The government does wish to stop illegal immigration

The Home Secretary has consistently promised to curb illegal migration into the country and has consistently instructed her department to implement that policy. She has also according to the press made various proposals to officials to bring this about only to have them watered down, undermined or declared illegal by the courts. She has not been saying one thing to us and another in private as some contributors have alleged.

Frustrated by the lack of progress she is now instituting senior management change for the Immigration service and bringing forward stronger legislation at the same time. It is important that Parliament grants sufficient powers to stop the courts undermining official policy, and effective powers to deter illegals coming to us from safe countries in the EU.

The government is looking at other advanced democratic countries like Australia to see how they have better control over illegal movements.

216 Comments

  1. David Peddy
    July 5, 2021

    Totally agree Sir JR
    Would you care to post a comment about Labour’s proposed ‘Buy British’ policy ? Surely this makes sense and we should be doing it anyway

    Reply It’s what I’ve been recommending for a long time. Glad they are taking it up. EU rules are the main obstacle and need changing now we run things.They will need to oppose the NI Protocol if they mean it.

    1. DOM
      July 5, 2021

      Labour is playing politics with this issue. Wrapping themselves in our national flag is an attempt to conceal their hate for the UK and its indigenous population.

      Indeed Labour and to a lesser degree the Tories (act of defensiveness) now politicise any and every issue. Deceitful and cynical doesn’t even begin to describe Labour’s rancidity

      And the nation is known as the United Kingdom not Britain

      1. Everhopeful
        July 5, 2021

        Yep!
        I just saw one of them on TV.
        They’ll oust the tories on this one.
        And wait until they start “discovering” all the harms done by locking us in our houses!
        They’ll forget how they stopped Johnson from taking any other course.
        That would have taken a brave man!

      2. John O'Leary
        July 6, 2021

        No the United Kingdom is the state which is currently comprised of four ‘nations’, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    2. Nig l
      July 5, 2021

      Why are they not being changed? Is there momentum?

    3. Richard1
      July 5, 2021

      Sorry to go against the zeitgeist, but except where there are essential reasons of national security involved, I would like the govt to get the best possible value for taxpayers by sourcing the best products globally at the best prices. I think it was in 1978 when the window of the (Labour) PM’s British Leyland car fell in. Protectionism has never done us any favours.

      1. Mike Wilson
        July 5, 2021

        @Richard1

        I would like the govt to get the best possible value for taxpayers by sourcing the best products globally at the best prices.

        That’s great – as long as you take into account the actual costs. If you buy British but, for example, it is 20% more expensive than something sourced abroad – if you buy abroad the money leaves the UK and that is that. If you buy British, the money stays in the UK – tax is paid on the wages of the people who make it and, of course, they spend their wages in our economy (mostly). That, I would suggest, far outweighs most ‘ticket price’ savings.

    4. lifelogic
      July 5, 2021

      The government cannot even buy its blue passports in the UK! It also is bent on driving vital (but energy intensive) industries like iron & steel, cement, paper, food production, fracking and chemicals out of the UK with expensive energy, net zero lunacy and other misguided regulations.

      1. Nig l
        July 5, 2021

        Only the thousandth time you have mentioned this. Looks obsessive

        1. Dennis
          July 5, 2021

          Nig l – Not obsessive as he is aware that there might be new readers,

        2. Paul Cuthbertson
          July 5, 2021

          No, it is not obsessive, it is just endeavouring to get the message across to the thousands of dumb a – – s in this country, and there are many in all sectors.

      2. a-tracy
        July 5, 2021

        lifelogic, Passports – I wonder how much the government saves each year (less the taxation they lose from the British workforce tax and ni and the employer’s ni/100% SSP cover, the business rates from the British organisation previously making them, and the UK VAT)?

        Are they made faster? Does it speed up processing, what was the gain to the UK?

        1. Peter Parsons
          July 5, 2021

          They’re blue. Which isn’t a gain anyway as there was nothing stopping them from being blue before. Croatia issues blue passports.

          1. a-tracy
            July 6, 2021

            Peter it is you lefties fixated on the colour of the passport, I really don’t give a monkeys. I do want to know what saving we gained for the last two years though if you have those figures to hand?

        2. a-tracy
          July 5, 2021

          2/ found an article on the Guardian 2018
          “The Home Office said the decision to pick a preferred bidder in the tender would save taxpayers about ÂŁ120m over the five years of the contract.”
          Have we had the savings in the first two years as promised?

          “the Home Office said the choice of contractor would lead to the creation of about 70 jobs at Fareham in Hampshire and Heywood in Lancashire. One of Gemalto’s five current UK outposts is in Fareham.”
          Did they create the jobs in the UK promised?

          At the time Priti Patel called it “a national humiliation”, Priti have you checked May’s promised savings have been achieved?

        3. Mike Wilson
          July 5, 2021

          @a-tracy

          It would be wonderful if someone could get hold of the facts and figures and, taking into account the elements you mention, proving that outsourcing has COST us money.

          It makes my blood boil (a bit) every time I see a Dorset Council vehicle – or a police vehicle – that was made in the EU. Why can’t they buy good British made cars like Nissans or Toyotas.

          1. glen cullen
            July 5, 2021

            Agree – its tapayers money therefore it should be used to support UK industry

      3. DavidJ
        July 5, 2021

        +1

    5. Margaretbj
      July 5, 2021

      Takes us back to the days of Harold Wilson.We built from there and we can do it again.

    6. jon livesey
      July 5, 2021

      A Buy British policy is just wrong and bad economics. You should buy what is cheapest at your quality point, and if that is imported, it means that some other country has a natural advantage in producing that good.

      Protecting home industry with a policy of buying its products when they are not the cheapest and best will never increase their competitiveness, and if they re the cheapest and best, you don’t need this policy.

      1. glen cullen
        July 5, 2021

        The problem with historic government buy british was that it was industry that set the price and not government

      2. a-tracy
        July 6, 2021

        I agree Jon, but the government also has to account for the loss of taxes from a local paye UK workforce/uk corporation tax-paying company in the calculation because what the government buys in the UK with one hand it gets more than half back with the other.
        Whereas buying abroad the gross bill total sloshes out of the UK, so as long as it’s net cost to the exchequer we compare that is better because if the government keeps putting taxes up on UK businesses that aren’t on say Irish businesses then our employers/creators/manufacturers are at an automatic disadvantage at tender stage.

        Let’s just pause to think of the taxes and charges contributed by UK based employers which the government can discover from their annual accounts easily:
        PAYE creation charges all the software companies to make the UK digital for the governments benefit,
        Employer’s National Insurance, inc Class 1A
        Employer’s NEST
        Employer’s 100% Statutory Sick Pay bill
        Employer’s sick holiday pay
        Employers 8% Statutory Maternity/Paternity Pay bill
        Employer’s 100% maternity holiday pay
        Employer’s employment liability insurances + the tax element
        VAT 20%
        Business Rates
        Fuel and energy taxation

      3. Micky Taking
        July 6, 2021

        the problem with that logic is that countries with the raw materials or mass cheap working age population ought to always win out. Trying to stay ahead of technology or production methods being the only available route to survive is madness.
        Therefore buying and investing in the home market skills, and production/supply is the only way.
        Why do you think countries like Russia, China, N.Korea and even companies within the same country try to steal technology secrets?

    7. Rod
      July 5, 2021

      Too slow off the mark though. Months and months of illegal arrivals have ruined our culture and traditions and we are supposed to say and do nothing in response. It’s a complete degradation of duty.

      1. John Hatfield
        July 6, 2021

        dereliction?

    8. bill brown
      July 7, 2021

      Sir PR

      Opposing the NI Protocal is not going to help the NI peace process and the relationship to the Republic, so genrally a bad idea, you came up with for Labour

      1. Peter2
        July 7, 2021

        Both sides dislike it bill.
        Perhaps another agreement might be better for both sides of the existing border.

  2. Peter
    July 5, 2021

    ‘she is now instituting senior management change for the Immigration service and bringing forward stronger legislation at the same time’

    I am glad to hear this. Government is supposed to govern not civil servants.

