'This is still happening!' Dawn Neesom tears into Labour MP over migrant crisis after 'unimaginable horror'

Speaking on GB News, Dawn Neesom asked the Labour minister: "Is that [protection] going to start with illegal migrants coming across the Channel and raping 12-year-old girls in this country?"

Ms Gould responded: "This is an area we have been extremely focused on. Almost 60,000 people who had no right to be here have been removed, and we’ve invested in the Border Command’s new counterterrorism-style powers.

"There is no easy overnight fix, but we are determined to remove people who do not have a right to be here and to maintain control of our borders.

Dawn hit back: "It’s still happening. This week, a 12-year-old girl was raped in a park by someone who arrived on one of those boats four months ago."

She said: "The unimaginable horror of those crimes cannot be overstated. We are very clear: anyone who commits a crime will not remain in this country.

"Under this Government, 8,700 people who committed crimes have been removed, a third more than previously.

"We are taking action to prevent illegal crossings, and while it is not an overnight fix, we are seeing real change and action."

The conversation shifted from border security to the Government's ambitious ten-year plan for schools, backed by a £1billion package.

The MP insisted the Government’s new education package is a "turning point" for Britain’s schools, moving away from "short-term fixes" to address a maintenance backlog that has left children in crumbling classrooms.

Facing questions over the timeline and funding of the project, Ms Gould argued that a decade-long strategy is the only way to reverse years of underinvestment and ensure every child has a safe place to learn.

A key pillar of the plan is an expanded School Rebuilding Programme, which aims to transform 250 additional schools on top of the 500 already slated for renovation.

Ms Gould noted that the projects would focus on "urgent condition needs"prioritising those buildings most at risk of structural failure.

She said: "So we've already announced £38billion into our wider education capital. So we've got funding available.

"This strategy is backed by tens of billions of investment capital investment to to rebuild schools, to do the kind of essential maintenance too many children are in crumbling schools that haven't been acted on.

"They end up costing more when we don't kind of proactively go in and repair those schools.

"So we are taking a long term approach, which whether the last Government failed, the investment is there to back it because we believe children should have the best possible classes to support their education."