Watch the moment Labour minister Louise Haigh denies Europe is facing an “invasion” of illegal migrants after the Spanish border was stormed by 60,000 people.
Speaking to GB News, the Minister for the Cabinet Office defended the efforts of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood amid fears the illegal migrants could eventually enter the UK from Spain.
Asked whether she believes we are witnessing an “invasion” of Europe by illegal migrants, Ms Haigh disagreed.
She told GB News: “No, I wouldn’t use language like that. It’s obviously extremely concerning and I understand your viewers’ understandable anxieties about people crossing into this country illegally.
“It’s not acceptable to cross into over our borders illegally, and we will ensure that we do everything we can to stop them attempting to leave Belgium and France in the first place.”
Defending Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, she added: “But we need to make sure that is done properly, in coordination with other authorities and that it’s done as swiftly as possible.
“The Home Secretary has made remarkable inroads, if you compare it to the situation that we inherited in 2024, tens of thousands of small boat crossings prevented, but we absolutely accept that there is more to do.”
Pushing back on Ms Haigh’s remarks, host Dawn Neesom pressed the Labour minister on “what word she would use” to describe the situation on the Spanish border.
Louise Haigh has denied Europe is facing an ‘invasion’ of illegal migrants
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Ms Haigh responded: “It’s obviously extremely concerning. I don’t know that there is a word that you’d use to describe that, but it’s not an invading nation or force, it’s a lot of people crossing over a border attempting to enter another country.
“And we need to stop those people entering our country illegally, that’s what we have to do. We have to make sure that we’re engaging in policies that actually tackle the issue, and I don’t think necessarily rhetoric helps tackle the issue.
“It’s policies, it’s working with the French, and it’s Shabana Mahmood rolling her sleeves up, as she has done every day for the last few months and years to tackle this problem.”
Pointing to the deal with the French to prevent small boat crossings, Ms Haigh was quizzed on whether the Government will be “asking for our money back” as crossings continue to surge.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the ‘number of crossings is down and the number of removals of people is up’
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She told GB News: “Well, it’s working isn’t it? 46,000 small boats crossings prevented over the last couple of years. As I say, we’re not complacent, we know there’s more to do.
“It’s extremely frustrating to see more coming over the Channel, but it is improving the situation. The numbers are down significantly, 40 per cent from last year. That’s a remarkable achievement when you think about what we inherited.
“So it is all going in the right direction. There’s still a lot more to do, it’s extremely frustrating, but the policies are right and they need to be pursued.”
Tens of thousands of migrants swarmed Ceuta on Thursday, a Spanish enclave in north Africa, triggering Madrid to deploy the military.
Louise Haigh told GB News that the numbers ‘are down’ and the deal with the French ‘is working’
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GB NEWS
Responding to the incident and the ongoing crisis in the English Channel, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “It is a cause for concern, and we are making contact with the Spanish government, the Spanish authorities, to provide support, but also to understand the implications of that situation.
“I know people will see those scenes and want something to be done, more to be done. What I have done is firstly keep the current Home Secretary in place, because the plan she has implemented has started to make a difference.
“Although this is the peak period of the year for crossings, overall, the number of crossings is down, the number of removals of people is up. So there is progress, but we both recognise that we need to do more.
“And I will make a visit very shortly to Border Force on the South coast to see the situation for myself, assess it and then agree with the Home Secretary what further we need to do. We’ve made headway, but certainly more is needed.”