00:00Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. With your permission, I will say to the British
00:07public who foot the bill, the system feels out of control and unfair. It feels that way
00:13because it is. But if we fail to deal with this crisis, we must act too. We will do so
00:23by making refugee status temporary, not permanent. A grant of refugee status will last two and
00:30a half years, not five. It will be renewed only if it is impossible for a refugee to
00:36return home. Permanent settlement will now come at 20 years, not five. I know this country
00:44welcomes people who contribute. And for those who want to stay and are willing and able
00:49to, we will create a new work and study visa route solely for refugees, with a quicker
00:56path to permanent settlement. To encourage refugees into work, we will also consult on removing
01:02benefits for those who are able to work but choose not to. Outside of the most exceptional
01:09circumstances, family reunion will not be possible. With a refugee only able to bring family over,
01:16if they have joined a work and study route and if qualifying tests are met. Asylum
01:21seekers remain in taxpayer-funded accommodation. We have already announced that we will empty
01:27asylum hotels by the end of the Parliament, and we are exploring a number of large military
01:33sites as an alternative. We will now also remove the 2005 legislation that created a duty to support
01:41asylum seekers, reverting to a legal power to do so instead. So those with income or assets will have
01:49to contribute to the cost of their stay. This will end the absurdity that we currently experience.
01:55We are an asylum seeker receiving £800 each month from his family, and who had recently acquired
02:01an Audi, was receiving free housing at the taxpayer's expense, and the courts judged that we could do
02:08nothing about the nature of our own system. In March of this year, we must also enforce our rules and
02:16remove those who have no right to be here. This will mean restarting removals to countries where they
02:23have been paused. In recent months, we have begun voluntary removal of failed asylum seekers to Syria
02:30once again. However, there are still many failed asylum seekers here from Syria, most of whom fled a regime
02:37that has since been toppled. Other countries are planning to enforce removals, and we will follow suit.
02:45Where a failed asylum seeker cannot be returned home, we will also continue to explore the possibility of
02:51return hubs, with negotiations ongoing. As order and control is restored, we will open new...
03:01and announce today that we have told Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Namibia, that if they do not
03:08comply with international rules and norms, we will impose visa penalties on them.
03:13And I am sending a wider message here. Unless other countries heed this lesson, further sanctions will follow.
03:21There is no doubt that the expanded interpretation of parts of the European Convention on Human Rights has contributed.
03:28This is particularly true of Article 8, the right to a family life. The courts have adopted an ever-expanding
03:36interpretation of this right, and as a result, many people have been allowed to come to this country when they would
03:43otherwise have had no right to. These reforms are designed to bring unity where others seek to divide.
03:50As Article 3 is an absolute right, a public interest test cannot be applied. For that reason, we are seeking reform at the Council of Europe.
04:01And we do so alongside international partners who have raised similar concerns.
04:08We are seeking reform at the Council of Europe.
04:13Taken together, Madam Deputy Speaker, these are significant reforms.
04:16They are designed to ensure our asylum system is fit for the modern world, and that we retain public consent
04:23for the very idea of providing refuge. We will always be a country that offers protection to those fleeing peril,
04:31just as we did in recent years when Ukraine was invaded, when Afghanistan was evacuated, and when we repatriated Hong Kongers.
04:39Leader of the Opposition, Kerry Baden-Ock.
04:46Madam Deputy Speaker, can I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement,
04:50most of which I read in the Sunday Telegraph, actually. But I am pleased that she is bringing forward measures
04:55to crack down on illegal immigration. It's not enough, but it is a start. And it's also a change.
05:01It's a change from her previous position in opposition of a general amnesty for illegal migrants.
05:08But I do want to praise the new Home Secretary, Madam Deputy Speaker. She's bringing fresh energy
05:13and a clearer focus to this problem. And she has got more done in 70 days in the job than her predecessor did in a year.
05:21All of our hard work, the taxpayers' money, they're the ones who have wasted their money.
Comments