Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has assured GB News viewers that his Government is working "very closely" with France to tackle Britain's migrant crisis.Questioned by GB News Political Correspondent Katherine Forster on his review, Starmer was grilled on how he is "failing to keep Britain safe" on border security, following a record number of Channel crossings.FULL STORY HERE.
00:04There are warnings from Germany that Russia could invade a NATO ally as soon as in the next four years.
00:12You haven't even committed to get 3% in the next nine years.
00:17Lord Richard Dannet this morning said that this is simply not going to cut the mustard.
00:23One of your favourite phrases, going further and faster.
00:27Shouldn't you be going further and faster on this now?
00:30And linked to that, part of keeping British people safe is border security.
00:36You scrapped the Rwanda deterrent.
00:40You promised to smash the gangs who are clearly running rings around us.
00:44Crossings are up 42% this year compared to last.
00:50Aren't you failing to keep us safe in the English Channel?
00:53Well, let's start with the question of Ukraine, because I think it's fair to say that the UK has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine since the very beginning of this conflict and continues to play a central part.
01:07And I'm very proud of the support that we give to Ukraine and very alert to the continued threat from Russia, whether that's continuing in Ukraine or the wider threat.
01:18And as I mentioned in my speech, don't forget that Russia is already menacing our skies and our waters and cyber attacks.
01:29So this is a real threat that we are dealing with.
01:33I believe that the best way to deter conflict is to prepare for it, which is why we commissioned this report, this review and why we will now act on this review.
01:46Going further and faster in what we're doing, which we have already done with pushing up defence spend to 22.5% by 2027.
01:55That wasn't in the manifesto of any of the parties going into the election, by the way.
01:58That is a commitment we've made since we've been in government.
02:02We will keep to.
02:03And that is the mindset, but also a mindset change that this must produce the defence dividend in the jobs
02:10and the opportunities here in the United Kingdom as we spend more money.
02:16In relation to border security, I want to be really clear.
02:19Nobody should be making that journey across the channel.
02:22And it's our duty to make sure that we ensure that they don't.
02:26We are working very closely with our counterparts in France and elsewhere to take further action in northern France.
02:34And of course, we are giving enhanced powers to our own law enforcement through the Borders Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.
02:44The reason we stood down the Rwanda scheme was because it cost a fortune and only a handful of people went on a voluntary basis to Rwanda and it didn't deter anybody.
02:53I'm not up for gimmicks. I'm up for the hard work of working with partners in enhancing the powers that law enforcement have in my determination to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade.