    I think the courts might be in need of some new appointments and earlier retirements too.

    1. Nig l
      July 5, 2021

      Agree totally. And why are changes needed? Partly to put right the fragmented structure that Theresa May put in place. The senior management who have ‘failed’ don’t of course suffer any consequences. They will be re pastured so we will get more of the same somewhere else whist still paying executive level salaries.

      It must take a Herculean effort by Pritti Patel to force these changes through a not fit for purpose department, we have seen their pushback when actually asked to earn their keep. Well done her.

      Less impressive, no change there, the ‘useless Brandon Lewis continues to break HMGs promises, letting down our veterans.

      Thank you to Sir JR yesterday clarifying the vote on Overseas Aid. If it is done and dusted why is Johnson considering a u turn?

      Reply No idea and am not sure he is

      1. Everhopeful
        July 5, 2021

        I think he has mooted a reduction in the 0.7% already extorted.
        This has caused much angst among those MPs who love splashing OUR cash, including the former PM. (Remember her campaigning against new housing in her constituency!!)
        Soooo, ever steadfast in his decisions, Johnson is giving them a vote on it 
allegedly, apparently.

        And all because he is scared of the tories being called THE NASTY PARTY!!
        Oh Heaven forfend..how could that be? After all the joy they have brought to this nation.
        Take our money, lock us in, take more money, trash our jobs, take our cars and gas boilers, ruin our lives, inject us with
stuff, make us wear masks, drive our kids to distraction
.
        We’ll always love you!

    2. Andy
      July 5, 2021

      Of course they might. Because when the party of the minority you vote for doesn’t get its way it is helpful to have a pliant court which will do what you like.

      And that’s how you end up with a dictatorship.

      You wonder why people object to your dangerous nonsense?

      1. Ed M
        July 5, 2021

        ‘And that’s how you end up with a dictatorship’

        – you’re exaggerating considerably. What are you trying to achieve, exactly, by writing this?

        If this was Germany in the late 1920’s / early 1930’s, then fair enough. But it isn’t.

        1. Ed M
          July 5, 2021

          Tony Blair’s involvement in the Iraq War is easily the worst thing to have happened in British politics for decades (or more). Now that was a truly dangerous thing. Something to have strong views about.
          I believe in just war and our British armed forces. But Hans Blix was never given the full opportunity to check for WMD. And so Tony Blair involved the UK in a war that didn’t just have real consequences for people in this country but also for people in the Middle East and further afield.

          1. Ed M
            July 5, 2021

            Abortion legislation worse

          2. Mitchel
            July 6, 2021

            Moving NATO’s bases closer to the Russian border was easily the worst thing.And the worst effect of that is yet to come.

      2. Nig l
        July 5, 2021

        Of course they don’t that’s why you are in a frustrated minority.

      3. NickC
        July 5, 2021

        Andy, That’s the way our democratic system works – first past the post. Didn’t you know? It is not, of course, a dictatorship, and it is just childish to say so. If you don’t like it, you are free to vote for a party – like UKIP – which proposes to change it. Or set up your own.

      4. No Longer Anonymous
        July 5, 2021

        Migrant hostels for Beaconsfield.

    3. MiC
      July 5, 2021

      All that judges do is to analyse a position logically in the light of the LAW.

      They cannot just make it up.

      The law is set by such as the UN, the ICC, and so on.

      If you don’t like the law, then elect a government which will work internationally effectively to change it.

      You have chosen one which has moved this country some way towards pariah status, however.

      1. Peter
        July 5, 2021

        MiC,
        The law is subject to interpretation and that interpretation is increasingly political.

        In that respect we are now looking like other countries where, for example, it is crucial to get the right appointees to the Supreme Court so that government policy is not impeded.

        This may be for the lifetime of a particular appointee as well.

        What happens with senior civil servants is less transparent to the voting public.

        1. Dennis
          July 5, 2021

          What law is keeping Assange in jail? He can’t be extradited but the Americans are still trying, I hear on the BBC, in spite of the statement that when the extradition was blocked the US had 2 weeks to appeal – what happened there? What is the duration of an appeal, for ever until death?

          Is there no one here who can explain altho it appears no one here cares about Assange.

          There is no transparency here particularly from the media – the UK is looking more like N. Korea in this respect.

          1. Mitchel
            July 6, 2021

            A lot of people care about the fate of Assange.You don’t hear their voices for the very reasons you suggest.

          2. MiC
            July 6, 2021

            All very good questions indeed.

      2. beresford
        July 5, 2021

        And there was me thinking that our law was set by our Government, the same as any other country. Tsk!

      3. Mike Wilson
        July 5, 2021

        You have chosen one which has moved this country some way towards pariah status

        If only – it would be great to be a pariah.

    4. acorn
      July 5, 2021

      So which particular form of a totalitarian state do you favour? Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the phrase “all within the state, none outside the state, none against the state.” Which is the message that increasingly emanates from this site.

      1. NickC
        July 5, 2021

        Acorn, We voted to Leave but Remain civil servants and politicians would not implement what had been promised. One of the main policies of Leave was to control immigration. Remain complained about it – you can’t say you didn’t know. You may want to shut us up (which is itself totalitarian), but you won’t until we get what we voted for. And it wasn’t EU control of Northern Ireland and mass immigration. And if you think our votes are “totalitarian” you need a lie down.

    5. SM
      July 5, 2021

      Seconded.

  3. Mark B
    July 5, 2021

    Good morning.

    The Home Secretary has consistently promised to curb illegal migration into the country . . .

    Sir John, the Conservative Party, since it was elected in 2010, have been promising to curb both legal and illegal immigration into this country with zero effect.

    . . . undermined or declared illegal by the courts.

    The Courts only adjudicate on laws passed by Parliament. If Parliament pass into law treaty obligations which assist in MASS UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION, both legal and illegal, then it is Parliament and the Government that is to blame, not the Courts.

    I, and many here, has stated that we need to remove ourselves from various Treaties, especially those signed by one, Theresa May MP, that aid and assist in illegal immigration. Parliament must also seek to create offshore holding centres where illegals that do arrive can be accomodated in both safety and comfort. There they can wait out whether or not they can stay. We also need to slash what legal aid the lawyers get as it is they that are driving this for their own benefit. All this the government and the HS can do NOW and not sometime in the future. Until these and other measure are implemented I shall consider that neither the government or the HS are serious about this issue.

    1. Everhopeful
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    2. Shirley M
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    3. lifelogic
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    4. Narrow Shoulders
      July 5, 2021

      Offshore holding centres is the key, and these need to be in another country, preferably in Africa, outside the jurisdiction of our courts and bleating human rights lawyers

    5. J Bush
      July 5, 2021

      +1
      I agree, if they were serious they would have repealed that stupid treaty May signed us up to over a year ago.

      Also, if the HS is so adamant on reducing illegal immigration, why has she been allowing UK sea craft to pick them up in the Channel? Why not tow them back to French waters? And why has she agreed to them entering French waters to bring them here? Why has she made it an offence to film the illegals arriving here?

      No doubt our host will put me straight if I have got any of this wrong.

    6. lifelogic
      July 5, 2021

      “The Courts only adjudicate on laws passed by Parliament” well no not really Judges invent laws and ignore other laws all the time. The Human Rights act and the discrimination laws especially give then a ruse to overrule many laws thar judges do not like. They do this all the time.

      1. MiC
        July 5, 2021

        No, they don’t.

        1. Dennis
          July 5, 2021

          Mic – they do – you have forgotten that the judge sent Lord Haw Haw to his death illegally, and he knew it, as he was an American citizen and could not be tried for treason against the UK.

    7. Alan Jutson
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    8. Peter
      July 5, 2021

      Mark B,

      I sympathise with your statement that the government has had years to deliver with only promises and no results to show for it.

      However, it is true that lawyers and civil servants can take an obstructive view if they are so minded. The spider-broach woman and Brexit being one example.

      So I will give government a chance to – at last -rectify this.

