2 godzin temu
Donald Trump suggested Sir Keir Starmer should involve the military in tackling the small boats crisis during discussions at the Prime Minister's country residence. The US president warned that illegal migration could "destroy" countries from within.
The conversation took place at Chequers, where Trump highlighted his own approach to securing America's borders. He positioned the UK's situation as similar to challenges the US has faced with illegal immigration.
Trump's border claims
The US president boasted about his administration's border control record, claiming dramatic reductions in illegal entries. Trump said: "What I saw happening, with millions of people pouring into our country, I couldn't stand to watch it, and we've done a great job."
He claimed unprecedented success in recent months, stating "the last three months we had zero - from millions of people a year ago, we had zero people enter our country illegally". Speaking alongside Starmer, Trump said: "I think your situation is very similar. You have people coming in and I told the Prime Minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use."
Warning about national security
Trump emphasised the serious consequences of unchecked illegal immigration for national stability. He added: "It destroys countries from within and we're actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country."
UK government response
Starmer responded by highlighting existing government action on the issue. The Prime Minister pointed to the first return under the one-in, one-out deal with France, which took place on Thursday morning just hours before his talks with Trump.
Starmer said: "This is obviously an issue we're taking incredibly seriously." He noted there had been a "record number of returns" of people with no right to be in the UK.
The Prime Minister detailed the morning's operation, explaining: "We struck the returns arrangement with France, and notwithstanding the challenges to that scheme, which you've seen in the last few days, a flight went off at 6.15am this morning, successfully returning someone under that scheme." He described it as a "proof of concept" that needed to be scaled up significantly, adding: "Obviously, there's no silver bullet here. There's a range of things that need to be done, but given the challenges of returning people, it is important we're able to prove it can be done."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
