"MP Sir Keir Starmer pledges to apprehend small boat migrants and organize their return"

In the midst of a migration crisis, the British government is under increasing pressure to address the rising number of Channel crossings and the use of asylum hotels. The numbers in this scheme are expected to be a small fraction of the total number of migrants arriving.

The latest BMG poll for The i Paper, published this week, shows Nigel Farage's party leading with 35%, 15 points ahead of Labour. The poll results have been consistent since the spring, indicating a growing support for the party's hardline stance on immigration.

Nigel Farage has promised to "detain and send back" migrants arriving in small boats to the UK, while Labour's Sir Keir Starmer has made similar promises to detain and return migrants arriving illegally. However, Labour had previously pledged to close asylum hotels by the time of the next general election.

The government has allowed migrants to continue being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, despite a court challenge. If the Epping injunction had not been overturned, about 130 asylum seekers would have had to move out on 12 September. The case could have had wider ramifications for the more than 200 other hotels housing asylum seekers around the country.

Epping Forest District Council is set to decide on Monday whether it will take its legal challenge regarding the Bell Hotel housing migrants to the Supreme Court. The case in question is the Court of Appeal challenge against the temporary injunction for the Bell Hotel in Epping.

Labour's former lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, has warned his party to move forward in relation to closing asylum hotels. He stated that if the government could not show results on tackling Channel crossings, support for Reform would continue to grow.

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is at a record high in 2025, with 29,003 migrants having crossed so far. Small-scale protests continue outside asylum hotels, adding to the pressure on the government to find a solution to the migration crisis.

In a bid to tackle the issue, the UK and France are trialling a scheme to send migrants arriving on small boats back to France. However, no specific details about the legal route for asylum seekers in this scheme have been provided.

As the migration crisis continues to escalate, both the government and opposition parties are under pressure to find a solution that addresses the concerns of the public while also ensuring the rights and safety of asylum seekers. The next few months are likely to see intense debate and discussion on this critical issue.

"MP Sir Keir Starmer pledges to apprehend small boat migrants and organize their return"