Suella Braverman warns illegal migrants they’re not welcome in Britain as she joins Greek coastguards on front line
SUELLA Braverman yesterday warned illegal migrants they were unwelcome in Britain — as she joined Greek coastguards on the front line.
In a hard-hitting interview, the Home Secretary said the crisis was creating an unprecedented challenge for Britain and Europe.
She added that now was not the time to be timid and only a zero tolerance approach would stop the small boats.
Ms Braverman insisted our Rwanda deportation plan was crucial to the fight — but revealed publicly for the first time that she was working on a Plan B in case the Supreme Court blocked it.
She spoke exclusively to The Sun on Sunday as we joined her on a two-day visit to see Greece’s beefed-up border patrols in action.
Ms Braverman said Athens had made it abundantly clear that illegal migrants were not welcome in their country by adopting an ultra-tough approach.
And she vowed to replicate that hardline strategy at home in Britain.
“What they have achieved is quite remarkable,” the minister said.
“They have done that through a zero-tolerance approach of securing their borders and a robust level of deterrence.
“They have made it clear that if you come to Greece illegally, you’re not welcome.
“And I think what we can learn and take away from their experience is that in order to fix this problem — in order to stop the boats — we need to take bold and tough measures.
“We can’t be timid.
“We need to be clear and open about what we are doing and why we are doing it — even in the face of fierce opposition.
“And that’s why I’m very confident in the value of our agreement with Rwanda — because it represents deterrence.”
Just a few years ago, Greece was thrust into the heart of the migration crisis.
More than 850,000 people, many fleeing war in Syria, turned up on its famous white beaches in 2015 alone.
Islands once packed with tourists searching for sun and relaxation turned into makeshift migrant camps.
But now the country has fewer migrant boat crossings than Britain. Just 12,758 people arrived on small boats last year.
In Britain that number stood at more than 40,000.
So how did Greece do it?
It built a 16ft steel fence along 22 miles of its border with Turkey, ramped up coastguard numbers and patrols and hired more asylum case workers so claims could be processed faster.
Ms Braverman joined the Hellenic Coast Guard for a patrol in the Aegean waters around the island of Samos.
Sliding into the captain’s seat, she was briefed on operations as the crew around her used thermal cameras and radar to comb the waters for any signs of migrant boats.
Above them on a wall is a picture of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, looking over a boat on the waters below.
Earlier, she visited a large migrant camp holding 3,900 people waiting for their claims for asylum to be processed.
It stretches across 154 acres — a mass of grey portable buildings along the dazzling blue coastline.
Before it was set up, thousands of boat migrants had set up their own makeshift camp up in the hills.
One Greek official said: “There were thousands up there. It had one of the best views on Samos.”
But Greece’s tough stance has sparked criticism.
Athens has been accused of carrying out migrant boat pushbacks — forcing them back to Turkish waters.
Charities say pushbacks are dangerous and have cost lives.
But Ms Braverman said the lesson to learn from Greece is that a tough deterrent is needed to protect borders — and the Rwanda deportation plan is Britain’s.
She added: “By delivering our scheme with Rwanda, we’ll be sending the message that if you come to the UK illegally, you will be detained and thereafter swiftly removed.
“That’s a robust approach to deterrence. We have seen that work here in Greece.
“And I believe that approach can work in the UK.”
The minister said Britain is adopting a carrot-and-stick approach to border protection.
If Rwanda is the stick, then safe and legal routes for genuine refugees is the carrot.
She said: “At the same time we in the UK and in Europe have been incredibly generous through our safe and legal routes.
“In the UK alone we’ve taken and welcomed more than 500,000 people since 2015 through our humanitarian routes.”
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its long-awaited ruling on whether the Rwanda deportation deal is lawful or not within weeks.
If judges give it the green light, then the Home Office wants to get the first deportation aircraft up in the air early in the new year.
Many anxious Tory MPs think their only chance of winning the next election is to get the Rwanda plan working.
But its fate lies in the hands of five judges.
If they give it the all-clear, the MPs believe it will put rocket boosters under Rishi Sunak’s embattled regime.
But if it is a thumbs-down then calls from Tory backbenchers to quit the European Convention on Human Rights to regain control of our borders will become a roar.
For the first time, Ms Braverman revealed the Home Office was working on a Plan B in case the decision did not go its way.
“A prudent approach — and you’d expect this of any responsible government — is to plan for all eventualities,” she said.
“And we are doing that, we are working intensively on what we might do in the event of a defeat.
“I can’t get into the details, unfortunately, but we are planning for all outcomes.”
Asked if this could mean ignoring the European Convention on Human Rights, she added: “I can’t get to what I do know.
“The Prime Minister says we’ll do whatever it takes.”
As the migrant crisis intensifies, other countries, notably Austria, are eyeing up their own versions of the Rwanda deal.
In a withering put-down, Ms Braverman dismissed her critics as soft-touches who needed to get real about the threat uncontrolled borders posed to our security.
She said: “There are many people who take a naive view of the issue of migration.
“People are coming to the UK and they’re breaking our rules, they’re undermining our rules.
“And ultimately they are posing a real risk to the robustness of our borders, to public safety, to our security.”