A fiery clash broke out on GB News last night after from deputy leader of Reform UK Ben Habib blasted: "No country is prepared to enforce their borders."
Habib was debating with political commentator Jonathan Lis on whether Labour's new border command will strengthen Britain's border security and smash the criminal smuggling gangs.
On Saturday more than 450 migrants made the treacherous 21-mile journey across the channel. Habib said hundreds of asylum seekers continue to make the crossing because Britain has the promise of " a four-star hotel".
Speaking on GB News, he said: "It's like whack a mole. You can't do it
Ben Habib claimed that "no one is prepared to enforce their borders"
GB News
"The reason we have illegal migration, and the only reason we have illegal migration, is because no one is prepared to enforce their borders.
"The Italians aren't prepared to do it, the Balkan states aren't prepared to do it, Greece isn't prepared to do it. And neither is any silly country that has the stupidity to join the Schengen zone, none of them are prepared to enforce their borders.
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"So without borders, once you're into Italy, you find it no problem at all to get to Calais. It's not about people smuggling gangs, it's about the ability to travel freely through Europe.
"You get on a dinghy and then you're faced with Border Force, which has all the strength of a tea serving service with a Kit-Kat, a warm blanket, and then the promise of a four-star hotel when you land on the shores. That is our border force."
His response enraged Lis, who responded: "Come on. People are not being put up in the Hilton, we can either have a serious conversation about this where we talk about the facts, all we can kind of have a rabble-rousing chat where we just deal stereotypes."
He added: "I'm not a spokesman for the Labor Party. I think in general, when you are announcing a series of new policies and you have just come into government and you have a thousand things to do, it's important that we do it successfully rather than to do it at speed.
Migrants aboard a small boatPA"I don't think that we can complain about this. I think it is much more interesting looking, and a much more interesting conversation to have, is whether this command will actually work and whether this is actually the solution to the small boats crisis.
"I happen to think that if you do take effective action against the gangs, that's great. But that's not going to solve the problem because we know there are going to be people who are trying to come here.
"What I've said for many months is that you should have processing centres in France so you can actually deal with people in France before they get on those unsafe boats, thereby smashing the criminal gangs model. And also you can provide safe and legal means for people to come to Britain."
Making his opinions on the Prime Minister known, Ben Habib later said: "It is people like the Labour Party, and particularly Keir Starmer, who is basically, in my opinion anti-British."
He claimed that Keir Starmer is "anti-British"
GB NEWSLis responded: "What a ridiculous thing, saying he disagrees with you means an inability to put first the interests of this country. He doesn't do it.
"He is interested in some kind of global agenda. And immigration isn't on the list of his wider concerns."
He added: "I would never call you anti-British. Even though I think you're anti-British. Even though I think that your vision for Britain is horrendous. I would never call you anti-regime."
