00:00the situation around the ongoing border chaos. It's all about the weather. Blame the weather.
00:05There's too much good weather. Watch this space in a minute. They'll probably be blaming climate
00:11change. We can't do anything about it. It's because of the weather. Well, there's always
00:15an excuse, isn't there? I mean, clearly the last government made some mistakes in this area,
00:19and I was elected as a Conservative MP. I'm a new Conservative MP, so I want to bring some new ideas
00:23to the table. That's why I'm signing up to Rupert Lowe's early day motion on this. There's always
00:28an excuse, isn't there? The weather, legal loopholes, the French, what else? We've got to sort this
00:34problem out. People in this country want real action on this crisis, and it is a crisis.
00:39And I'll be joined by Tony Smith in the next hour, the former Direct General of the UK Border Force.
00:46He's got some very good ideas how we can sort this, which seems pretty easy. Brings you back to the
00:51question, Peter Bedford, if it's not a case of there's a way, is there a will? Is there a will
00:57to clamp down? A lot of people are feeling the government are caught in the headlights with
01:01the Conservative Party. They were two parties on Brexit. A Remain camp, a Brexit camp. Is the
01:08simple fact of the matter? Half of the Labour Party know they've got to do something about this,
01:12or they are sunk. The Red Wall, the MPs there, they'll be done for. The other half actually probably
01:18welcome mass migration with open arms. Sir Keir Starmer, lest we forget, campaigned for mass
01:23movements of people, a campaign to cancel Brexit for three years. Is that the problem? The Labour
01:29Party is two parties on this issue. Well, you know, clearly the government is divided on this.
01:36The last Conservative government tried to bring in a deterrent here, the Rwanda Bill. One of the first
01:40things this government did was scrap that deterrent. And that is why we're seeing these illegal boat
01:45crossings rise week after week. You know, just at the weekend, we saw over a thousand cross in a single
01:50day, because there is no deterrent. And that is why I'm working with independent MPs like Rupert Lowe,
01:55with the DUP, with fellow Conservative colleagues to ensure that we've got robust action on this,
01:59because the British people are crying out for an end to this crisis.
02:03OK, so let's now focus on this motion that's been tabled, a mass deportation motion. 13 MPs have
02:13signed it, mostly Conservatives and a couple of Ulster Unionists. Tell me, what's motivated you
02:19to sign Rupert Lowe's motion? Well, it's quite clear to me and to my constituents and indeed the
02:25public at large, that this country has a problem with illegal migration. We have people coming to
02:29the country that have no right to be here. They shouldn't even be allowed into British waters,
02:34let alone allowed to land and stay here. So the British people are crying out for robust action
02:39and removing those that shouldn't even be here. It shouldn't even be a contentious issue, should
02:44it? They shouldn't be here. They're illegal to be here. Therefore, they should be removed. And that
02:48would be the ultimate deterrent to ensuring that we restore control over our borders once again.
02:53And I'm just looking at some data on this now. It's funny because a lot of people think this is a
02:58fringe issue. In actual fact, when you put it to the public, particularly around the deportation of
03:04foreign criminals, there's a pretty big rump of support for this notion. It's about 85% of the
03:10electorate now are considering this as a notion. Only a few months ago, perhaps, Mr. Bedford,
03:18this would have been considered a bit spicy for many. It would have been considered a bit far out
03:23there. Trump on steroids. Do you think the public mood is shifting? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is
03:29common sense. Now, I've been calling for this before I was an MP, that we need more robust borders. We need
03:34greater action. I mean, I've asked in Parliament just recently, you know, the government need to
03:38keep all options on the table. What we've seen over the last number of years is institutions, the Home
03:44Office clearly isn't fit for purpose. The judiciary in this country are liberal, and they try to frustrate
03:50any attempts by government to deport those that shouldn't be here. So we need fundamental reform. And that
03:55could be in the case, in this situation, of coming out of the ECHR, or even legislating to remove
04:00ourselves from those international obligations on migration. Everything needs to be on the table as
04:05we try and get a handle of this crisis. And let's face it, logistically, this would be a goliath of a
04:14policy. Millions of people, millions and millions, if not billions of pounds, should be all sorts of red
04:22tape. As you said, the ECHR, the human rights lawyers will be licking their lips. So, and even Mr. Lowe admits in this
04:29motion, there's very little chance of this being passed into legislation, certainly in the term of
04:35this government. But it's not just about that, is it? It's about trying to send out a message, a message
04:40you believe that people have had enough. Absolutely. You know, a lot of times in Parliament, we use these
04:46motions, like early day motions, or adjournment debates, or Westminster Hall debates, to stimulate
04:50that debate, to get that public conversation going. So by Rupert raising this in early day motion,
04:55many of my Conservative colleagues, a lot of new sound, proper Conservatives elected at last
05:00election. People like myself, Bradley Thomas, Lewis Cocking, we are proper Conservatives. We want
05:05to deal with this issue, because we accept the last government made many mistakes on. But we want to
05:09see the government taking the action that is necessary. And all options need to be on the table
05:14as we address that. What would you say to the inevitable criticism, Mr. Bedford, that this
05:19is racist, this rounding up of millions of people and sending them back to where they came from,
05:25feels very right wing, far right, no doubt they will throw that badge at you. Have you thought
05:31about that? No, it's common sense. You know, it's quite easy in this day and age to band around the
05:37racism card, right? This is a matter of being legal and not illegal. The people that should not be here,
05:43they haven't come through the legal routes, they haven't got a visa, they haven't got a right to be
05:47here, shouldn't be here. At the end of the day, this is about upholding the rule of law. It isn't
05:51about race, it isn't about colour, it isn't about background, it's about what's legal and what isn't
05:54legal. And that's the approach I take. Peter Bedford, is there something going on here within
06:01the Conservative ranks? Quite clearly, as I alluded to before, two Conservative parties, certainly on
06:06Brexit, and yourself and the Conservative colleagues who've signed up to this motion are clearly moving
06:13towards that rump, moving down towards a Rupert Lowe position. Might this get you in trouble with
06:19Kemi Badenow? This is certainly not Conservative policy. Look, I was elected by the residents of
06:26Mid-Leicestershire and I was elected to represent them in Parliament. So my primary loyalty is the
06:30residents of Mid-Leicestershire. As you know, the Conservative party is currently going through a
06:34policy review phase. So we're looking at all options on policy review. And it's for people like me as a
06:39backbench Conservative MP and my colleagues to make the case for what policy we believe the Conservative
06:45party and the opposition should be adopting going forward. Now, I've clearly articulated my view
06:49today on your show quite clearly where I want the policy to go. And it's my job as a backbencher to
06:54persuade colleagues in my own party to adopt that position.
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