      I would go further than you on offshore holding centres. I would only specify ‘safety’. ‘Comfort’ should not come into it.

      I would also reclassify illegals as ‘enemy aliens’ and allow the use of force to repel their vessels.

      1. acorn
        July 5, 2021

        Redwood Denialists/Conspiratory Theorists; should educate themselves, just a little bit. Have a read of the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2019-20; many of your immigration questions are answered there.

        One day, they will teach this stuff in schools and colleges and laissez faire neoliberal capitalism will be exposed as the ultimate con-trick on the little people it always has been.

        https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/902593/HO_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2019-20_FINAL.pdf

    9. forthurst
      July 5, 2021

      Of course it isn’t a good look for the Tory party when people arrive without documentation in the thousands, with assistance from Border Force, in order to claim asylum. It’s probably also true that the French are sick of these people creating lawless and squalid encampments in Northern France in order to get in dingies, attack lorry drivers and hide in vehicles. However, this evades the main issue which is that the Tory Party is in some cases funded by people whose quid quo pro is that the English continue to surrender their country in order to make us ever more multi-cultural. In his recent speech to the HoC, JR stated, “In the year to March 2020, the last for which we have official figures, 715,000 people came to live in our country”. That is what is a matter of far greater concern for the majority of people who were never asked and never requested their own country be invaded in these numbers. year on year.

      The Tory Party needs to do two things, firstly to obtain a consistent source of income from patriotic English people so that they are not reliant on any whose money comes with strings attached, and secondly, to ensure that our educational system is capable of producing the skilled people of all classes and with sufficient financial support for tertiary education that it did before other objectives were instituted.

      The housing situation for young people is dreadful and there is no quick fix because the Tory Party has simply imported too many people and created too much demand for limited resources.

    10. Timaction
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    11. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    12. Sharon
      July 5, 2021

      Mark B

      +1

    13. Stred
      July 5, 2021

      Passed without debate in parliament. All parties didn’t want to know and follow U N agendas.

    14. No Longer Anonymous
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    15. Original Richard
      July 5, 2021

      Mark B :

      Agreed.

      “Parliament must also seek to create offshore holding centres where illegals that do arrive can be accomodated in both safety and comfort.”

      This is the key.

      There is no point in longer sentences for the people smugglers as they are BEING PAID by the illegal migrants to get into the UK, who are often paying all the way from their home village/town.

      The illegal migrants need to be held in secure accommodation and not in 4 star hotels, given pocket money and the freedom to roam our streets until their asylum cases are assessed followed by deportation for those who fail.

      As you say, until these and other measure are implemented I shall consider that neither the government or the HS are serious about this issue.

    16. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      Mark B

      +1

  4. Everhopeful
    July 5, 2021

    It would have been better all round if the tories had listened to voters and stamped hard on Marxist infiltration when they were warned
and warned
and warned
..
    Strange though how the HS allows/encourages the arrest of peaceful demonstrators and now seeks to drastically hamper protest marches. ( Well, probably not ALL marches).
    The authority is discovered when it suits.
    But never against illegal immigration. Why not use an emergency power like they used to imprison us?
    IMO the govt. is feeble and helpless only when it chooses to be.
    And with ( I read 2000 a day ??) now coming in the HS had better actually DO something.

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Indeed, the government can harass and arrest peaceful demonstrators against the untargeted national lockdowns but kneel to BLM thugs, and pat CAGW hoaxers encouragingly. Government excuses are wearing thin, their sycophancy to the woke is nauseating, and their hypocrisy about lockdowns is excessive.

  5. Sea_Warrior
    July 5, 2021

    No, Sir John, it doesn’t. If I were PM, after a shock win by the Sea Warrior Party at the next GE, I would have my Home Secretary make a daily public statement, in the Commons or at the podium, on the dinghyist problem. He/she would have to indicate what percentage of them have been returned to either France or better, their country of origin, flown out of Manston. Until that glorious day, I’ll think that Patel is just incompetent. She should be out of her job.

    1. Peter
      July 5, 2021

      Sea_Warrior,

      Victor Orban could sort out our ‘dinghyist problem’ as you call it.

      He would soon put a stop other EU organisation nonsense too.

      Shame he is not in charge here. The current Polish government and the visegrad countries could give him a hand. Think what he could do with an economy the size of the U.K. instead of just Hungary.

    2. acorn
      July 5, 2021

      We have had ten Home Secretaries in the last twenty years. They have no idea how to be CEO of an organisation that operates through thirty seperate agencies; has 38,000 employees; spends ÂŁ18 billion a year; including on, seventy five senior civil service (SCS) staff that earn over ÂŁ100,000 a year.

      A here today gone tomorrow, buggins’ turn Home Secretary, isn’t exactly going to inspire such an organisation to fundamentally change anything that it knows it will have to change back again in a year or so, when the next Buggins turns up. We need a new management model.

    3. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      Sea_Warrior
      All well and good but, who do you put in her place? With such a large majority it’s does not seem un reasonable to change and pass laws to give her more power and also for her to sort out dramatically her department.

  6. Everhopeful
    July 5, 2021

    If emergency powers can be invoked to control covid then why not when the country is being invaded with the aid of people who should be stopping such things?
    A “castastrophic emergency” surely?
    And this govt. is sooooo good at whipping up terror!

    1. Mark B
      July 5, 2021

      If this was the summer of 1940 and people rolled up in boats on our shores without papers I think t it is fair to state that their treatment would not be kind. IYKWIM 😉

      1. Everhopeful
        July 5, 2021

        I think you are right! 😎

      2. glen cullen
        July 5, 2021

        That statement runs true right up to the late 80s

  7. BW
    July 5, 2021

    Stop people who have arrived illegally getting legal aid. That should stop the salivating lawyers waiting for them to arrive making spurious claims. Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with A British Bill of Rights which is linked to personal responsibility. Sue the French for their part in this and the cost to the UK. Remove the responsibility of the councils to house illegals. There is something in the word illegal. Stop calling them refugees. Good grief I can’t go fishing without s piece of paper or licence. Yet these economic migrants arrive with no paperwork no ID and are illegal and are welcomed with open arms with no consequences. No wonder they are coming and will keep coming. As they said in the film The Field of Dream, “If you build it they will come.” Well we certainly have built it.

    1. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      BW
      +1 Brilliant entry

  8. DOM
    July 5, 2021

    We appreciate that at some point in the distant past checks and balances of the British political and judicial system operated effectively with each component recognising the limits and primary remit of their respective roles. That arrangement no longer exists.

    When Labour crawled into power in 1997 on the back of a cynical and abusive ‘Free Lunch’ bribe they committed themselves to the destruction of the separation of powers with all areas of influence and power coming under the control of a same thinking, partial class of activist political animals. British judicial power now exists to carry out a political agenda rather than one dedicated to the upholding and protecting the fundamental principles of our once admired impartial, apolitical legal and judicial system

    Now judgements relating to ‘yooman rights’ and immigration are made to achieve a political objective. It’s almost as if judges enjoy provocation and contrariness.

    Reform at an atomic level is a necessity and depoliticising this pernicious client State is vital. This requires a PM with the will, desire and energy to confront this task. Johnson is not that politician. Indeed, he’s a barrier to reform

    I don’t see change at an level until either the Tory party embraces confrontation or we see the rise of a national party dedicated to destructive reform of the system that now appears to have control over all areas of life

  9. lifelogic
    July 5, 2021

    Well the Gov. certainly want to appear to be wanting to stop it not the same thing at all. They clearly have other more vital (as they see it) priorities like increasing taxes even further, mugging pension pots and pissing money down the drain on HS2, the net zero lunacy, COP26


    So the Queen has awarded the George Cross to the NHS. Perhaps if she used the NHS herself (she is is very wise not to with three year waits at her age) she would realise it is NHS patients, the 5 million+ now awaiting treatment, the people the NHS infected with covid & dumped into care homes, the ones they failed to treat and killed, the ones who cannot even get a GP appointment and the tax payers who fund this second or third rate healthcare system who really deserve the award! True some NHS workers are dedicated & saintly but the system and organisation is appalling it fails millions. An appalling system for such a wealthy country. Communist monopoly healthcare systems do not work any better than communism does.

