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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has claimed that deportations of illegal migrants are “skyrocketing” after new figures were released. Ms Mahmood revealed that nearly 50,000 illegal migrants have been removed or deported from Britain since Labour came to power, a 23% increase in removals compared to the 16 months before.

Of the total removals since November 1 last year, more than 11,000 of them were related to failed asylum cases – a 27% increase. The new data release comes just days before the Home Secretary is expected to unveil sweeping changes to the country’s laws to deter illegal migration. Ms Mahmood championed the news, saying it proved she is doing “whatever it takes”. 

The Home Secretary insisted: “Nearly 50,000 illegal migrants have been removed or deported since the election.

“We’ve ramped up enforcement, deported foreign criminals from our streets, and saved taxpayers millions.

“I pledge today to scale up the removal and deportations of illegal migrants and do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”

This afternoon, Ms Mahmood’s deputy at the Home Office Mike Tapp admitted Britain is seen as a “soft touch” for asylum seekers in Europe, and hinted the government may look at reforming the European Convention on Human Rights to put an end to small boat crossings. 

Mr Tapp told LBC: “We are really keen to make sure the ECHR is fit for purpose here… we can’t leave it. We’ve got trade deals, peace deals, returns deals which are underpinned by that.

“We are making sure that domestically, we do what we can to make sure that it’s fair, because that’s what the public expect, so we can deport and remove people who shouldn’t be here… By ensuring that our asylum system is more in line with Europe, you will reduce that asylum shopping, so those aren’t travelling to us aren’t seen as a soft touch.”

It is understood that Ms Mahmood will unveil sweeping changes to Britain’s asylum laws on Monday, including new rules forcing judges to prioritise public safety over the rights of illegal migrants. 

The number of offences that qualify foreign criminals for automatic removal will also be increased, and she will overhaul modern slavery laws to require migrants to make a claim as soon as they arrive in the UK, rather than conjuring the defence out of thin air months later. 

Home Office sources claim the new package of measures will be “the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times.”

This is a breaking news story. More to come…