BRITAIN will never “relent” from efforts to stop small boat crossings - as immigration officers rounded up passengers for the first flight to Rwanda.
Dramatic footage of the dawn raids was released by the government, but the Home Secretary rejected claims he was using it to score political points as millions of Brits go to the polls in Local Elections.
Instead James Cleverly blasted “naive” do-gooders and dingy-chasing lawyers “who believe that they are on the side of righteousness when they try and prevent these actions - but are making the situation worse.”
After another tragedy in the Channel last week, Mr Cleverly warned “a child was killed because people smugglers are beating them, they're stabbing people, they are forcing them onto these unseaworthy boats.”
Mr Cleverly warned “a child was killed because people smugglers are beating them, they're stabbing people, they are forcing them onto these unseaworthy boats.”
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He told this week’s Never Mind the Ballots: “I am going to take action to prevent that loss of life. And the people who believe that they are on the side of righteousness when they try and prevent these actions are making the situation worse. They don't mean to, of course they don't mean to.
“But the point is the people smugglers rely on the naivety and goodwill of people not trying to stop them.
Also on this week's episode of Never Mind the Ballots
- James Cleverly blasted Sadiq Khan as a 'failure'
- He hinted fans will have more time to cheer on the Three Lions at their local boozer
- Revealed his favourite takeaway and the last time he took drugs in quickfire questions
- Alex Salmond blasted the 'incompetence' of the SNP
- Stephen Flynn said John Swinney has rivals 'quaking in their boots'
“I am going to try and stop them… we are not going to relent until we have stopped them, because otherwise people die and I'm not willing to accept that.”
Mr Cleverly point blank refused calls for an amnesty for the near 50,000 boat crossers here already that face no prospect of being deported - but struggled to say how they would be kicked out of Britain.
Slamming the door shut on such a move, questioning the precedent it would set amid a "global refugee mass movement".
His comments come as there a fears the backlog of asylum seekers who have entered the UK illegally since last year is now too big for all of them to be sent to Rwanda.
Around 50,000 have arrived since last summer when the provisions of the Illegal Migration Act barring them from claiming asylum took effect.
Mr Cleverly was speaking as more than 800 border cops have been deployed to round up the first Rwanda-bound migrants under a blitz codenamed Operation Vector.
A series of immigration raids kicked off this week to detain the initial tranche of asylum seekers ahead of deportation flights taking off from July.
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The first cohort marked for Kigali includes both men and women - but no kids - and are living in all four corners of the UK.
They are all believed to have open-and-shut cases for removal with no realistic chance of winning legal challenges.
Mr Cleverly said the enforcement squads were “working at pace” to nab them - and released dramatic footage of the stings.
It shows officers swooping on several addresses before leading illegal migrants into the back of a van in handcuffs.
Most of the migrants set for Rwanda will be detained during their routine reporting to Home Office contact centres.
But those who fail to keep contact will have their doors kicked in, or find Border Force officers pursuing them if they flee.
A portion of Britain’s 2,200 detention capacity has been specifically ring-fenced for Rwanda migrants.
It is understood existing detainees have been shunted out to make room, although they are not believed to be dangerous foreign offenders.
Immigration officers are braced for a wave of protest action trying to wreck their arrests, having already suffered disruption as recently as yesterday when Just Stop Oil crusties targeted their HQ.
“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.”
Quizzed by The Sun over whether the timing of the footage was linked to today’s Local Elections, Mr Cleverly turned fire on Labour for delaying and frustrating Rwanda scheme.
He said: “The reason this has started now, rather than what I wanted, which was a number of weeks ago, is because of the delaying tactics by Labour peers in the House of Lords.
"I would have wanted, the Prime Minister and I, wanted to start this much much earlier. We've admitted this as starting later than we would have liked because of the delays imposed by the House of Lords.”
The Safety of Rwanda Act that finally passed last week allows illegal migrants to be detained ahead of their removal to the east African country.
The Rwanda plan is Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to stop small boat crossings that have increased on last year.
On Tuesday 268 made the deadly journey across the Channel in a quarterly rise of 27 per cent on 2023 rates.
Mr Cleverly blasted: “We see the footage of these fit young men getting off boats. And we ask ourselves, where are the women? where are the children?”
Urged by one Sun reader to take drastic action like shooting letting the French try puncture the vessels before they leave the beaches, Mr Cleverly insisted: “I am not comfortable with the idea of people shooting towards crowded bits of beaches
