Former Prime Minister stresses the importance of addressing illegal migration to safeguard the UK’s immigration system and public faith in government action.

Lord David Cameron has warned that failure to address the issue of small boat crossings would be “destructive” to the UK’s political system, undermining public trust in government action. Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, the former Prime Minister emphasised that tackling illegal migration, particularly through dangerous Channel crossings, was crucial to maintaining the integrity of the UK’s immigration policies and ensuring that people continue to trust politicians to act in their interests.

Cameron, now serving as Foreign Secretary, described the Government’s controversial Rwanda policy as “the best Bill to get the job done” and urged rebellious Tory MPs to support the initiative. He called on the Foreign Office to play a greater role in supporting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” by fostering migration dialogues with countries whose citizens are making dangerous crossings to Britain.

According to Lord Cameron, visible illegal immigration, such as the small boat crossings, can severely damage a country’s legal migration framework and erode the public’s confidence in political leaders. “Having very visible illegal migration is incredibly destructive to a country’s legal migration and immigration system, and it’s also destructive to people’s view of the ability of politicians and governments to act on their behalf,” he said.

Looking ahead, Cameron noted that the Rwanda Bill would return to the House of Commons in the new year, where it is expected to face opposition from both the right-wing of the Conservative Party, who want tougher measures to bypass international courts, and more centrist members who are concerned about the UK’s international reputation. However, he insisted that the bill was designed to achieve the policy’s goal of reducing illegal migration.

Cameron further argued that the European Convention on Human Rights was not the obstacle preventing deportation flights to Rwanda, despite ongoing concerns about legal challenges. Reflecting on his time as Prime Minister, Cameron recalled his own battle with the ECHR over prisoner voting rights, where he famously resisted the European court’s demands and won the dispute.