    1. lifelogic
      July 5, 2021

      Priti Patel even seems to think that a legal smacking ban is more important than illegal immigration. Or perhaps she is just using this as a distraction or as a potential mitigation factor should she be accused of bullying again?

      I will believe the government wish to curb immigration when they actually do something real to do so. Politicians can only really ever be judged by their actions as these rarely concord with there words or promises. Sunak has already broken many manifesto tax promises, Boris has broken promises to Northern Ireland, doubtless they will break the state pension lock promise shortly and go into the next election with the highest taxes for 70 years. But claiming they are a “low tax at heart” party but very, very high taxes in reality and with dire public services too.

      1. Lifelogic
        July 5, 2021

        their words rather!

      2. turboterrier
        July 6, 2021

        Lifelogic
        Situation normal then?

    2. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Lifelogic, Exactly so. NHS management could not run a soviet era tractor factory. And its statistics are as believable.

  10. Shirley M
    July 5, 2021

    I will never understand why we are ‘obligated’ to give illegal immigrants more benefits than those already here. The costs of 4* hotels must be exhorbitant, plus all the other ‘essentials’.

    Why are we unable to deport ALL foreign criminals (especially violent criminals) from our shores? If the law does not allow it, then change the law!

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Shirley, Because, despite JR’s assurances, the government (as opposed to a few politicians) does not want to stem the flow of either illegal or legal migration. We are lied to by the Remains and the Wokes in government on a daily basis. That’s why the government has behavioural units to guide what we should think, rather than units to actually deliver the promises they perpetually make.

    2. Andy
      July 5, 2021

      Illegal immigrants are illegal. They get nothing. Asylum seekers are claiming asylum. It is not illegal to claim asylum. They also do not qualify for benefits.

      We can deport foreign criminals, providing we do so lawfully.

      1. Peter2
        July 5, 2021

        Wrong.

    3. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      Shirley M
      Exactly right Shirley.
      Kipper and his fillets will continue with all the double talk and do nothing as the don’t have the guts to hold the line and enforce real changes.

  11. DOM
    July 5, 2021

    As an aside.

    A big thanks to the Tory government and to Mr Redwood (assuming he voted for this amendment) for reforming this most important piece of corporate legislation. It has prevented the malicious actions directed towards a listed company that I hold shares in and saved many small shareholders considerable assets

    ‘The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill 2020 received royal assent on 25 June 2020, and was passed into law as the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 [“the Act”]. Alongside several other key updates, the Act introduced into the Companies Act 2006 (Part 26A) a new “cross-class cram down” arrangement and reconstruction process as an additional tool to rescue financially distressed companies [“Part 26A Plan”].

    This new restructuring tool is available to companies which have, or are likely to encounter, financial difficulties that are, or are likely to, affect their ability to carry on trading as a going concern.’

  12. BJC
    July 5, 2021

    Was it really only yesterday when I observed that, “Westminster has emasculated itself by elevating others to its level and I’m not convinced it has either the confidence or ability to invoke the relatively few key retained powers held exclusively by them. In my book, the UK Parliament has become little more than symbolic.”?

    If you empower others to work against you, they will, and once they smell blood they’ll overpower you…..and they’ll do it again and again and again.

  13. Richard1
    July 5, 2021

    It is of course heartening that so many people see such opportunities in the U.K. who would have thought, 5 years after Brexit that we would have 2x the number of EU citizens resident here, when we heard endless continuity remain nonsense about how there would be an exodus?

    But we must reject the notion that there is any such thing as a ‘refugee’ or an ‘asylum seeker’ who needs to smuggle themselves in from France, which is a safe, democratic country.

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Well, Richard, you could say that the migrants crossing the channel are escaping from the EU. And who wouldn’t? – apart from Andy, Martin, and co.

    2. Andy
      July 5, 2021

      There has been a huge exodus. What is already clear is that many of those who applied for settled status do not actually live here any more. But by getting settled status they effectively retain free movement for 5 years. Just like Agricola did when he made sure his rights were protected before he voted to remove rights from everybody else.

  14. Duyfken
    July 5, 2021

    I have no interest in assurances such as “The government does wish to stop illegal immigration” or “The government is looking at other advanced democratic countries like Australia …” or “she is now instituting senior management change for the Immigration service and bringing forward stronger legislation”. It concerns me not that the Home Secretary has been frustrated by the lack of progress, but it does concern me. I look for results, not assurances, and I find none.

    1. Jim Whitehead
      July 5, 2021

      Duyfken, +1, Without results the rest is worthless waffle, signature service of the many years of ineffectual Conservative government

  15. Andy
    July 5, 2021

    The problem is not solved by abolishing human rights laws, or by appointing a Clandestine Channel Threats
    Commander , or by sending people to Ascension Island, or by building detention camps in Rwanda. These are basically all bonkers ideas which are fitting for a ukipper like Priti Patel but are a nonsense to sensible people in a civilised country.

    The problem is solved through education. You educate old people that foreigners are not all bad and the problem goes away. Nobody young cares. They have grown up in a multicultural country and they really are not bothered.

    1. Peter2
      July 5, 2021

      Take a few into your big homes andy.
      You must have a few spare bedrooms.
      Set an example.

      1. bill brown
        July 6, 2021

        Peter 2,

        Another unnecessary remark, you can do better

        1. Peter2
          July 6, 2021

          Well I thought it was a very necessary remark bill.
          andy wants open borders and limitless numbers of new arrivals.
          He wants us all to be more accomodating and generous in our welcome.
          I just think he should set an example and open up his various properties to these people he says are in need.
          Do you see?

    2. formula57
      July 5, 2021

      @ Andy – I remain impressed that you know so much about the attitudes of the young – although when they make expression for themselves (as the did in the recent climate measures referendums in Switzerland, for example) they do not reflect so well the views you attribute to them.

    3. Sharon
      July 5, 2021

      Andy, I think you are missing the point. It’s not just old people who don’t like foreigners
 it’s all ages, including “some of these foreigners” who can see that our country is full. There are too many people coming in, in too large numbers, and a lot are not integrating.

      For the record, there are plenty of young people who care about our country – not just older people.

    4. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Andy, Foreigners are indeed not all bad. But that does not make it right that they should all be here.

      But don’t worry yourself so, the government isn’t really going to do anything about the excessive numbers anyway.

    5. beresford
      July 5, 2021

      And it doesn’t bother you that a major issue in the recent Batley and Spen by-election was the situation in Kashmir? I suppose that when they appoint their headman or whatever in Kashmir the result hangs on the state of the refuse collections in Batley and Spen.

    6. Mary M.
      July 5, 2021

      You are right, Andy. Education is key.

      Investing in educating people in situ in their own countries gives them opportunities to build and develop the infrastructure of communities where they are.

      ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’

      One of the saddest and indeed selfish aspects of luring the young to the UK is that the elderly are left behind, bereft of the joy of watching their children and grandchildren flourish.

    7. Martyn G
      July 5, 2021

      An interesting response, Andy. I presume therefore that you are quite happy with the thought that, more likely than not, your grandchildren as adults may well by then be a minority ethnic race in what was their own country? And ruled by their interpretation of sovereignty than that we have lived by for ages…..

    8. Mike Wilson
      July 5, 2021

      @Andy

      They have grown up in a multicultural country and they really are not bothered.

      Oooh, I think you will find they are bothered about housing and house prices. 85% of the apparently endless need for 300,000 new houses a year is because of immigration. And, of course, competition for jobs. No, you’re right – they LOVE it!

    9. Original Richard
      July 5, 2021

      Andy : “The problem is solved through education.”

      You’re right.

      The young need to be educated in the vast differences in population sizes between the UK and Africa and the ME and thus how just a small percentage of migrants from these parts of the World would enormously affect their jobs, wages, taxes, housing, schooling, health and social care, environment etc..

