'NO PLAN'
Illegal migrants are queuing in Calais waiting for a Starmer government – he’ll let them on the streets, warns Rishi
You can watch our election special showdown in full on our YouTube channel
RISHI Sunak tonight claimed illegal migrants are "queuing up in Calais waiting for a Labour government" as he was grilled by our readers in The Sun's election showdown.
He admitted he has not "got the job done" yet on stopping small boats but promised the British public that he has a plan to kick illegal migrants out - while Labour will "release everyone".
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Sir Keir Starmer hit back and called the Rwanda policy an "expensive gimmick" and claimed people from countries such as Bangladesh aren't being removed to their home nations under the Tories.
The Labour leader said the ongoing small boats crisis is a potential national security risk, because the UK "needs to know" who is coming to the UK.
In our election showdown clash tonight:
- Rishi Sunak claimed “Keir Starmer won't tell you what he's going to do” - because you won’t like it
- The PM said he's "incredibly angry" about the Tory election betting scandal
- Keir Starmer was hammered by Sun readers over Jeremy Corbyn but heaped praise on Boris Johnson
- The Labour leader saw his plans to beat the small boats crisis blasted by hecklers
- Starmer insisted he will meet with JK Rowling to thrash out trans and gender rights in a bombshell statement
- Sunak claimed that he was one of the first to raise the alarm on Liz Truss's plans in 2022
The PM told our readers that the numbers for net migration are already forecast to halve in the next 12 months - and the Tories will then introduce a legal cap to bring incoming migrants down.
Sir Keir was heckled by our audience over his party's plan to smash the gangs facilitating channel crossings, with one man yelling out that he's "not going to stop the boats".
When vowing to scrap the “expensive gimmick” Rwanda plan, a reader called Boris also heckled him by yelling out: “Where are you going to send them!”
In a joke about the recent betting scandal, Harry told Keir that although "we can't have betting in politics", 65 per cent of migrants are accepted in France and "you'd take those odds".
Most read in The Sun
Sir Keir responded: "The odds at the moment are 100%" because the Tories are failing to process migrants currently in the country."
He added: “There are 50,000 people not being processed, if we carry on with Rishi Sunak as prime minister it will get to 100k by the end of the year.”
The Labour leader was firm on his position, stressing that "nobody but nobody" should be crossing the Channel on rickety dinghies.
But some viewers were left unconvinced as he promised to return illegal migrants while simultaneously axing the Rwanda plan.
Sir Keir also told viewers that Labour will "fight for every vote right until the end of the day."
He said: "Change is only going to happen when people go out and vote... we are taking nothing for granted."
Asked if he's confident of a super-majority, Sir Keir added: "What I would say for this is this is a change election.
"We've had 14 years of this. We know things aren't working."
Sunak told Sun readers there is a clear choice for voters on July 4 when it comes to dealing with illegal migration.
He said that those who have been detained as part of his Rwanda scheme will either be sent on flights out of the country if he wins or will be released onto our streets if Labour win at the ballots.
We quizzed him over the soaring numbers of net migration - with 685,000 people coming to the UK last year.
He told viewers: "If I am your PM, flights will go, people will be removed.
"If Keir wins, they are all going to be released and out on the streets - it's your choice."
Pushed on the fact that no flights have taken off to Rwanda since the policy was announced in 2022, he said: "What have I done every time when someone has tried to block it… I've kept going.
"I put new laws on the table. We've passed those laws to deal with Albania, but this is about the future.
"I've got a plan. If you think this is if you think this is an issue… I've not heard from anyone an alternative plan."
"The Labour party are going to release everyone."
Rishi Sunak
He added: "The choice for all of you election is whether you believe illegal migrants should not be in our country.
"They should be able to move out to somewhere else, or we're all going to be released with the tape and they'll be out on the streets, but that's a choice."
Asked on how he rates his own performance since he became PM in 2022, he said: "I made sure we could restore economic security and tackle the cost of living.
"You can judge me. I want to be very transparent about what I'm wanting to do for you - and the first of those was bringing down inflation.
"That is a sign of progress."
The Sun's Political Editor Harry Cole pushed Sunak on the betting scandal, saying "your bodyguard, your aid, your campaign manager" are all being probed by the Gambling Commission.
He said he was "incredibly angry" when he heard that members of his own party were being investigated over allegedly having a flutter on the date of the election.
Rwanda Plans
What is Rishi's Rwanda plan?
Under the flagship immigration plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally will never have the right to remain permanently.
For those who cannot be returned to their home country, ministers plan to send them to Rwanda, a country in eastern Africa.
The government believes the threat of being removed to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, their asylum claims will be processed but there is no route back to the UK, save for some exceptional circumstances such as individual safety concerns.
Britain will also pay for migrants to start a new life in Rwanda for the first five years.
What’s the hold up?
First announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the scheme has been bogged down by relentless legal challenges.
The first flight was due to take off in the summer of that year, but was blocked on the runway at the last minute by a European Court order.
Since then the legality of the plan has been contested in the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court judgement in November last year which said Rwanda was unsafe for asylum seekers.
What is Sunak doing?
To salvage the Rwanda plan from the Supreme Court’s scathing ruling, Rishi Sunak has unveiled a two-pronged workaround.
First, he has signed a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for asylum seekers that have been enshrined in law.
Second, he has introduced new legislation that declares Rwanda a safe country.
It means courts, police and officials would have to treat Rwanda as safe and therefore throw out legal challenges to deportation.
He has given ministers the power to ignore European grounding orders to avoid a repeat of the 2022 runway fiasco.
When will flights take off?
Sunak insists both Britain and Rwanda are ready for the first flights to take off in July.
But he called the General Election while the Rwanda plan still rumbles on - and flights won't take off before July 4.
Sunak replied: "I've been crystal clear, if anyone has broken the rules not upheld the standards, I would expect that they will be held to account.
"They should face the consequences of the law, and they will be booted out and the Conservative Party.
"I was as angry as anybody when I heard about these things. The right thing to do, is to get to the bottom of this and investigate this properly."
Read More on The US Sun
The latest polls put support for Sir Keir Starmer at 40 per cent, 20 points ahead of rival Mr Sunak.
But with ten days still to go, the PM is still raring to gain back ground and avoid a Tory wipeout.
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