Starmer’s dirty deal with EU will ‘surrender our Brexit freedoms’

Labour’s ‘dirty deal’ with the EU will surrender Britain’s Brexit freedoms, Suella Braverman declared last night. The Home Secretary warned that Sir Keir Starmer is plotting ‘to hand Brussels the keys to our immigration system’ by agreeing to take more than 100,000 migrants from the EU each year. The Labour leader has opened the door to accepting more asylum seekers from Europe by stating he wants a new migration pact with the bloc. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, writing exclusively for the Daily Express, warned: ‘We’ve long known that Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party want to rejoin the European Union. Now it’s out in the open that they’ve been plotting to hand Brussels the keys to our immigration system. ‘Our hard-won Brexit freedoms surrendered in a heartbeat. This has always been Starmer’s dream. Suella Braverman blasts Keir Starmer (Image: Getty) ‘The price for Starmer’s dirty deal is that the UK will take ‘our fair share’ of the swathes of illegal migrants who pour into Europe – over a million last year. ‘If Starmer spent more time outside of his Westminster bubble, he might find that the British people are already taking more than their fair share of illegal migrants.’ Mrs Braverman also warned that the UK would become Europe’s ‘dumping ground’ for migrants. The Conservatives argued that, if Labour signed a returns agreement with the European Union, it would have forced the UK to take 124,614 illegal migrants in 2022 as part of a ‘mandatory fair share’ agreement. The EU wants every member state to accept at least 30,000 migrants annually or pay £20,000 for each person they do not accept. Sir Keir has refused to say how many migrants a Labour Government would accept as part of a quota. But, drawing the battle lines on immigration for the next General Election, ministers accused the Labour leader of treating ‘the valid concerns of the British public with utter disdain.’ Prime Minister Rishi Sunak slammed the plans yesterday, declaring: ‘I don’t think it’s credible that he really wants to grip this problem and his plans today seem to amount to saying that we might one day accept a hundred thousand EU migrants every year. ‘That doesn’t seem like a credible plan to me to stop the boats. Meanwhile, we are getting on to delivering. ‘For the first time ever this year, the number of small boat arrivals is down by almost a fifth. ‘The number of illegal migrants crossing from Albania is down by 90 per cent. We’ve got a plan. The plan is delivering, and I’m determined to stop the boats.’ Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said a returns agreement based on proposed EU migration rules would mean ‘disregarding the will of the British people to cut numbers and stop the boats’. Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick blasts Labour’s pledge (Image: Getty) He added last night: ‘Labour’s new immigration pledge is falling apart rapidly. Sir Keir’s proposal could mean accepting over 100,000 new illegal migrants into Britain every year. ‘Today, Yvette Cooper must answer a few basic questions. Would they be allowed to work? Would they be allowed to claim benefits? Where would they accommodate them given the pressures on local authorities? And how much is this all going to cost the British taxpayer? ‘As usual Labour have been silent on the details. Why? Because they know their pledge is a cheap stunt to deceive the public and will not solve the problem.’ Sir Keir Starmer yesterday pledged to ‘smash’ the people smuggling gangs making a mockery of Britain’s borders. More than 23,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, after a record 45,755 reached UK shores last year. And speaking from The Hague in the Netherlands, he prompted widespread fury by suggesting that he could accept a quota as part of a new returns deal with the EU. Challenged over seeking closer ties with the EU after Brexit , he said: ‘If we’re going to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade of putting people into the water to cross the Channel, then we have to operate where they’re operating. ‘And they’re operating in France, across Europe, beyond Europe in fact. And that’s why I’m here talking about what we can do with our EU partners but also beyond that.’ The Labour leader said his main aim was ensuring that people did not make it across the English Channel in the first place. He said: ‘I’ve been exploring today at Europol with police teams, with prosecutorial teams whether we can get a closer agreement that would allow us to share information more quickly, to have joint operations to take down those that are running this vile trade by stopping those boats getting in the water in the first place.’ 23,000 migrants have crossed the Channel (Image: Getty) This would be paid for by scrapping the Rwanda scheme, Sir Keir said. Downing Street insisted Mr Sunak also wants a new returns deal with Brussels – but has drawn a red line on a quota or ‘burden sharing’. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We have set out that migration across Europe is a shared problem and it involves work with our European partners. ‘The discussions we’ve had with the EU, and the basis for our discussions, have been on sending migrants back on the basis they travelled through a safe country. ‘But the Government has never and would never be open to a burden-sharing agreement where we take a quota.’ The spokesman did not rule out the possibility of a funding deal which would see UK taxpayers’ money go to Brussels as part of an agreement. Rishi Sunak vows to stop the small boats (Image: Getty) ‘There are discussions ongoing, so I’m not going to get into whether or not we would or would not fund any further co-operation,’ the spokesman said. In a vicious political battle, Sir Keir dismissed ministers’ criticism of his immigration plan, declaring the responses were ‘typical from a Government that’s completely lost control of the situation’. He said: ‘It’s embarrassing that the Government is pumping out this nonsense. It ought to be the UK government who decides who comes to the UK. ‘But at the moment, because the government has lost control, it is those that are running the gangs that are putting people in boats to cross the channel.’ He added: ‘There needs to be a returns agreement. That will have to be negotiated. The PM himself said that he wants a returns agreement. In opposition I’m not in a position to negotiate that, nor have I spoken to anyone about that.’ The Labour leader said his Government would treat people smugglers like terrorists and officials want the National Crime Agency to increase the use of civil orders. Party sources said they want to restrict the movement of smugglers operating in the UK by making it easier to obtain serious crime prevention orders, typically used to target terrorists and drug traffickers.. Labour also wants to reach a new agreement to share real-time intelligence with the EU similar to the Schengen Information System II, a database of terror suspects and immigration offenders which the UK had automatic access to before Brexit . Party sources also dismissed claims the UK would have to accept 100,000 migrants a year under a new deal with the EU. They stressed Sir Keir Starmer is not seeking to join the EU’s new migration pact but is seeking a new bespoke deal with the bloc. More British officers would be stationed in Europe under the plans, with a ‘cross-border police force’ focused solely on disrupting criminal gangs, Labour said.