Mastermind of Australia's successful small boats crackdown urges Sir Keir Starmer to resurrect Rwanda plan
Alexander Downer said it was a tragedy Labour axed the scheme and the PM should 'eat political humble pie'.
3
3
The Aussies cut illegal crossings from a record high of 20,000 in 2014 to nearly zero by sending migrants to the island of Nauru.
Ex-foreign minister Mr Downer said: 'I regard it as a tragedy that the Rwanda plan became a party political issue.
"The Tories did lots of bad things but that wasn't one.
'It would have worked assuming the legal issues could be properly addressed — and they were being.
"So the easiest thing for them to do would be to eat a bit of political humble pie and reinstitute the Rwanda scheme.'
But small boat arrivals are about 40 per cent higher on Labour's watch, with more than 40,000 coming here since the election.
Sir Keir has said he is open to using offshore processing if there is evidence it works.
3
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
42 minutes ago
- Times
Trans ruling set to be big issue for SNP at next election
John Swinney's 'fear of activists' within the SNP has prevented him from implementing the Supreme Court ruling which asserts sex is defined by biology, a feminist campaign group has said. For Women Scotland (FWS) won the backing of the UK's highest court in April for its case that the legal definition of sex in the Equality Act is based on sex at birth, not by which gender people may want to be identified by. However, the SNP government has faced criticism for not implementing the ruling to enforce single-sex spaces for biological men and women in public sector services such as schools and prisons. Susan Smith, a director of FWS, which is taking the Scottish government to court for the second time over the issue, told LBC News that 'fear of activists' in the SNP was preventing ministers from implementing the ruling. She argued that its policies, including delaying implementing the ruling and making gender self-ID easier, were likely to backfire on the party in Scottish parliament elections next year. Sections within the SNP base still strongly support the policies pursued by Nicola Sturgeon, despite these now being viewed as costing the party wider public support. Swinney was 'risking making this an election issue', Smith said. John Swinney risks a lawsuit damaging him shortly before the Holyrood election next year JANE BARLOW/PA 'If we do end up going to court that will be close to the 2026 election and I cannot understand why John Swinney would want to preside over another humiliating legal defeat,' she said. Swinney had agreed to meet FWS to discuss the issue but later pulled out, saying he 'had a lot on his plate', Smith claimed. 'I think he'll be wishing had met with us,' she added. 'I don't know if the Scottish government thinks we'll get bored and go away but we won't.' The new legal action wants a court ruling on the legality of Scottish government's policies in prisons and schools. Under official guidance, men and boys who claim to have switched gender to female can enter single-sex women's spaces. The guidance also allows for biological males to compete against girls in school sports if they say they identify as female. • Hadley Freeman: Scotland is sullied by the cult of gender ideology Police Scotland became one of the first public services to exclude trans men and women from spaces such as toilets and changing rooms in offices and police stations designated for biological men and women last month. But the Scottish government is yet to update its advice to the wider public sector, including the civil service, schools and prisons, totalling hundreds of thousands of employees, saying it is waiting for official guidance from the UK-wide Equalities and Human Rights Commission. FWS said it had been left with 'little choice' but to take the Scottish government to court again after nationalist politicians refused to abandon gender self-ID policies, which the group says are now clearly in breach of the law. Formal proceedings began on Friday with the lodging of court papers. The Scottish government has 21 days to respond. The Scottish government said it would not comment on a live legal action.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Starmer hails Zelenskiy's desire for ‘just peace' amid fears of Russian land grab
Keir Starmer has hailed Volodymyr Zelenskiy's desire for a 'just and lasting peace' in Ukraine, amid worries a Russian land grab could result from negotiations to end the war. The British Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon, where allied leaders prepared for a meeting with US President Donald Trump alongside Mr Zelenskiy in Washington on Monday. Advertisement European leaders appear poised to join Mr Zelenskiy in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian president, after his last encounter with his American counterpart in the Oval Office resulted in a diplomatic crisis. Giving a readout of the video call between coalition allies, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'The leaders reaffirmed their continued support to Ukraine, and praised President Zelenskiy's desire for a just and lasting peace as he prepares for further consultations with President Trump in Washington DC. 'The leaders also commended President Trump's commitment to providing security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the coalition of the willing will play a vital role through the Multinational Force Ukraine, among other measures. 