POLICING Minister Dame Diana Johnson has said that the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats is “really disappointing” but the government has a viable plan to tackle the issue.

Speaking to GB News, she said: “I think we know what the problem is and it’s this government that’s actually now introducing a range of measures to try and tackle the gangs.

“The previous government were in power for six years, and they allowed these gangs to get really entrenched and their networks really embedded. It’s going to take us a bit of time, and obviously the figures are really disappointing at the moment, but we do have a plan.

“We have a range of measures to try and tackle the smugglers, to go after their money, to deal with the French, to work with the French in a positive way, to return people. You’ll know that agreement was reached just a few weeks ago.

“And we’re also getting the French to look at what they do on the beaches, because when I was over in northern France, it was quite clear the French would not get involved if individuals were in small boats. As soon as they were in shallow water in a boat, the police would not get involved.

“They’re now looking to change that tactic, which, again, will be really helpful. So a whole range of measures. We’re the ones actually delivering on that.

“The previous government had one scheme, Rwanda. Four people went voluntarily, £700 million was spent. And they saw, I think it was about 88 or 84,000 people came while that Rwanda scheme was actually in place. So it’s this government that’s actually going to deliver on this.”

On the new returns deal with France, she said: “That’s one measure, that is not the complete number of things we are doing to tackle the small boats. Unlike the previous government, who had one policy, which was Rwanda, which failed. There was no evidence that that worked as a deterrent.

“What we’re saying is there’s no one silver bullet for this. You have to go after the gangs. You have to get a better relationship with the French. You have to get the French police to act differently on the beaches.

“You have to make sure that you know the advertisements that are going out on TikTok and other social media forums, they’re dealt with, they’re taken down, and that people who do that are going to be held to be committing a crime.

“There’s a whole range of things here we’re doing, including the border command that was set up, the counter-terrorism powers that we’re bringing forward in the borders bill going through Parliament to tackle the gangs, a whole range of issues to try and deal with the embedded nature of these criminal gangs.”