Question
Some people, including the Prime Minister, argue that the small boats crisis was caused by our leaving the EU. It started in 2018. In the two years before Brexit, only 289 small boat people were sent back under agreements. What is the solution? The only solution, surely, is to detain and deport. As the Home Secretary will not leave the European convention on human rights, will she at least consider creating return hubs in a distant Council of Europe country, so that we can have a genuine deterrent?
Answer
The Father of the House will know that there is a distinction between the rules of the European Union and the European convention on human rights. The ECHR is not an EU instrument, although most EU countries are signed up to it. We have discussed the ECHR across the Dispatch Boxes before, and he knows our view, which I think is the right view, about simply leaving the ECHR, as his party has suggested it would. That is not something his party ever did when it was in office, and that is because it would put at risk all sorts of other agreements that we have with other countries—agreements that we depend on. We have been able to make more progress on returns as a Government while remaining within the ECHR, and we will continue that going forward.14% point-scoring
Verdict: RED (22/100)
The reply only partly answers this exchange. On the question of what the Government will do about small boat crossings, it names no concrete policy and gestures only at progress on returns within the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). On the question of whether the UK will leave the ECHR and consider return hubs in a distant Council of Europe country, it confirms the UK will not leave and explains why that matters, but it never says whether return hubs will be considered. A member of the public would likely need to ask again for specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the Government's solution to the small boats crisis? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply never names a concrete solution to small boat crossings. It only says the Government has made progress on returns within the ECHR and will continue that, which gestures at part of the strategy without describing the policy itself. |
| Will the Home Secretary consider creating return hubs in a distant Council of Europe country to deter small boat crossings, given that the UK will not leave the European Convention on Human Rights? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply confirms the UK will not leave the ECHR and argues that leaving would jeopardise other agreements, which addresses the question's premise. It never says whether return hubs in a distant Council of Europe country will be considered, and its only returns-related claim is a general commitment to keep making progress within the ECHR. |