A LONDON cabbie has ripped into the failure to stop small boats – asking a top Tory if Rishi Sunak was “taking the mickey out of us”.
Grant Davies took former immigration minister Robert Jenrick to task over the Channel crisis.
Darren FletcherGrant Davies clashed with Robert Jenrick on Never Mind The Ballots[/caption]
Darren FletcherGrant said that illegal immigration was the biggest gripe among his passengers[/caption]
Darren FletcherGrant Davies took former immigration minister Robert Jenrick to task[/caption]
He said that if France could escort dinghies leaving Calais into British waters then our Navy should be allowed to tow them straight back.
Grant – who is the Transport Secretary in the Sun’s Cabinet of readers – said illegal immigration was the main gripe of passengers in the back of his taxi.
Appearing on our Never Mind The Ballots show, he said: “I’m not convinced with anything the Conservatives are doing – it’s quite depressing.”
WATCH NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS
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The weekly show also features opinions and insight from our very own panel boasting real-life experience, discussing what readers want from the next Government
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He added: “The French Navy are escorting the boats out of French waters, and then Border Farce are picking them up and taking them to Dover.
“What is the PM saying? Is he taking the mickey out of us?”
Britain is paying Paris around half a billion pounds for help stopping smuggling gangs packing migrants on dangerous journeys across the Channel.
Grant raged: “We’ve given them millions of pounds! What for!”
Mr Jenrick said he understood his “frustration” and slammed the French for not doing enough.
He said: “The French could do a lot more. They could intercept boats in shallow waters and turn them back and take those people back to France.
Trevor Kavanagh takes on Jenrick over immigration
By TREVOR KAVANAGH, ex Political Editor
David Cameron promised to reduce immigration to the tens of thousands.
It was at that time a quarter of a million. It was last year while you [Robert Jenrick were immigration minister, 1.2million.
You allowed 1.2million in.
We know the problems of illegal immigration coming across the channel is hugely annoying but what really frustrates our readers and viewers is the fact that 1.2million people are taking their jobs.
We’ve got 9million people in some form of unemployment in this country.
“The Belgians are doing that. That means almost no boats leave from Belgium.
“On beaches where half is in Belgium and half is in France, the boats deliberately leave from the French side.”
Mr Jenrick resigned as immigration minister in protest that Mr Sunak did not toughen up the Rwanda plan.
Grant hit back: “The Tories have been in power for 14 years, and it’s only with an election looming you seem to come out with all the answers.
Robert Jenrick answers YOUR questions
ROBERT Jenrick opened about his holiday to Rwanda with Suella Braverman and the reason behind his sensational glow up.
The former immigration minister also confessed he has steered away from illegal drugs his entire life and that he would back Donald Trump‘s return to the White House.
The revelations were made as he candidly answered quick fire questions from Sun readers on our new show Never Mind The Ballots.
Mr Jenrick quit his job in Government last year, citing “strong disagreements” over the Rwanda deportation policy for illegal migrants.
He believed the Rwanda Bill – which attempts to overcome the Supreme Court block – did not “go far enough”.
Asked if he would take his family on holiday to Rwanda, Mr Jenrick said: “Yes. I’ve been on holiday to Rwanda, I went with Suella Braverman twenty years ago.
“It’s a great country and I have complete confidence that it’s safe. It is one of the most dynamic countries in Africa.”
Once a Remainer, he said he would vote for Brexit if he could today, adding: “We are in a far better place being in complete control of our borders.”
Asked what is behind his physical transformation, Mr Jenrick said: “It turns out if you eat less and do more exercise you look trimmer.”
A new trendy haircut in the style of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar late last year sparked rumours the Tory MP was harbouring leadership ambitions.
To the question Trump or Biden, Mr Jenrick simply replied with “Trump”.
The Newark MP also tackled the unflattering nickname “Robert Generic” reportedly bestowed upon him a decade ago.
He said: “I don’t think that was fair back then. I certainly don’t think it is far today. Not many people resign on a matter of principle from Cabinet.
“People can see there are issues whether it’s housing, immigration, ensuring Net Zero is approached in a far less zealous manner than we are doing today where I am trying to make big arguments.”
“Nobody’s been listening to the working class like myself. I get people in my cab all the time.
“And apart from what’s on the telly tonight, the next subject they hit me with is immigration. It really is that important.”
Also on tonight’s episode of Never Mind the Ballots, Jenrick blasted the meddling European Court as beyond redemption.
He urged Rishi Sunak to make an election pledge to leave Strasbourg’s jurisdiction to stand any hope of closing the gap on Labour.
He said: “It was born of noble intentions after the defeat of fascism by people like Winston Churchill.
“But Winston Churchill would be aghast with what has happened to it today where it has been contorted by activist judges.”
It is the first time Mr Jenrick – a standard-bearer for the Tory right – has explicitly called for the European Court of Human Rights to be on the ballot.
When will Rwanda flights take off?
What is the Rwanda plan?
Under the plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally will be deported to Rwanda, a country in eastern Africa.
The government believes the threat of being removed to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, their asylum claims will be processed but there is no route back to the UK, save for some exceptional circumstances such as individual safety concerns. Britain will pay for migrants to start a new life in Rwanda.
What’s the hold up?
First announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the scheme has been bogged down by relentless legal challenges.
The first flight was due to take off in summer 2022, but was blocked on the runway at the last minute by a European Court order.
Since then the legality of the plan has been contested in the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court judgement in November last year which said Rwanda was unsafe for asylum seekers.
What is Sunak doing?
To salvage the Rwanda plan from the Supreme Court’s scathing ruling, Rishi Sunak announced a two-pronged workaround.
First, he would sign a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for asylum seekers that will be enshrined in law.
Second, he would introduce new legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country.
It would mean courts, police and officials would have to treat it as safe unless there is a risk of individual and irreparable harm.
How long will that take?
The legislation has cleared the Commons but is now being held up in the House of Lords.
Rishi Sunak does not have a majority in the Lords, and peers are far more hostile to the plan.
They will likely send it back to the Commons with amendments watering down the scheme.
Such changes would be unconscionable to MPs who would strip out the measures and send it back.
This “ping-pong” will continue until either side – usually the unelected Lords – gives in and the Bill passes.
When will flights take off?
Mr Sunak wants to get the first flights sent to Rwanda by the spring.
But potential hurdles include more court battles launched by individual migrants either in UK courts or the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr Sunak has vowed to ignore any more orders by Strasbourg judges to ground planes, although individual appeals in domestic courts could prove tricky.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will scrap the scheme if he is elected PM, even if it is working
He joins a growing number of Conservative MPs demanding Britain ends its 71-year membership of the Court over fears it is thwarting efforts to stop small boats.
Mr Sunak has vowed to leave if necessary to tackle illegal migration, but has stopped short of an immediate commitment to cut ties.
And Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron only yesterday stressed the need for reform to curb “overreach” by judges.
But dismissing such attempts as doomed, Mr Jenrick said: “I dont think it’s possible to reform the ECHR. I think that would be doomed to fail.
“Like David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate our relationship with the EU. The question we’ve got to ask ourselves is does staying in ECHR make us safer?”
Darren FletcherGrant is the Transport Secretary in the Sun’s Cabinet of readers[/caption]