Thank you to all those who have contacted me about our asylum system.

The Home Secretary has said the asylum system is broken. I agree and I think the Government should take responsibility having overseen it for the last 12 years.

I believe the Government’s own statistics highlight its failure to properly manage our asylum system – the Home Office is processing just half the number of asylum claims that it was in 2015. Shockingly, only 4% of asylum claims by migrants who crossed the English Channel in 2021 have been processed.

I agree that decisions on asylum claims desperately need to be sped up. People are being left in limbo for years, with genuine refugees being denied the help they need, while the cost to the taxpayer increases. Emergency hotel accommodation is currently costing the taxpayer around £7 million a day because of the slowdown and delays in decision making. Instead of getting a grip on the issues at the heart of this failure, the Government is resorting to unworkable and unethical gimmicks such as the Rwanda policy.

You may have heard about the new agreement signed between the UK and France on 14 November 2022, which increases even further the amount of money being spent on tackling small boat crossings. I believe there is much more that needs to be done, particularly around tackling the criminal gangs profiting from this activity. That is why I believe it would be much more effective to spend the money that is going to the extortionately expensive Rwanda scheme on a new cell in the National Crime Agency to crack down on smuggling gangs in partnership with France, Belgium and Europol.

The Government should also reform resettlement schemes to better target those most at risk of exploitation by trafficking and smuggler gangs, such as those with family connections in the UK. A replacement for the Dublin agreement, which included safe returns and safe family reunions, should be negotiated. I believe we must also work internationally to address crises leading people to flee their homes – including restoring the 0.7% aid commitment and strengthening support for the people of Afghanistan, one of the largest groups trying to cross the Channel.

Our country deserves an asylum system that is compassionate, fair and consistent, and offers the public confidence that the Government is in control of it.