Join EU migration pact to tackle small boats, says Ed Davey

The UK should join the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact as a way of tackling small boat crossings across the Channel, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said.

The agreement, which came into force in June, aims to speed up the asylum process, increase the number of irregular migrants returned to their home countries and spread responsibility for asylum seekers across the EU.

Sir Ed argues that signing up to the pact would allow the UK to return asylum seekers to the first EU country they entered, thereby "destroying the business model" of the gangs behind the crossings.

Labour said the government's efforts to work with European countries to tackle small boat crossings were "bearing fruit".

A Labour spokesperson said more than 47,000 crossings had been prevented in two years and 70,000 people with no right to be in the UK had been removed.

"There's more to do and that will only happen by working in collaboration with the EU," the spokesperson added.

So far this year, more than 14,000 people have arrived in the UK by small boat - a fall of 43% compared to the previous year.

The EU's new pact, which was nearly 10 years in the making, introduces mandatory screening and an updated database to track those arriving in the bloc.