      You say the young aren’t bothered by living in a multicultural country but I would say they would not like to live under the rules and laws we see in Middle Eastern and African countries because no country can survive with two sets of cultures and hence laws.

  16. Narrow Shoulders
    July 5, 2021

    Having failed to take back control of our trading borders – solid legislation which protects us from the financial and capacity implications of illegal immigration is your governments next chance to make a difference as a result of Brexit by taking control of our people borders. You need to defeat the fifth column within though who do not feel that charity begins at home.

    Good to see you use the “im” prefix in your blog title Sir John even if you did revert to the politically acceptable “migration” noun. Let us not sugar coat the invasion.

  17. The PrangWizard of England
    July 5, 2021

    Still Talk, Talk, Talk. No action that we can see.

    Reported that another 100/200 crossed in ribs yesterday helped by the Border Farce subversives. If the Tory government had any real intention to stop illegals they would tow the crossing boats back to where they came from. But it has no intent, no courage and of course ‘Boris’, the talking empty barrel who just likes to hear his own voice couldn’t care less.

    What this piece says is government can’t govern, because of obstruction by Civil Servants and the legal establishment, who are acting on legislation authorised by government. Who’s fault is that?

    But it shows again government does not wish to protect us, just the mass of illegal immigrants. A thousand a week say, is 52,000 a year – an invasion.

    Looks better in the globalist world ‘Boris’ and his instructor likes to posture in. He can’t be bothered with details or adverse consequences of his posing. He knows we can do nothing as we don’t go in for ‘rough housing’, although if he were to be brought close to some he might see a bit of the real world.

  18. Ian Wragg
    July 5, 2021

    You haveno intention of curbing illegal immigration.
    You are signed up to the UN directive that no immigration is illegal .Treacherous May signed up before she left, no one has proposed cancelling it.
    Same with NI protocol.

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Ian, Yes, given that Boris was so politically dim that he could not see his way to sacking the total hypocrite Matt “Mr Lockdown” Hancock, he’s not actually going to stop immigration and rescue Northern Ireland.

    2. Everhopeful
      July 5, 2021

      Too true!
      She broke *ss to sign it.

    3. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      Ian Wragg

      Totally corrrect

  19. Old Albion
    July 5, 2021

    Some in Government may wish to control immigration. Unfortunately the Left, the Woke, the Human Rights lobby and the Fifth column amongst us do not. They all conspire to stop the Gov. from doing it’s job.
    Those that arrive illegally are just that, illegal. They have no rights within the UK. They arrive illegally to circumvent the asylum rules.

  20. Mike Wilson
    July 5, 2021

    EU rules are the main obstacle

    But, Mr. Redwood, I thought we had left the EU.

  21. David Magauran
    July 5, 2021

    I agree with Mark B. Offshore holding centres are what is required. The immigrants will see, if they are large ships, that there is no point in leaving French shores. If their applications are approved they can be brought to the UK. If disallowed they can stay offshore until they say where they have come from and be repatriated. The message will soon get home to their colleagues that there is no point in coming. We have our own homeless and destitute people here anyway.

    1. Mark B
      July 5, 2021

      If Sir John or any MP wishes to see the state of homelessness in the UK, all they have to do is cross Westminster Bridge or along the Victoria Embankment. Their they will see people living in tents within view of the Houses of Parliament. Where are those poor souls rights ? No Four Star Hotels for them.

      1. Everhopeful
        July 5, 2021

        Apparently a high up in a famous homeless charity said that homeless white people perpetuate structural racism and benefit from privilege because of the colour of their skin.
        Imagine how grateful the tent dwellers would be for a bed in an old army barracks!

    2. Shirley M
      July 5, 2021

      Agreed, an offshore ship would be ideal, also they tend to their own needs, ie. cooking cleaning, washing, etc. If they turn to arson they do the repairs themselves and no free hotel workers to ease their way.

  22. Micky Taking
    July 5, 2021

    ‘The government does wish to stop illegal immigration’.
    Well you could have fooled me!

    1. Lifelogic
      July 5, 2021

      +1

    2. Everhopeful
      July 5, 2021

      Moi aussi!

    3. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      +100

    4. No Longer Anonymous
      July 5, 2021

      Agreed.

      Even Sir John said that we should give start-up funding to new arrivals. What other country does this ???

      And doesn’t it occur to Sir John that is idea is what gives us the boat problem in the first place ?

      So, from that statement alone the government does NOT wish to halt immigration.

      I feel like a kid in a panto audience screaming “It’s behind yooooou !!!”

      It’s beyond insulting.

    5. Micky Taking
      July 5, 2021

      This could be a great subject for a debate at all Student Union meetings.

    6. Original Richard
      July 5, 2021

      Agreed.

  23. Kenneth
    July 5, 2021

    The government needs to get a grip. It has a reasonable majority.

    If it cannot control its civil servants then sack them. If the law is at fault then change it.

    1. Sharon
      July 5, 2021

      Kenneth

      I read somewhere, that MPs can’t sack Civil Service workers.

      I think there should be some sort of independent committee that MPs could refer a person to when they are refusing to follow government policy, and the committee could then deal with the issue.

      But the committee can’t be other Civil Servants
.it needs to be a bit jury like, or a civilian select committee.

    2. Original Richard
      July 5, 2021

      Agreed.

  24. Iain Moore
    July 5, 2021

    Agreed, our politicians are our worst enemy, they have in part facilitated this illegal migration in the virtue signalling obligations they have signed us up to, they are the people smugglers best friend.

    Over three 3-4 years ago I wrote to my then MP Claire Perry with the warning that they needed to make the Channel crossing a futile exercise or we would get inundated, and here we are. Next on the horizon is the collapse in Afghanistan with half that population probably seeking to decamp to here . They need to get these treaties off the books and limit the scope of the Human Rights Act, remove us as the destination of choice for illegal migrants, anything else is just fiddling around the edges, something the Human Rights lawyers and judges will ensure amounts to a row of beans . It is pretty obvious what needs to be done, I can only presume they don’t do it because they like how things are.

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      Iain, Spot on.

    2. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      Iain Moore

      +1 it will take real guts to enforce the changes.
      Sadly lacking I fear. Change required

  25. agricola
    July 5, 2021

    I get the impression that whatever the secretary of state decides, those that are there to implement it go their own way and the French are proving uncooperative in the Channel. Our Border Force should pick illegal immigrants up on humanitarian grounds and take them straight back to Calais. They depart France and should be returned to France. If the French wish to argue the point in court, so be it. The international law on refugees is clear.

    If our own law needs altering do so to the point where predatory lawyers can no longer make fortunes from delay.

    Somewhat off subject, but it illustrates the mixed and confused messages at our border. Yesterday I flew to Spain. Passport in order, electronic boarding pass in order, registration with the Spanish government in order. Evidential letter of double vaccination proof from my UK GP . I cannot be on the NHS website due to being a visitor to the UK. Arrive at very dormant Birmingham Airport and Ryanair refuse to accept my doctors certificate and force me to have a ÂŁ50 covid test before boarding saying that the Spanish authorities will not let me in without it. I had already told Spain what Injections I had had and they had emailed me their entry document. Test station set up at airport very helpful, test is negative so I board the plane for an uneventful flight to Alicante. Spanish authorities only wish to stamp my passport and see their own emailed document which they scan and I am on my way out of the airport. They have no interest in the document Ryanair insist upon.

    Question, what is this nonsense at Birmingham Airport which is entirely irrelevant for entry to Spain. For whom is it a nice little earner, HMG, the airport or the airliner. For sure it requires immediate investigation.

  26. formula57
    July 5, 2021

    “She has not been saying one thing to us and another in private …” – don’t say that for we will be forced to conclude Mrs. Patel is just not up to the job!

    Imagine if Operation Sealion had had access to rubber dinghies and Mrs. Patel was on our side!

    1. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      I’d like to see the hundreds of rubber dinghies given to the ‘sea cadets’ who could make proper use of them rather then rotting in some yard

  27. majorfrustration
    July 5, 2021

    and how long is that going to take? Sounds like more can kicking.

