the Dover Food Bank if you can, and if you are able to volunteer, find out more at:
With a record number of people illegally crossing this year, all options need to be on the table.
But whether it’s the Navy or whoever, dinghies should be returned to France, and the French need to stop boats leaving French shores in the first place.
Immediate action must be taken to clear these hooligans from obstructing the
@Port_of_Dover
. There must be no repeat of the appalling and unacceptable scenes we saw on the M25. The law must be enforced without delay.
Hitting the ground running! Amazing reception for our
@Conservatives
team on the doorsteps of Deal & Walmer this morning. People saying they want to Get Brexit Done & move forward to build a brighter Britain & deliver even more for Dover & Deal.
There’s no compassion in allowing people to leave a very safe country (France) to make a dangerous journey in the hands of ruthless criminal gangs across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, where so many lives have already been lost.
A fresh policy is now needed: a new Cross Channel Agreement with France to stop the boats leaving and return those that do to the safety of the French coast. That should be David Cameron’s top foreign policy priority.
It is concerning that the half-term holiday getaway brings traffic chaos to Dover once more.
The ‘TAP’ road management system has caused overnight misery for two nights running for Dover’s Aycliffe residents.
Today also sees rat-running building up through Dover town.
I came across a discarded small boat on the beach in Dover earlier.
Many more illegal arrivals again today.
We must get a grip on the small boats crisis and stop boats like this arriving on our shores.
The deal announced with France today falls short of what’s needed. It doesn’t match the scale or urgency of the small boats crisis, or the increased risk of loss of life as Winter approaches.
Channel crossings put lives at risk in the hands of dangerous criminal gangs.
It is the compassionate, common sense and right thing to do to tackle these crossings and bring them to an end.
Ferries busy crossing the Channel on Christmas morning.
Special Christmas Wishes and thanks to the ferry & port crews, police, military and local government teams hard at work today clearing Dover town. Getting our area back and cleaned up will be a welcome Christmas present.
A protest in Dover in the middle of a pandemic is not a sensible or responsible thing to do. We cannot risk a second wave - protesters should stay away from Dover this weekend.
Police resources are better used fighting crime than policing political demonstrations.
This morning the sun rose over the English Channel leaving a rosy hue, lighting up container ships ambling along the international shipping lane, ferries are motoring to and from France, the roads are quiet and running well.
A good start to 2021.
#HAPPYNEWYEAR
The
#AmirKhanFoundation
have sponsored the building of a beautiful outdoor gym and playground for Ukrainian refugee orphan children in Poland.
It has been brilliant to join
@amirkingkhan
and the Project Maja/ AK Foundation teams on this very special project.
Putting an end to the small boat crossings will only happen when migrants and traffickers alike know that they won't succeed in breaking into Britain.
That’s why it’s essential that boats are stopped in France and illegal entrants returned.
It’s time to stop the small boats crossings but today’s protestors are not welcome in Dover. We don’t want them here. There’s no excuse for their disruption to trade and to our town.
More illegal small boat crossings reported today. It is essential that we put a stop to this appalling trafficking trade & protect vulnerable people from making these dangerous crossings across the English Channel
Today is the last day to vote!
@Conservatives
members - vote for Liz Truss.
From the cost of living to small boats and illegal immigration, it has to be
#liz4leader
Yet more illegal migrant crossings today. With Covid-19 known to be infecting the French camps it is concerning that 53 more were able to motor over from France this morning.
To steal a pet is a dreadful thing to do. Our cats and dogs are part of the family.
That’s why I’m strongly supporting new laws in Parliament to tackle pet abduction.
I’m working with the Southend MP
@Anna_Firth
to get these new laws onto the statute book
@UKParliament
I am deeply shocked by the incident in Dover today. I have spoken to the immigration minister about the situation. My thoughts are with everyone involved.
Caroline Flack’s tragic death highlights that the current ‘name & shame’ culture costs lives. It has no place in British justice. Most Brits think suspects should have privacy unless and until they are found guilty of a crime. This needs to change
Very welcome - only when traffickers & illegal migrants alike know that they will not succeed will these small boat crossings cease. Well done
@patel4witham
Since December I have been calling on the Home Secretary to ensure small boats are returned to France and that we put an end to these illegal small boat crossings organised by criminal gangs.
Ending the small boats crisis will be a key priority for Britain’s next Prime Minister. Looking at the current race from the Dover front line it’s clear to me that Penny Mordaunt has the most practical plan.
My article in
@thetimes
Red Box today
#PM4PM
Greatly welcome that
@patel4witham
is working with France to seek more small boat returns.
When traffickers and illegal migrants know they will not succeed and will be returned, they will stop trying to break into Britain.
Today there is an amendment before Parliament proposed by
@DianaJohnsonMP
to support people affected by the contaminated bloods scandal.
I hope the Government will accept it - but if not, I will support this amendment to ensure that fair compensation is swiftly received.
Delighted to welcome the Prime Minister
@RishiSunak
back to Dover today to deliver an update on progress to
#StopTheBoats
And to try out the special lectern