Um there are voices within opposition
parties, reform, the conservatives who
would like to see you declare a national
emergency on migration and illegal
immigration. Would you do so?
>> Well, we did certainly inherit a an
asylum and immigration system that were
in chaos uh were broken in very many
different ways and I think the previous
government really lost control of the
whole system. We're taking very
practical steps to turn that round. So,
we've already increased returns and
enforcement, increasing returns of
failed asylum seekers by nearly 30% in
just the last 12 months. We've cut the
cost of asylum hotels by nearly a
billion pounds in the last year. And
we're also taking much stronger
enforcement action against the criminal
gangs, putting in place the foundations
of a new system of border security to go
after those criminal gangs. And that
means bringing new powers into place as
well. But of course, look, this is only
the starts of just the first steps. And
we're setting out now new reforms both
to the asylum system, but also these new
powers that we're bringing in to uh, for
example, counterterrorism powers to go
after the criminal gangs. Those are
powers that the Conservatives and reform
actually have voted against, even though
we need to be able to use those powers
against the gangs. You say you inherited
a situation that had the control of
which had been lost under the
Conservatives. You've talked about some
of the the successes you you would see
from your perspective, but August record
high in the number of people per small
boat 64.8 never seen before. You know, a
record number of people in migrant
hotels, 32,59. You don't need to remind
me of that figure. So I go back to that
question, you know, and headlines like
this in the Daily Mail, 3,5567
in, zero out. The public will say,
"Well, this is a national emergency. Why
don't you call it that? Why don't you
call it that? Why don't you call it a
spade a spade?" Because that's what the
public feel it's like.
>> Oh, it is a serious problem. Don't get
me wrong, this is a most incredibly
serious problem. And this affects our
border security. And border security
also affects our national security.
Actually, the number of people crossing
in August was lower than in previous
Augusts. That's not a consolation when
we've still got this serious problem
about these dangerous boat crossings.
We've also actually got fewer people in
asylum hotels than were at the peak
under the Conservatives when they had
400 hotels open. It's around half that
now. But of course, there is a long way
to go because these are very serious
problems. But that's why we need the
additional laws in place, the additional
counterterrorism powers. is why this new
agreement with France that we're
bringing in is so important where for
the first time we'll actually be able to
return people who've arrived on a small
boat be able to return to France the
place where the boat set off from. The
previous government never managed to do
that. It is a step-by-step process.
You're right. But we are determined that
we need to end asylum hotels and we need
to deal with strengthening our border
security to prevent these dangerous boat
crossings. It's exactly almost to the
day four weeks since that one in oneout
deal was ratified. As yet, no one's
returned. It's almost four weeks since
that that was announced. So, two months
has passed since you first announced the
headline policy. No one's gone. When
will people be sent back to France? And
how many people will be sent back?
>> We expect the first returns to take
place this month. This was a new treaty
that was in days or in a month's time.
>> A new treaty that was signed just four
weeks ago. entirely new processes and
systems that are being put in place, new
detention arrangements that we have put
in place, new referrals of cases to
France. It is a pilot system and bear in
mind the previous government ran their
Rwanda scheme for more than two years
and didn't return a single person. All
they did was send four volunteers who
were paid to go to Rwanda instead. So
this is actually we're moving extremely
fast to have had the announcement made,
the treaty signed very swiftly
afterwards and now to have the first
people in detention. We are clear it is
a pilot. It needs to build up but we
need to make sure that the systems work
first.
>> There's 26 days left of this month. Is
it this week, next week, 3 weeks time?
>> It will be later. It will be later this
month. So you can't well we're we're
doing this in a step-by-step b way and
this is actually remarkably rapid
progress compared to previous schemes
that have been tried that frankly failed
and took two years to fail.
>> There are reports that the French
government may falter. Can you guarantee
that despite that this scheme will
continue? Well, the treaty was signed
between uh the UK and France and
obviously was announced by the French
president and uh with the prime minister
um at the summit uh just a couple of
months ago. So this is uh cooperation at
the very highest level. You know, of
course, we will continue to work with
the French government. Of course, we
want that partnership to be as strong as
possible, but this is also about the
work that we're doing and the work that
France is doing to make sure that they
can intervene in French waters. But you
have to do those international
agreements. Any country that thinks that
they can tackle their border security
alone without working the countries on
the other side of those borders is not
going to solve any problems. And I know
sometimes opposition parties will just
think you can just stand there and shout
at the sea. You've got to do the hard
graft to make the difference
>> with with respect home secretary. That
was that was an answer but it wasn't a
guarantee.
