Britain has still not taken back control its orders three years after leaving the EU, Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis admitted to GB News.
The elected member for Stoke-on-Trent North said the UK will leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to ensure the European Court of Human Rights could not block its proposed measures against illegal migration.
Gullis added that he understands why Britons would be frustrated at record numbers of illegal migrants crossing the Channel despite the pledged made in the 2016 referendum.
MP Jonathan Gullis admits Britain hasn't yet claimed control over its borders
GB News
He said: “I can understand why the public would question that because when you see 44,000 people coming to this country illegally from safe mainland France, well they go what the hell is going on.
“I think the problem is, the pandemic has taken a lot of Government time and focus away as has the war in Ukraine, creating more dispersed people than we’ve ever seen before in our lifetime.
“Ultimately, we’ve had legislation through the Nationality and Borders act, we need to enact all parts of that legislation and the new legislation coming forward is if you come here illegally, then you’re not allowed to claim asylum – big thumbs up from me.”
Among large European states only Russia and Belarus are non-members of the Council of Europe, the governing body for the convention.
The UK was the first country to ratify the convention in 1951.
In April last year, then-home secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement with Rwanda for it to receive migrants deemed by the UK to have arrived “illegally”, and therefore inadmissible under new immigration rules.
Former home secretary Priti Patel pushed the Rwanda deal through Parliament
House of Commons
Several challenges were brought against the proposals, which were described at the time as a “world-first agreement” in a bid to deter migrants from crossing the Channel.
The Tory MP added: “We must also make it clear that if the ECHR tries to prevent us offshoring people to Rwanda when we’ve done a world-leading deal, then we should be willing to have a derogation from that.
“And if needs be to leave the ECHR entirely because taking back control was about protecting our laws and our borders that the British public will not stomach a Labour Party that is going to come in and allow more money to go to France, small boats to continue to come over and process quicker – and ultimately free moving through the back door.”