'They re-emphasised the readiness to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces.' Advertisement The call followed fears that Mr Trump may have been swayed by Vladimir Putin's demands for ending the war when the pair met in Alaska on Friday. News reports suggested Mr Putin wants full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two occupied Ukrainian regions, in exchange for withdrawing troops from other areas. Mr Trump is inclined to press the Ukrainian president to accept the demands at their meeting on Monday, the reports added. President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) The US leader also appeared to change his mind about the need for a ceasefire following his meeting with Mr Putin, who has refused to lay down arms ahead of a sustained peace deal. Advertisement US secretary of state Marco Rubio has since insisted Russia will face 'additional consequences' if no peace deal is reached. Fresh sanctions are not off the table, Mr Rubio told American broadcasters, though he claimed they would not lead Russia to accept a ceasefire. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it did not matter that Mr Trump was no longer aiming for a ceasefire before brokering a wider peace, as either would 'stop the killing'. Appearing alongside her at a press conference before the coalition of the willing call, Mr Zelensky agreed, but insisted negotiations needed to result in the 'correct steps to have lasting peace, to stop Putin' rather than simply a pause in the war. Advertisement Earlier, Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Mr Putin had agreed to Nato-like protection for Ukraine for the first time at the Alaska summit, as a concession to western allies. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,' he told CNN. European leaders on Saturday suggested Mr Trump had indicated he is now willing to provide American air support for the alliance, a 'security guarantee' said to be vital to its operation. Those travelling to Washington on Monday alongside Mr Starmer includes Mr Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Finland's Alexander Stubb, EU Commission president Ms von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte. Advertisement Ahead of the Oval Office encounter, the allies are likely to be mindful of the previous time Mr Zelenskiy appeared in the room – February's bust-up, which resulted in American aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Donald Trump is ‘not a force for good' London Mayor says
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he would be 'more than happy' to meet Donald Trump – despite warning that the US President could be 'inadvertently radicalising people' and is 'not a force for good'. Mr Khan dismissed jibes that President Trump made against him on a recent visit to Scotland, where he claimed the London Mayor was 'a nasty person' who has 'done a terrible job'. Advertisement The Labour politician said remarks such as those were 'water off a duck's back'. However, he told an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe it sometimes felt like he was 'nine years old again' and 'in the school playground'. Mr Khan, speaking at the Political Party show with comedian Matt Forde, hit back at the US President, saying: 'Somebody who has views like he does about black people, about women, about gays, about Muslims, about Mexicans, thinks I'm nasty. 'Really. He is the leader of the free world, arguably the most powerful man in the world, and really.' Advertisement He spoke out as he said that records showed since the middle of January this year – when Mr Trump began his second term in the White House – and July 'there have never been more Americans applying to British citizenship and living in London'. The Mayor said: 'So I think Americans have got good taste by and large.' He added that he hoped the President would come to London during his state visit to the UK next month, with Sir Sadiq stressing the 'diversity' of the capital was a 'strength, not a weakness'. Despite his comments about the US President, Sir Sadiq Khan said he would be 'happy' to meet Donald Trump (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Speaking about this diversity, he insisted: 'I think it makes us stronger not weaker, richer not poorer. Advertisement 'And when President Trump says some of the things he does, it brings from the periphery to the mainstream, views that are potentially dangerous. 'He inadvertently – I'm not going to suggest he does it deliberately – he inadvertently could be radicalising people with views that could lead to them doing things that are dangerous.' He spoke out about fears that minorities 'could be treated less favourably because of the views of the President of the USA' as he accused Mr Trump of 'using London and our diversity as a political football, as a proxy for a culture war'. The London Mayor continued: 'On a personal level, it is water off a duck's back, but we can't run away from the fact that there are some really serious challenges we face as a western society and President Trump, in my view, I speak generally, isn't a force for good.' Advertisement However he insisted that he would be 'more than happy to meet President Trump' saying he would seek to show him that it is 'possible to be proud to be a westerner and a proud to be Muslim, that it is possible to be British, and proud to be British, and be of Pakistani origin and be a law abiding citizen and we aren't three headed monsters'. The Labour politician said: 'I suspect President Trump may have formed a view of Muslims because of the actions of a small minority of really bad people who are terrorists and use Islam in a perverted way. 'What I would want President Trump to know is that is a very small fraction of Muslims across the globe. 'So if there was an opportunity to meet President Trump, I would be more than happy to do so.' Advertisement