  28. Bryan Harris
    July 5, 2021

    The government does wish to stop illegal immigration

    Then why is it failing so miserably? It seems not to care.

    It actually goes out looking for those trying to cross the channel to bring here.

    It needs to stop relying on getting an agreement with France – they have no interest in the problem as long as we end up with it.

    It should give notice to the UN that it can no longer support the 2 UN treaties May signed that made this all worse by giving special privileges to immigrants, and stop encouraging illegals to come here.

    It’s not rocket science

    1. Nig l
      July 5, 2021

      As obviously an expert in international negotiations maybe you would advise us what Pritti Patel is doing wrong.

      I assume you are actively involved in what is going on.

      Or not. Easy from the arm chair!

      1. formula57
        July 5, 2021

        @ Nig 1 – surely Bryan Harris’s point is that it is the participation in international negotiations that is wrong for it is futile and hence Mrs. Patel, reposed in an arm chair or not, should not participate.

      2. NickC
        July 5, 2021

        Nig1, I don’t see why pointing out the obvious – that France has no interest in the problem – warrants your sarcasm about being an “international negotiations” expert? Anybody with real life experience of negotiating (and that’s most of us), plus the knowledge of Theresa May hobbling Priti Patel’s efforts, and observation of French attitudes, knows the government will fail. Again. We need to stop doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Bryan’s suggestions make sense.

      3. glen cullen
        July 5, 2021

        Textbook deflection reply witnessed many times on the likes of ‘facebook’, rather than presenting an argument for an alternative position

      4. Bryan Harris
        July 5, 2021

        I’m sure JR picked up enough hints from my comments to pass on..

        I won’t try to explain it to you, you just wouldn’t get it.

      5. beresford
        July 5, 2021

        Yes, we are all amateurs. So let’s place Tony Abbott in control of the situation and leave it to him. Remember the howls of rage from the immigration lobby when it looked like the Government were going to place him in a position of influence? Heavy flak means you’re over the target.

  29. a-tracy
    July 5, 2021

    “The Courts only adjudicate on laws passed by Parliament. If Parliament pass into law treaty obligations which assist in MASS UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION, both legal and illegal, then it is Parliament and the Government that is to blame, not the Courts.”

    I absolutely agree, you’ve had a majority for years now John, your government can implement emergency legislation when you choose to, we’ve watched you do it to remove all sorts of freedoms and put things into effect that none of us voted for.

    1. NickC
      July 5, 2021

      A-tracy, Yes.

    2. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      Spot On A-Tracy

  30. beresford
    July 5, 2021

    Many moons ago, the Home Secretary, one Theresa May, said of the Mediterranean migrant crisis ‘We must break the link between getting into a boat and being resettled in Europe’. These words of wisdom presumably preceded her conversion to globalism. Establish some offices in Europe where those who think they have genuine asylum claims can lodge them, then immediately deport any who arrive by irregular means in the same manner that Russia does. If they won’t reveal their home country, bribe an African country to take them, it will be cheaper in the long run. It also beggars belief that France can put its unwanted inhabitants in dinghies, escort them across the Channel, and then refuse to take them back.

  31. Alan Jutson
    July 5, 2021

    If you want to stop illegal immigration you have to stop the pull factor.
    Hold in a secure environment whilst they await return immediately, no holding for days, weeks, months, automatically banned from official entry for a period of years. (I would suggest 5 years)
    Finger prints and photographs taken for future reference.
    Do not waste time and taxpayers money on accommodation, legal aid, extensive interviews, etc, etc.

    That is the Australian model, and it seems to work.

    1. Timaction
      July 5, 2021

      What we are not being told is the legal position on their “Human Rights” or the law Boris signed up to with the ECHR as part of his oven ready turkey (Northern Ireland and fishing appears to have kicked him in his arse)? What about May signing up to the UN advisory Treaty on mass migration? So can we actually kick them out or do we need to revisit these treaties and legislation to change or reverse it Sir John? English taxpayers have had enough of this Governments inaction. If its tax raising or Covid restrictions = immediate action. Illegal immigration, kick the can down the road put them in 4*n accommodation, free health and dentistry, oh and have some pocket money and free legal aid to boot!

    2. DavidJ
      July 5, 2021

      +1

  32. glen cullen
    July 5, 2021

    We’ve been here so many times – we just don’t trust you

  33. MiC
    July 5, 2021

    It is not the actions of the Courts which have made Patel’s proposals illegal.

    It is the mere FACT of international and of other law, of which she seems unaware, and which the Courts have simply explained.

    1. Alan Jutson
      July 5, 2021

      Mic

      It would be helpful if you would please highlight the laws you outline.

  34. graham1946
    July 5, 2021

    Thanks for that reassurance, but why does everything take to damned long? By the time this thing goes through, if it does, it will be end year and likely yet another 20,000 arrived and put up in hotels at vast expense, whilst many people here struggle to pay bills, live on the streets etc. She may be ‘looking at what Australia did’ but that has been known for years and doesn’t need looking into – it works. Their ex PM told us exactly what to do, but is so far ignored, mostly presumably because Nigel Farage advocated it years ago, but you cannot possibly be seen to follow his advice, even if it is sensible. What are you going to do if and when it does go through? Where are the jails and the court time to deal with it all? What is happening to the tens of thousands already here. How many have been deported? Looks like window dressing to us plebs out here footing the bills.

    1. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      How many time have we seen pictures of illegal imigrants being taken off a aeroplane at the last second….stop all communication with deportee’s when they’re air-side…in fact once they leave the detention centre the deportation shouldn’t be stopped
      This government nor MPs don’t realise the unrest in the country due to this issue

      1. steve
        July 5, 2021

        “This government nor MPs don’t realise the unrest in the country due to this issue”

        Other principle issues also, Glen. Like NI and fishing.

        I find it staggering that Johnson and his government either don’t seem to realise we’ll be having them out, or they’re so arrogant as to think we don’t mean it.

        Call our bluff Johnson & see what happens.

    2. Fedupsoutherner
      July 5, 2021

      Thanks Graham. You’ve just said everything I was thinking but couldn’t be bothered to write as we all know what Johns saying today just won’t materialise.

    3. Timaction
      July 5, 2021

      Indeed it is window dressing. I have a copy letter from Priti Useless sent to me by my MP explaining the numbers she is going to deport etc etc. Legislation, Border Farce etc etc………….it is dated 29th July 2020. How many of the 700 she identified last year ready for deportation, has she deported?………answers on a post card. We are being fleeced and taken for a ride by this Hoe Secretary and Government.

  35. X-Tory
    July 5, 2021

    Sir John, the problem is – as I have said to you here before – that the Home Secretary wills the end but not the means. Yes, ideally she would like to reduce illegal immigration, but she is not willing to take the necessary action. As you yourself note, the Courts are a major obstacle, and have (for instance) prevented a number of deportations. There is only ONE solution: to resile from the ECHR (either in whole or in part) and to amend the UK’s own Human Rights Act so that people can be returned to their country of ORIGIN (not necessarily the country they came from, since France won’t accept them back) even if they claim their lives are in danger there . Is she willing to do this? NO.

    She isn’t even willing to insert a “notwithstanding” clause in the new legislation, to make clear that its provisions OVERRULE the UK’s human rights laws. In practice, therefore, everything Priti Useless is doing is just pointless window dressing which will have no effect. Why isn’t she instructing the Border Force to push boats back, instead of offfering a taxi service to the UK? Why doesn’t she make clear, in explicit language, that ALL asylum seekers are BOGUS, since they have passed through safe countries to get here? And why isn’t she going to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining ANY state money or services (including housing, education and medical treatment, for instance)?

    The problem, at the end of the day, is not the officials, or even the courts, but the lack of backbone in the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister.

    1. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      X-Tory

      +1 Exactly

  36. dixie
    July 5, 2021

    Good to here the Home Secretary is making some progress.
    The good work to remove the anti-UK and Pro-EU brigade must proceed “at pace”.

