Boris Johnson urges Britain to emulate Australia’s success in ‘Stopping the Boats’ in his latest punchy column.
The former PM lays out a plan to tackle the issue after he visited the Commonwealth country this week.
He points out that Australia is also an island nation and faced similar challenges with people arriving illegally by sea – but has managed to overcome them.
Rishi Sunak has gambled his premiership on stopping the flow of boats crossing the Channel. Much of Europe has been struggling to contain mass movements of people displaced by conflict and economic hardship.
Boris Johnson is writing weekly for the Daily Mail and MailOnline. Picture: MARK HARRISON
A file picture of a group of migrants crossing the Channel earlier this year
The government has increased funding to France to stop boats setting off, as well as trying to speed up asylum processing and pursing returns deals.
Laws have been toughened in an effort to reduce the routes of appeal.
The agreement to deport arrivals immediately to Rwanda – intended as a deterrent for those wanting to settle in the UK – has been blocked by the Supreme Court.
But Mr Sunak is hoping to revive the policy with a new treaty and emergency legislation designating Rwanda as safe and loosening human rights rules.
In a video teasing his column – which will be in the Daily Mail tomorrow and on MailOnline this evening – Mr Johnson says of Australia: ‘For years and years they had huge numbers of people coming illegally by sea to try to immigrate.
‘And if you want to know how Australia stopped the boats read about it in the Daily Mail.
‘And read also how we in the UK, if we have enough guts and determination, can do exactly the same.’
In a video teasing his column – which will be in the Daily Mail tomorrow and on MailOnline this evening – Mr Johnson hails the example of Australia