The Tories have “failed” on tackling illegal immigration, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party has said.
Lee Anderson said small boat Channel crossings are “out of control” and “there is no doubt” that “we have failed on this”.
Mr Anderson said the Government has put policies in place to tackle the issue but he argued that “everything is against us”, citing opposition from “lefty lawyers”, human rights campaigners and charities which is “slowing us down”.
Responding to Mr Anderson’s claim of failure, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said there are “no simple fixes to this issue” but the Government was seeking to address the problem in a “mature” and “serious” way.
The comments made by Mr Anderson on failure risk overshadowing a series of announcements made by the Government during what has been dubbed “Stop The Boats Week”.
Mr Anderson was interviewed by Nigel Farage on GB News on Tuesday night about comments he made earlier this week when he said migrants complaining about the Bibby Stockholm barge should “f--- off back to France”.
The Tory deputy chairman said he would not be apologising for the remark and said it was “born out of frustration”.
Mr Farage suggested to Mr Anderson that the Tories had “completely and utterly failed everyone” on immigration.
Mr Anderson replied: “Listen Nigel, I am not going to sit here and make excuses to anyone. This is out of control, we are in power at the moment, I am the deputy chair of the Conservative Party, we are in government and we have failed on this. There is no doubt about it.
“We have said we are going to fix it, it is a failure.
“We have got policies in place and I know it is a bit hard for the British public at the moment to actually understand what we are trying to do with the Rwanda flights and the change in legislation, the Illegal Migration Bill, and it seems very slow.
“We are up against it Nigel, let’s be honest. We have got the lefty lawyers, we have got the human rights campaigners, we have got the charities.
“Everything is against us but I am not making excuses. It is slowing us down. If the whole of parliament was behind us on this I am sure this would have got through by now.”
Mr Jenrick was asked during an interview on Times Radio on Wednesday morning if he agreed with Mr Anderson that the Tories had “failed” on immigration.
He replied: “There are no simple fixes to this issue. It is one of the most complex and challenging facing not just this country but all developed countries around the world.”
Mr Jenrick said the Government had “done a number of things in the last nine months since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister” to deliver on the latter’s pledge to “stop the boats”.
He listed “signing two significant deals with France”, increased work with Albania which has “seen a 90 per cent reduction in the number of Albanians crossing in small boats” and a “very significant increase” in the number of raids on illegal working.
He also pointed to the roll out of “more rudimentary forms of decent but not luxurious accommodation” for asylum seekers, including the Bibby Stockholm barge, as a measure which would “reduce the pull factors to the UK”.
The Government has made a series of announcements during “Small Boats Week” in an attempt to show its continued commitment to delivering on the Prime Minister’s pledge to stop the crossings.
On Monday the first asylum seekers stepped foot on the Bibby Stockholm, a key part of efforts to stop using expensive hotel accommodation.
Then on Tuesday the Government announced a new task force to identify unscrupulous lawyers after reports that false asylum claims are being submitted for a fee.
The Government announced on Wednesday that it has struck a new agreement with Turkey to dismantle the people-smuggling gangs’ supply chain of dinghies which have been used to transport more than 15,000 migrants across the Channel this year.