    1. MiC
      July 5, 2021

      So you want to “remove” up to fifty million of the UK’s sixty-seven million people, then?

      1. NickC
        July 5, 2021

        So you want to “remove” the choice of up to fifty two million of the UK’s sixty-eight million people, then?

      2. Peter2
        July 5, 2021

        Ridiculous comment MiC
        Do the maths.

      3. steve
        July 5, 2021

        MiC

        It is reckoned that the indigenous polulation is about 52 million. This should be telling you we have been full up for far too long.

      4. dixie
        July 6, 2021

        @MiC – nincompoop
        I want those misusing their positions of power and authority, at any level, to damage the UK to the benefit the EU, or anyone else, to lose those positions without fear or favour.
        The messier and more public it is the better – loss of pension, loss of honours, barring from public life, the works. In short their disgraceful acts, aka “Misconduct in public office”, should result in their public disgrace. And no past EU “protections” should have any validity whatsoever.
        There need to be real consequences, no more promotion or ennobling them out of the way, the penalties for screwing our country for the betterment of another need to be significant, meaningful, punitive and public.

    2. steve
      July 5, 2021

      Dixie

      “The good work to remove the anti-UK and Pro-EU brigade must proceed “at pace”. ”

      It won’t happen the way you think.

      More likely those you cite won’t be satisfied until they’ve caused history to repeat itself, then they’ll quickly come to realise net curtains & multi coloured bobble hats are’nt going to save them.

      1. dixie
        July 6, 2021

        @Steve
        I have no illusions nor any doubt the vermin will continue to wreak damage to us as they have for the last 5 years and before. The first step though is to having the will to make the change and taking the first action, after that things start changing – especially if you pick the right first candidate.
        Part of the process must be to hold those who have been actively operating against our interests to be publically outed.

  37. Arthur Wrightiss
    July 5, 2021

    We are looking into this issue….We are considering this…We are changing personnel to look at the possibility of perhaps doing something, maybe…etc etc.
    I never hear …We are taking immediate action…Strong and effective action will be taken as from tomorrow morning… Thank goodness British business isn’t conducted in the same useless manner.

  38. Nig l
    July 5, 2021

    Ps. I am getting fed up with bloody experts constantly battering Boris to keep us in this dystopian dark ages for ever delighting in trashing our freedoms.

    I have been vaccinated and like every one I know I have avoided the thing through common sense, following the rules and have even been twice to the alleged fever ridden waste lands of Portugal.

    Please ask him to tell these nannying control freaks to eff off and allow us to exercise personal responsibility.

    1. Ed M
      July 5, 2021

      We’re nearly there.
      That we’re here at all is in large part thanks to the scientists who have created these jabs in record time. And thanks also to those political leaders who rolled out the jabs in UK so quickly.

    2. Mark B
      July 6, 2021

      You can have jam tomorrow, but not today. Ad nauseum.

  39. Mark Thomas
    July 5, 2021

    Sir John,
    It sounds like the Home Secretary has at last been taking advice from Tony Abbott.
    In my opinion none of these illegal arrivals should be allowed to set foot on dry land. They should be held and processed on redundant cruise ships converted into detention centres. If the choice is either remain onboard or return from whence you came, there might be quite a few keen to return to France.

  40. Remington Norman
    July 5, 2021

    Too little, far too late. The govt has had over a year to reduce immigration , legal and illegal, but has done nothing. We pay the French to stop illegals and then use the RN to escort them to the UK where they are put up in 4* hotels, fed and given medical care. Contrast with UK citizens returning who are imprisoned at their own vast expense, fed poor food and treated like criminals. This govt is inept and a disgrace.

    1. No Longer Anonymous
      July 5, 2021

      Beyond belief, isn’t it.

  41. Fedupsoutherner
    July 5, 2021

    This post deserves no comment as we all know nothing will happen. We have a rudderless country at the moment.

    1. turboterrier
      July 6, 2021

      F U S
      Not only rudderless but gutless as well.

    2. Micky Taking
      July 6, 2021

      The people may not have a hand on the rudder, but there are hands there and we are heading to go over the waterfall.

  42. DavidJ
    July 5, 2021

    “The government does wish to stop illegal immigration”

    Where is the evidence to support that? Everything points to the opposite, especially their subservience to the policies of the UN.

    1. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      Excellent point…where is the evidence

  43. Denis Cooper
    July 5, 2021

    Of topic, can you believe this rubbish in the Independent, about the Irish protocol?

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-deal-uk-ireland-johnson-b1878160.html

    “The EU has proposed solutions to the problems, such as a veterinary agreement which would reduce some checks. The UK however says aligning with EU standards would somehow breach its sovereignty, and is worried about its impact on the ability to do trade deals.”

    The derisive words “The UK however says aligning with EU standards would somehow breach its sovereignty” speaks volumes about the disloyal attitude of journalists on that newspaper.

  44. Mike Wilson
    July 5, 2021

    I am happy to report I no longer pay tax so do not fund the government’s program of mass legal, and illegal, immigration.

    For Mr. Redwood to try to kid us that his government is against mass immigration must surely be a joke or, to use the common vernacular, a ‘piss take’.

    I wonder if you can type this with a straight face. Fair play to you if you can.

    The facts – the levels of both legal and illegal immigration over the last 11 years PROVE your government’s policy is mass immigration. Be honest for once, you allow it to get GDP up in the short term – and hang the housing crisis, the effect on wages, the pressure on public services etc. Just one I’d like to hear you admit the truth about the policy.

  45. Helen Smith
    July 5, 2021

    How hard can it be? They are breaking into the country illegally, collect them from the unsafe craft, finger print and DNA them, let them know if they are caught in the U.K. the. They will face charges, sink the craft and ferry them back to France, job done.

  46. NotA#
    July 5, 2021

    Received today – the following.

    GMB LONDON CALL ON GOVERNMENT FOR 50% HIKE TO ÂŁ15 PER WEEK IN GREEN TAXES TO BE OFFSET WITH EQUIVALENT CUT IN INCOME TAXES FOR ALL WORKERS EXCEPT THOSE ON HIGH PAY

    A moment of truth is approaching – so fairness in taxes and a UK supply chain have to be fundamental in paying for the transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 says GMB London

    You have to laugh ‘fairness in taxes’ as long as those that already pay more an equitable amount pay even more

  47. bill brown
    July 5, 2021

    Sir JR,

    There is probably a reason why the courts have overturned decisions by a relatively incompetent Home Office and of course , we should not welcome economic refugees from other European countries.
    But we do have a rather bad reputation in how we treat immigrants and refugees (just look at Jamaica in the past, Windrush)

    However, of course legislation should reflect the current circumstances , but talking about the Australian model , which breaks all human rights might not be the best way forward. (UN for refugees and Amnesty International)

    1. Peter2
      July 5, 2021

      So basically bill you want open borders.

      1. bill brown
        July 6, 2021

        Peter 2

        that is entirely your own conclusion on what I have written and since you know so much, I will not comment

        1. Peter2
          July 6, 2021

          I will take that as a yes bill.

          1. bill brown
            July 7, 2021

            and I did not answer your question so take it as you wish being so bright

          2. Peter2
            July 7, 2021

            Don’t be so shy bill.
            State your opinions.

  48. Paul Cuthbertson
    July 5, 2021

    I personally like PP but she is deliberately blocked on everything she endeavours to achieve. Just by perusing the comments regarding the article, the majority do not understand that the government do not run the show. The UK Establishment control and orchestrate everything and have done for decades. Wake up people.

    1. Mark B
      July 6, 2021

      Paul

      I have always known and stated that the UK Establishment is the problem. But the UK Establishment do not make the law, Parliament does ! The Conservative Party has been in power for over 10 years and has a healthy majority in the HoC. They can deal with the HoL in anyway they please if they so wish, but do not. The can, if they so choose, deal with the UK Establishment, the BBC and others. After all, they have managed to virtually imprison an entire nation under false pretences – The Lockdown was just done to ‘save the NHS’.

