Europe has lost control of the migrant crisis

Piers Morgan brought out the bulldog in Rishi Sunak during their interview on Thursday evening. ‘If you come here illegally – if you’re an illegal migrant here – then you will not be able to stay here,’ thundered the Prime Minister, in as much as he ever can thunder. 

People who arrive in Britain illegally, like the 46,000 who made the journey across the Channel last year, will be deported if they are judged to be ineligible for asylum. Sunak also promised that claims will be heard ‘in a matter of days or weeks, not months or years’. Failed applicants ‘will be sent to an alternative safe country, be that where you’ve come from if it’s safe, or indeed Rwanda’. 

It was just the sort of fiery rhetoric that should boost the morale of the Tory rank and file, were it not for the fact that they’ve heard it all before. On the eve of the 2019 General Election, Boris Johnson made a pledge to the British people: vote for me and I will put an end to uncontrolled immigration.