The Home Office has published controversial images showing illegal immigrants being deported from the UK in a bid to highlight Labour’s success in ramping up removals since the election.
Images of the deportations have been published by the Home Office to provide a visual example to voters of the 24 per cent increase in forced deportations and 21 per cent more removals of foreign criminals since the 4 July election.
It is the highest rate of deportations from the UK since 2018, with 2,925 foreign national offenders removed, 5,074 enforced returns and 3,932 illegal working raids between 5 July and the end of January.
The Government has deported nearly 19,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders since Labour took power, a major ramping up that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said would help “rebuild public confidence in the immigration system” by showing rules are “respected and enforced”.
Boosting returns is a key part of Labour’s plan to help tackle the small boats crisis, the thinking being that demonstrating that crossing the Channel is not a one-way ticket, might help deter migrants.
Perhaps more importantly, as stated by Cooper, it is designed to ensure the asylum system works correctly after she claimed the Tories’ Rwanda deportation plan led to a huge backlog of claims.
Labour also wants the political credit and to show sceptical voters that ministers are delivering on their concerns.
It comes after targeted adverts in the north-west of England highlighting that Labour has increased deportations by 23 per cent were met with disbelief by voters because they had not seen people being removed on the news.
Labour MPs will also hope that the images and videos will help them persuade constituents who are thinking of switching to Nigel Farage’s Reform over the immigration issue that the Government is delivering on their concerns.
A Home Office source said the publication was not a direct reaction to Reform’s surge in opinion polls, but added that it was “really important” to show delivery, that it is the first time voters will see it on returns, and that it will allow MPs to “reassure” constituents that Government is “getting on with the job”.
How much does it cost?
The Home Office has refused to reveal specific costs of the ramping up in deportations.
But it argues that because the increase has been achieved by redeploying 1,000 staff from the failed and expensive Rwanda plan to work on immigration enforcement, overall the department will be saving money.
Sky News reported in 2021 that the average cost of a deportation flight was £175,000, but it is likely to vary significantly based on how many people are aboard and how far the plane is travelling.
Deportations under Labour have taken people to Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, and have included the four biggest returns charter flights in British history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.
Deportations and returns of foreign national offenders and failed asylum seekers continue to take place, with final numbers to be confirmed later in the year, the Home Office said (Photo: Home Office)The images show deportees being escorted up a staircase onto a jet to be removed from the UK.
The staircase is covered so that no one makes an attempt to escape by jumping over the side.
They also show deportees in waist restraint belts, which can be adjusted in severity depending on how uncooperative people are before their removal.
Only around 10 per cent of people being deported require the use of force, according to Home Office statistics.
Other restraints available include handcuffs and leg restraints, but these are even less commonly used than waist restraints.
The Home Office claims the deportation figures represent the highest rate of returns seen in the UK since 2018 and include the four biggest returns charter flights in the UK’s history, with a total of more than 850 people on board (Photo: Home Office)Why is it controversial?
Labour MPs have told The i Paper the “stunt” would only boost Farage’s Reform by raising the salience of the issue, while also “scapegoating” trafficking victims.
But Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle insisted Labour’s policy was “compassionate”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “It’s important that we show what we are doing and it’s important that we send messages to people who may have been sold lies about what will await them in the UK if they get themselves smuggled in.
“They are more likely to be living in squalid conditions, being exploited by vicious gangs.
“It’s important that we get those realities across and it’s important that that’s done in imagery as well as words.”
What next?
While the Home Office has significantly increased deportations, voters are unlikely to believe that the Government has a grip on the asylum system until Channel crossings are reduced and the number of migrants being housed in hotels falls.
The department spent approximately £3.6bn on asylum support costs in 2022–23, nearly double the amount in 2021–22, and mainly accounted for £2.28bn being spent on hotels.
The Government is hiring more caseworkers to clear the backlog in claims, but as of November, there was a net increase of seven in the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers to 220.
The number of Channel crossings hit 1,000 this year more quickly than ever before, with the milestone being reached on 22 January, suggesting Government policies are having little impact so far on the number of small boat journeys.
A senior Home Office source said that the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill being debated by MPs for the first time on Monday would prove crucial to Labour’s plan to “smash the gangs” and “cripple the supply chain”, with both being “key to reducing small boat numbers”, alongside security deals with Europe and more resources for the National Crime Agency and the new Border Security Command.
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