  49. Diane
    July 5, 2021

    Do our politicians, MPs and all the others who spout the same day by day mantras ever take a few minutes here and there even just to look and read the many media article message boards’ comments, including this one, like the rest of us, who are also busy & trying to earn a crust to pay our dues, taxes, look after our families & abide by the law. They will get more than a general idea as to how very angry, frustrated and helpless people feel seeing what is going on, though they see very little in reality because there is no doubt much afoot we knowing of. No doubt many will simply shrug in disgust and label us all bigots. And where did we hear that one before. People are concerned and desperate for clarity and transparency & just to know what is going on and where & perhaps to know which legal routes are still open, or closed, for example the bilateral agreement we have with Greece to bring people in ? People worry when they see illegal migrants turning up running rampant on our beaches & disappearing no doubt into the mist. Well, maybe not mist because that is perhaps one of our few main defences against this disgrace. And people don’t want to read the same standard issue H O wordings on every media report either. We know them by heart already.

  50. No Longer Anonymous
    July 5, 2021

    O/T

    There is a very very simple solution to the mask issue.

    Let those who are serious about wearing masks wear N95s and PLEASE let the rest of us get on with normal life.

    I can assure you that if they were really bothered about a plague they would not be going down the pub, getting a takeaway, shopping for nick-nacks or getting on public transport…

    Most of these businesses cannot survive the reduced footfall owing to masks and SD.

    On the other hand… force us to wear masks. The more people who despise this government the better.

  51. lojolondon
    July 5, 2021

    Dear John,
    I have always liked Priti Patel, and could never understand her reluctance to deliver on the promises, specifically in the area of illegal immigration.

    I wonder what recourse is available to ministers when civil servants obtusely and deliberately ignore direct orders, instead proceeding according to their own chosen agenda? I expect they should be dismissed for gross misconduct, a step that would also include the removal of pension benefits. Surely this has gone on long enough now, and so this is the way forward?

  52. jon livesey
    July 5, 2021

    Wow, it never ends, does it? Gosh Comics issued a tearful press release this morning saying that since there are no taxes on printed materials in the UK, but there are in the EU, they will have to suspend exporting comics to the EU “until we get this sorted out”.

    Got that? The problem is that other countries tax printed materials that the UK does not, so that’s a “Brexit problem” and worth outrage headlines.

    Oh, and how long did Gosh Comics already have to figure out how to make this work and fill in the form? Only about five years, I reckon.

  53. jon livesey
    July 5, 2021

    Japan announced this week that they will be developing the engines for their new stealth fighters in cooperation with the UK and Rolls Royce, and that the two countries will jointly market the new engine to third countries.

    Can you imagine the IP and confidentiality nightmare we would be in if we were still in the EU?

  54. Lindsay McDougall
    July 5, 2021

    It is important that our courts – ALL of our courts – are reformed so that they are not able to make judgements that are properly in the domain of Parliament. There is no point in ducking the issue. It will need a major piece of Statute Law.

  55. ChrisS
    July 5, 2021

    We’ve know the answer for years : the only thing that works is to adopt the spectacularly successful Australian model and stop processing illegal immigrants on UK soil.

    I read in the Times last week and I posted here that Ms Patel is to talk to Denmark who are negotiating a deal to process their illegal arrivals in an African country, said to be Rwanda. Evidently according to the Guardian, Austria is also involved in these discussions.

    Immediately on arrival, all illegal arrivals should be transferred to the offshore processing centre. Only genuine asylum refugees would have any chance of being admitted after assessment abroad.

    This has the tremendous advantage that all economic migrants and potential refugees will know before they take to the water that they have no chance and little chance respectively of being allowed into the UK.
    The People trafficking business will end almost overnight and all those traveling across Europe to reach the channel ports will be forced to claim asylum in the first safe country they arrive in, as they should, under the EU’s Dublin Agreement.

    Question is, can she get it through Parliament in the face of all the bleeding heart liberals on all sides of the House ?

  56. Iain Gill
    July 5, 2021

    “down to the tens of thousands” was in the Conservative manifesto for election after election, never once did they take any meaningful action to deliver when in power, that the politicians are being honest is a very strange claim

    1. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      They’re quick to quote their manifesto for green policies and the 0.7% for foreign aid – but when it come to migration they’re even faster in ignoring their manifesto

  57. turboterrier
    July 5, 2021

    Sir John
    When I read all the previous comments I weep. When the hell are the party going to wake up to a blaring response
    to the obvious?
    There is no hiding place from the obvious. Your party and g overnment has totally shafted the tory electorate. Your problem is at the top of triangle.
    Two faced answer’s with no guts to
    take the right decisions.

    1. glen cullen
      July 5, 2021

      Correct Sir

    2. steve
      July 6, 2021

      Turboterrier

      “Two faced answer’s with no guts to take the right decisions.”

      Try asking who sent a Border Force vessel to France to collect illegal passengers and see what reply you get. (clue: no reply whatsoever)

  58. Original Richard
    July 5, 2021

    If Germany can deport 20,000+ refugees each year since 2016, and even 755 last year despite the Covid pandemic restrictions, why are we unable to deport any of those who come into the UK illegally?

  59. Mactheknife
    July 5, 2021

    The legal system along with other national bodies such education, health, social services, charities and so on have been infiltrated by by the left. They are determined to undermine and challenge the government in every way possible. Its little wonder that we can’t deport anyone or stop people entering illegally.

    A change in the law is required, along with action against judges who consistently defy the laws and make it up as they go along. The endless appeals available under the current system must be curtailed and if you arrive here illegally it should mean automatic refusal of any right to stay.

    One of the biggest concerns of the electorate for many years has been uncontrolled immigration and Brexit should mean we make our own rules.

  60. steve
    July 5, 2021

    Sir Redwood

    May I ask you a question ?

    …….are you aware of who sent a Border Force vessel to France to pick up migrants ?

    I ask because the ‘promised’ inquiry does not have any press coverage and the consensus being that government wishes the matter to quietly disappear.

    However we shall not be letting go and we demand to know the identity of whoever gave that order.

    May I also take opportunity to suggest that if as you claim Ms Patel is being thwarted by the courts etc, she needs to get herself on the TV and in the press and expose those people / institutions allegedly making a mockery of immigration. Let us hear what she has to say. If she is genuinely being hampered by politically motivated courts and institutions we will support her. But we need to hear it from Ms Patel and we need her to connect with us.

    Your reply would be most gratefully received.

    1. steve
      July 6, 2021

      And of course there was no reply.

      Questions MP’s refuse to answer means only one thing: ‘cover – up’

  61. glen cullen
    July 5, 2021

    So when the UK Prime Minister is at the podium telling us about the new covid rules he’s actually doing so as First Minister of England
..as the rules are only pertinent to England ?

  62. anon
    July 6, 2021

    Ad nauseum.
    Dont believe the establishment the “real” government intends to stop illegal or legal immigration in any meaningful way.
    – past performance over decades. (liblabcon)
    – the laws treaties it has recently agreed to or passed without any mandate, which allow the courts to hinder deportations.The active participation of Border force to assist illegal immigration by operating as a taxi service. If safety is the issue then the French should assist them back to France. We should assist only to immediately return illegals to overseas processing or refugee camps.

    – Brexit in Name Only
    – NI protocol
    – emergency lockdown applying only to certain events or groups not all.
    – Direct flights allowed from Wuhan and India when a clear risk was known.

  63. turboterrier
    July 6, 2021

    F U S
    Not only rudderless but gutless as well.

  64. Iain Moore
    July 6, 2021

    In the press today….

    “Home Secretary Priti Patel must bring back to the UK an asylum seeker who arrived via a small boat and was later deported to France in the next 14 days, a High Court judge has ruled”

    It is a joke, Judges and Huma Rights lawyers run rings around the Government , now one of the very few Patel has managed to deport now to be brought back here.

    You have got to change these laws.

  65. mancunius
    July 7, 2021

    Let us just posit the question: how differently would the government behave if it did *not* wish to stop illegal immigration? …….
    You see? QED.

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