Baroness Jacqui Smith has defended Labour’s intensified crackdown on illegal immigration, insisting the government is taking practical action rather than relying on “gimmicks” like the previous administration’s Rwanda scheme.
She fumed that the Rwanda scheme had “wasted £700million of public money” whilst achieving little impact.
Immigration enforcement teams made 609 arrests in January 2025, marking the highest monthly total since records began in 2019.
The Home Office conducted 828 workplace raids last month, a significant increase from 556 in January 2024.
Baroness Jacqui Smith said that is it is “not cruel”
GB News
Speaking to GB News, Baroness Jacqui Smith said: “I think it’s important that people have confidence that we’re actually taking action to remove people from the country where they don’t have a right to stay.
“It was something that I was very keen to do when I was Home Secretary back in 2007. Unfortunately, of course, what we’ve seen in the years in between is a lot of gimmicks, a Rwanda scheme that frankly sent for people to return to Rwanda, all of whom were volunteers and wasted £700million of public money.
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“What the public want to see is action that’s actually going to make a difference and to be reassured about, that was the reason for those pictures.
“Of course, last night as well, the government and the Home Secretary introduced into Parliament the borders Bill that will provide real tools to be able to tackle the criminal gangs that are exploiting both this country and the people that they are bringing across the channel.
“That’s the sort of hard headed and practical way of dealing with this action, not gimmicks.”
Her comments came in response to criticism from left-wing Labour MP Clive Lewis, who had described the government’s sharing of deportation flight footage as “cruel” and “enabling the mainstreaming of racism.”
Recently released images show multiple foreign nationals being led onto a specially chartered aircraft
Home Office
Baroness Smith strongly rejected accusations of cruelty regarding Labour’s deportation policies.
“I don’t think there’s anything cruel about making sure that the laws that we have around our borders are being properly enforced,” she told GB News.
She argued that true cruelty lies in leaving legitimate asylum seekers without decisions, “languishing in hotels, using up money and disturbing communities.”
The former Home Secretary emphasised the need for swift decision-making in immigration cases.
“If you’ve got the right to stay here, you need to stay and integrate into the community. And if you haven’t got the right to stay here, you need to be removed,” Smith stated.
Labour’s messaging has become increasingly robust, with the Yorkshire and Humber Labour Party even using Reform UK’s signature turquoise colour scheme in Facebook advertisements highlighting deportation numbers.
The government’s new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, aimed at providing enhanced powers to law enforcement, is due for its second reading in Parliament.