The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that he cannot guarantee he will be able to stop small boats crossing the English Channel by the next general election.
Sunak described the complexities surrounding the issues and said that the “current system” is “unsustainable.”
The Prime Minister claims that the number of illegal migrants making the English Channel crossing so far this year is “down for the first time in some years.”
Sunak was asked if the small boat crisis will be sorted by the next general election, Sunak told broadcasters, “One of my five priorities is to stop the boats. The current system is both unsustainable and is completely unfair, but particularly unfair on British taxpayers who are forking out millions of pounds to house illegal migrants in hotels and local communities.
“That’s not right. We’ve got to put a stop to that. And we’re working on it.
“It’s not an easy problem to fix. I never said we would be able to solve it overnight. It will take time and we have to attack it from lots of different ways.
“But I am pleased that the number of illegal migrants crossing this year is down for the first time in some years.
“That shows that our plans are working, but of course there’s still more to do and people should know I am determined to grip this problem, and that’s why one of my five priorities is to stop the boats.”
Sunak was asked again if this crisis will be sorted by the next election, he replied, “I want it to be done as soon as possible, but I also want to be honest with people that it is a complex problem.
“There is not one simple solution and it can’t be solved overnight and I wouldn’t be being straight with people if I said that was possible.”
