Andy Burnham FINALLY addresses UK migration crisis after nearly 1,000 small boat arrivals in a week
Andy Burnham has finally addressed the migrant crisis for the first time since taking office last week, pledging to continue to work on closing taxpayer-funded hotels housing asylum seekers.
It comes as almost 1,000 migrants (881) made the journey by small boat in the last week, with one mega dinghy carrying 165 migrants on one vessel as the largest arrival from a single boat on record.
Asked whether Mr Burnham would like to see the hotels closed, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman replied: “The work on that continues.”
He added there “is no change in that work that’s being carried out by the Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood) in her department”.
The spokesman said Mr Burnham had focused in his first week as Prime Minister “on taking immediate action to give people and families breathing space on the cost of living”.
He earlier said: “I think the Prime Minister’s been clear in recent weeks that immigration is an issue that matters to people.
“He’s been clear in his reappointment of Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary to continue to deliver the reforms needed to restore fairness to the system and get migration under control.”
The Prime Minister pointed to progress under the Home Secretary's reforms, with numbers down on last year and the use of hotels for asylum accommodation falling – with plans for every one to be shut for good by the end of this Parliament.
Mr Burnham is said to "not be complacent", with more to do to create a system with "control at its heart".
Meanwhile, he failed to accept allegations from critics he was "sub contracting" the immigration issue out to Ms Mahmood, and said there were a range of ways the Government is tackling migration to bring order to borders.
Home Office figures from Mr Burnham's first week in office showed 172 people arrived on the Wednesday and 366 on Thursday after crossing in just three boats – before another 103 on Friday.
A total of 240 illegal migrants crossed the Channel again on Saturday, after windy weather had prevented dinghy launches for almost a fortnight.
The number who have made the illegal journey so far this year now stands at more than 13,500.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Smuggling gangs are taking greater risks than ever with the number of people they are cramming into unseaworthy boats rising year on year.
“This crossing serves as a stark reminder that criminal gangs have no regard for the safety of those they claim to help - the reality is clear and lives are being lost in the Channel as a result.
“This is exactly why we have signed a new deal with the French to prevent these perilous journeys by boosting enforcement action on beaches, building on the over 45,000 attempted crossings stopped since the election.”
New polling has revealed more than three in five Britons believe Andy Burnham cannot put a stop to the small boat crisis.
Latest polling from Merlin Strategy from July 22 to July 24 has proved a measly 18 per cent back Mr Burnham's bid to stop the boats.