British public likes plan to deport small boat migrants – but thinks it won’t work

The British public supports the plan to deport small boat migrants to Rwanda – but most think it will make no difference, a new poll has revealed.

The exclusive Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent showed 42 per cent of respondents support the government’s controversial plan to deport those coming to the UK illegally, while 25 per cent opposed the plan.

The poll is based on the government’s immigration deal with Rwanda and was conducted before Suella Braverman unveiled the government’s Illegal Migration Bill this week to turn back all arrivals in small boats, saying the legislation was “necessary, proportionate and humanitarian”, despite backlash from civil servants and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Just under half (44 per cent) of those surveyed said the government’s deportation plan made them feel “proud to be British”, while 30 per cent said they were ashamed of the move.

While polling showed overall support for the plan, 52 per cent of people said they thought it would make no difference to the number of people arriving in the UK via small boats.

Rishi Sunak met Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday to agree a deal to give France nearly half a billion pounds to fund moves to tackle the crisis.

The “unprecedented” package will help pay for a new detention centre near Dunkirk, more drones and an extra 500 police officers to prevent migrants making the dangerous journey to Britain.

The UK has already committed more than £300 million to France in the last decade to help tackle unauthorised migration, but the latest pledge marks a significant increase.

More than 40,000 people arrived in the UK on a small boat last year and the home secretary has suggested this year’s figure could be twice that.

Meanwhile, the prime minister also said he hopes that everyone – including Gary Lineker – will realise his highly controversial small boats legislation is the “right approach”.

The BBC presenter compared the language the government used to set out its asylum plans to “that used by Germany in the 30s”, prompting the BBC to force him to step down from hosting Saturday’s Match of the Day.

Mr Sunak said there was “nothing compassionate” about migrants dying in the channel.

The Savanta ComRes poll of 2,193 adults for The Independent was carried out between 3 and 5 March.