Speeches by Johnson.

“What I can tell the hon. Lady is that we inherited a huge backlog of claims for asylum. One of the important parts of dealing with the backlog is processing those claims and determining whether people have an asylum claim that can be successful; if it is not, they should then be returned. That is the whole purpose of c…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. It might help the shadow Home Secretary if I say that the number of hotels has gone down under this Labour Government. [Interruption.] Despite what the shadow Home Secretary says, the number of hotels has gone down since the Government came into power.”

“Again, that is a matter for each individual Opposition Member to explain to their constituents. I know that this is an issue that people care about. Opposition Members will have to explain their decision to their constituents, including in Croydon.”

“I am the Policing Minister, but I know that work is already under way on that issue. The Immigration Minister has had a number of conversations, particularly with employers, as I have just said, about where work should not be taking place because of individuals’ immigration status. There has been investment in the Nati…”

“I welcome the tone of the hon. Lady’s contribution. This is a serious issue; I fully agree with her on peaceful protest, but it is totally unacceptable when that steps over into violent disorder, as we saw last summer, for example. She will know that there is a huge effort going in to deal with the backlog we inherited…”

“I sat on the Select Committee on Home Affairs with the hon. Gentleman for a number of years and I think he attended the visit to Manston when we were both on the Committee. [Interruption.] Well, perhaps he did not, but it might have helped if he had. At Manston, information and biometrics are taken from people who come…”

“My hon. Friend raises a really important point. After the disorder last summer we did see communities spontaneously coming together and wanting to say that what had happened in their local area was done not by the majority but by a very small number of people. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government h…”

“I totally disagree with what the hon. Lady said. Violent disorder is not a symptom—it is criminal. It is thuggery; it is attacks on our brave police officers. There is no reason or excuse for what happened last summer or for any violent disorder that may happen in future. It is criminal, it should be prosecuted, and pe…”

“That is a very important point and there are ongoing conversations with the Home Office and other Government Departments to ensure that it is addressed. That has been a problem particularly in the terrorist field, and action has been taken speedily to get such postings down.”

“As I understand it—obviously, I am the Policing Minister, but I will get the Minister with responsibility for immigration to write to the right hon. Gentleman about this—the National Crime Agency has over 80 ongoing investigations into networks, and 100 new NCA officers have been recruited and funded by the Border Secu…”

“As the House will be aware, on Tuesday 8 July an arrest was made by Essex police following incidents that took place in Epping earlier that day, and a man was subsequently charged. His trial is due to start on 26 August, and he has been remanded in custody until that time. These are very serious allegations and it is v…”

“The Government have been taking action over the past 12 months to deal with the issue of illegal working. There have been 10,031 illegal working visits, leading to 7,130 arrests—a rise of 48% and 51% respectively compared with the year before. That marks the first 12-month period in which more than 10,000 visits have t…”

“The hon. Gentleman is a relatively new Member of this House, but I have been in the House a while and certainly that did not happen under the previous Administration. There are always opportunities to improve and local Members of Parliament, local councils and the police are all engaged when people are moved into certa…”

“Yes. My hon. Friend puts it very well. Within this, there are people fleeing persecution in other parts of the world. This country, as we all know and have heard many times in the House, recognises our role in the world to offer a safe haven to such people. I fully endorse what he says.”

“Absolutely—I am very happy to give that assurance. I know that my hon. Friend has been raising these issues for some time, so I am happy to do that.”

“The number of hotels has come down. The aim is to reduce the overall bill by £1 billion, but the number of hotels has come down since we came into power.”

“I am happy to pass on that issue to the Immigration Minister.”

“The right hon. Lady says that there is no plan. First, we are working with source and transit companies to stop dangerous journeys before they begin. Secondly, we are stepping up law enforcement, with new powers, more National Crime Agency officers and specialist units in France to disrupt smuggling gangs. Thirdly, we …”

“The hon. Lady raises an important point. Over the past few years, the online space in particular has been used for misinformation and downright lies. It is important that we all recognise that we should look carefully at social media sites. We should use critical thinking, as we teach our children in school. We should …”

“My hon. Friend will know that the Immigration Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Dame Angela Eagle), who I believe gave evidence to the esteemed Home Affairs Committee on which he sits, is looking at that issue. A number of companies have been reported in the press as employing or using people in particu…”