>> So well we we'll work with the French
government with French ministers of
course.
>> So you the public who are watching this
program right now can expect cast iron
guarantee that migrants will be sent
back to France this month.
>> Well we expect the first returns to take
place this month. But I've always said
from the very beginning on this, it's a
pilot scheme and it needs to build up
over time. And what I'm not doing, I'm
actually doing the opposite of what the
previous government did when they made
grand promises and said suddenly
everybody's going to be sent to Rwanda
and instead they spent700 million pounds
and sent four volunteers after running
it for two years. And why would anybody
believe a single word that they said
about all of that? I'm doing the
opposite. I'm being really practical and
sensible and saying, "Look, we started a
pilot scheme. We want to build it up.
We're going to provide updates step by
step. We've already got people in
detention who we detained as soon as
they arrived in the UK because I think
frankly if you make that a legal
journey, we should be able to return you
to France. But alongside that, we do our
bit working with France and other
countries to have legal processes to
help people who abide by the rules and
who are uh refugees who need sanctuary
from persecution and conflict.
>> Cabinet meeting this morning. First time
since Parliament returned. yesterday uh
following that reshuffle. What should
what should the public make of this? Is
this a bit of a sign that the prime
minister is is admitting that he needs
to get a bit more of a grip on the
situation when it comes to the economy
and how things are run and how taxation
is run and how you at the end of the day
spend the public's money. Well, I think
we've heard the prime minister talking
about this that the first year was
really about trying to fix the
foundations, deal with some of the the
legacy issues that that we faced and now
to start really focusing on the delivery
and moving forward on just things like
the uh the cost of living, the NHS where
we've already got far more appointments
being delivered. We've already got
waiting times coming down, our precious
NHS that all of us depend on. So all of
the already things happening, but now
what we want to do is to accelerate
progress. And what he's doing is making
sure he's got the team in place to be
able to support that. So I think that's
the right thing to do. We know the
really things that matter is the things
we've just been talking about about
making sure we can end asylum hotels,
making sure that we can strengthen our
border security, making sure that we can
improve the cost of living where we've
seen wages going up and also crucially
supporting our NHS so that everybody can
get an appointment when they need it.
>> So that team around the prime minister
being strengthened as you say, does that
mean then that the chancellor is being
sidelined?
>> No, I don't think so at all. Quite the
reverse. I think the prime minister and
the chancellor have always worked
extremely closely together and continue
to do so.
>> So it will be the chancellor that writes
the budget of course
>> for the autumn.
>> Yeah, of course. There'll be no input
from Downing Street or
>> though in my experience through
successive chancellors through very many
years ultimately the chancellor always
writes the budget because that's the
nature of it's really the complex mix of
things but always with conversations and
discussions with the ch with the prime
minister throughout so you get that
strong support and I think this prime
minister and chancellor have a very good
close relationship and have worked very
closely together on all of these issues.
>> Just want to pick up on one other thing
that falls within your brief as home
secretary, the the the strategy against
and surrounding violence against women
and girls and the work you're doing
there.
>> Why is it that that child sexual abuse
as as we revealed via that that internal
home office document is is defined as
not explicitly within the scope of that
strategy? Why is why is that the case?
Well, we need additional specific uh
work around child sexual abuse and
exploitation that needs to go much
further than the broader vance against
women and girls strategy. So, we've got
additional work on top of many of the
issues that will be of course part of
the violence against women and girls
strategy as well. So, many of those
issues will be covered as part of the
violence against women and girls
strategy. What we're actually saying is
we also need additional specific
dedicated work around child sexual
exploitation and abuse because of the
complex nature of it and the way in
which we've seen particularly some of
the online abuse really grow and
accelerate and of course we also have
the inquiry uh that's uh going to be
taking place into child sexual
exploitation as well.
>> Just briefly 10 organizations including
the NSPCC and Bernardos wrote to you
expressing concerns on this matter. to
to what degree will you be responding to
that?
>> So children so girls vance against girls
vance against children is included as
part of the strategy. We're also looking
at some of the issues around for example
abuse in teenage relationships which is
a crucial again area of growing concern
but there are also additional issues
particularly around for example how you
deal with pedophiles how you deal with
uh sort of sex offenders register some
of those issues which are additional to
the work on the violence against women
and girls strategy
>> home secretary goober good to have you
with us thank you so