'This is a disaster!' Pat McFadden grilled on Labour plan for 'safe and legal' refugee routes as migrant crisis nears 200,000 crossings
Pat McFadden faced a grilling on GB News on Labour's latest plan to move to "safe and legal" routes for refugees to enter Britain.
Speaking to the People's Channel, the Work and Pensions Secretay said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is doing a "very good job" and has his "full support".
As the UK's migrant crisis is on track to reach 200,000 illegal arrivals as soon as today, Ms Mahmood unveiled plans to expand legal routes for refugees, once the Government regains control of the wider asylum system.
She said: "I think once we've got control of our system, once we've shown our country that we can run a good migration system, we can break the business model of the gangs."
Challenging the remarks, host Alex Armstrong argued Ms Mahmood's plan is "out of touch" and "goes against what the British public want".
Mr McFadden responded: "Net migration has fallen in the latest figures, so it has come down from very, very high levels in recent years. There'll always be a level of net migration in the country.
"But what we want to do is make sure that it's a level that is good for the economy, that can be absorbed by the country, and that is done under proper rules.
"And that's what the Home Secretary is talking about there. And of course, she does that with my full support. She's a really important member of the Government, and she's doing a very good job on all her responsibilities right across the board."
Pushing back on Mr McFadden's defence, Alex declared the current migrant crisis in Britain is a "disaster".
He asked the Labour MP: "Why are we talking about legal routes now when we can't even deport the people that have come here illegally?"
Mr McFadden told GB News: "The country has always had safe and legal routes, and when it's a safe and legal route, that's what it says on the tin. It has been part of the tradition of the country that, for example, people fleeing war have sought refuge in the UK in the past.
"But what we don't want is a system abused by criminal gangs, trafficking people through small boats crossing the Channel, which is the problem that we've had on a large scale in recent years, and we're doing everything we can to combat that."
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Acknowledging the crisis is a "tough problem" to tackle, Mr McFadden reiterated his defence of the Home Secretary's efforts.
He said: "The Home Secretary is leading those efforts. We know it's a tough problem, it's been going on for years.
"So it is better if we're going to have refugees in the country that they come through a safe and legal route, like the Hong Kong or the Ukraine route, and not through a criminal enterprise sending people across the Channel in small boats."
The Home Secretary has proposed three capped schemes for refugees entering Britain via a legal route.
The first route allows refugee students to study at British universities, another for skilled workers, and a third modelled on the Homes for Ukraine programme enabling community groups to sponsor refugees.
A Home Office spokesman said: "This Government is bearing down on small boat crossings.
"The Home Secretary has signed a landmark new deal with France to boost enforcement action on beaches and put people smugglers behind bars.
"This builds on joint work that has stopped over 42,000 illegal migrants attempting to cross the channel since the election."
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