THERE is “a lot missing” from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to clear the asylum backlog by the end of next year, according to former UKIP leader Henry Bolton.
He told GB News: “The Prime Minister is saying some of the right things, and some of them are slightly off.
“Regarding Border Force officials at Tirana, I’ve got no problem with that at the airport, but bear in mind that most of these people will not be flying out of Tirana airport, there’ll be coming out of Pristina, in Kosovo, and Skopje in the Republic of North Macedonia, and many of them by land through the Republic of Serbia.
“That’s a tiny part of what needs to be done, in Tirana in Albania and in the region.”
Speaking to Mark Longhurst, he added: “They seem to be thinking about the legislation and the accommodation, but the accommodation is still a problem. We’ve been hearing from the chief constable of Greater Manchester about those involved in organised crime are exploiting vulnerable people in the accommodation that’s been provided.
“Anybody who’s dealt with refugees knows perfectly well that organised criminals will attempt to exploit people who are disorientated because of the new surroundings.
“This should have been put into the planning way before. They are the right sounds coming from the Prime Minister to some degree, there’s a lot missing but let’s see how it’s executed, let’s see how determined the Government is in putting this plan in place .”
Asked about Home Office staffing issues, Mr Bolton continued: “It’s not just numbers of staff, it’s also their training. At the moment, they’re certainly far from adequately trained and indeed there aren’t enough.
“I understand that only about 25% of appeals processes actually have Home Office representation. So when the Home Office tries to deport somebody or return them, the Home Office doesn’t even turn up to the appeal, so the appeal is automatically granted and the person can stay.”
