Legal fix on Channel-crossing migrants is crucial to destroy traffickers and revive Rwanda plan

SUCCESSIVE Prime Ministers have promised to control Britain’s borders — but have dismally failed.

Rishi Sunak’s new crackdown on the evil gangs who trade in illegal Channel migrants has to succeed.

His new laws will empower the Home Secretary to deport anyone whose life is not in danger in their own country.

Even more crucial is a clause that could allow UK courts to sidestep rulings from judges at the European Court of Human Rights.

It was a late-night ruling by one Strasbourg judge that blocked the Government’s Rwanda scheme.

The asylum system has been hamstrung for too long by lawyers who shamelessly exploit every loophole.

But Rishi’s plan has already been delayed by legal wrangling.

And there are said to be last-minute jitters over the Bill by Attorney General Victoria Prentis.

As one of the PM’s key pledges is to stop small boats, he has staked his premiership on it.

He must ensure this legal fix stays at the heart of his Bill.

Otherwise the rest will be little more than rhetoric and we will again see the Government’s plans unravel in the courts.

If Rishi succeeds, he can destroy the traffickers and revive the Rwanda plan.

And legal migrants will benefit as the logjam that delays their cases is eased.

But getting this legislation through and working will be the fight of his political life.

Prevent must protect

PROTECTING the public from hellbent homegrown terrorists has to be a top priority for any government.

But the UK’s flagship anti-extremism programme has now been judged to be alarmingly weak.

A long-awaited review of the Prevent scheme will say officials charged with steering potential jihadis away from murderous violence are too soft.

According to the report they seem to be acting more like social workers.

The threat of IS-inspired Islamic monsters remains at the top of MI5’s in-tray.

Seven of the 13 terrorist attacks in the past six years were carried out by offenders known to Prevent.

That included Ali Harbi Ali, who was referred to Prevent while he was a teenager and was given the all-clear, only to go on to stab Tory MP Sir David Amess to death in October 2021.

If the Prevent review’s criticisms are accurate it is a disgrace.

We cannot afford to go easy on callous mass murderers.