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The Defence Secretary said Russia has used the tactic \u201cas a means of war\u201d to destabilise Western democracies.<\/p>\n
He insisted the UK must be willing to lead an \u201cinternational conversation\u201d on reforming global asylum rules to give Europe the best chance of destroying the people smugglers\u2019 business models.<\/p>\n
Mr Shapps said: \u201cWe are working tirelessly to battle malign influences around the world, and that includes hostile states who are trying to use migration as a weapon. \u201cA recent Joint Expeditionary<\/p>\n
Force meeting had nations saying Russia was using illegal migration as a means of war, so it\u2019s a widely acknowledged problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister knows the threats we face from enemies who work in underhand means to try to destabilise the democracy and freedoms we cherish, and will do what it takes to protect them.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister said, if that requires us to update our laws and lead an international conversation to amend the post-war frameworks around asylum, we must do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Defence Secretary described the malign mass migration tactic as \u201chybrid warfare\u201d and insisted: \u201cEnough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Shapps said: \u201cA recent Joint Expeditionary Force meeting had nations saying Russia was using illegal migration as a means of war. It\u2019s a widely acknowledged problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Prime Minister knows the threats we face from enemies who work in underhand means to try to destabilise the democracy and freedoms we cherish.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do what it takes to protect them. We will stand strong against hybrid warfare.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes as Rishi Sunak said on Saturday that Western governments must \u201ctackle\u201d illegal migration or the numbers arriving in Europe will \u201conly grow\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Sunak said hostile states will \u201csee how unable we are to deal with this\u201d and drive \u201cpeople to our shores\u201d.<\/p>\n
Finland has sealed its border with Russia after accusing Moscow of encouraging a flow of African and Middle Eastern migrants to cross as part of a \u201chybrid operation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Italy has also accused the Wagner Group \u2013 Vladimir Putin\u2019s bloodthirsty mercenaries \u2013 of being behind the surge in migrants crossing to Italy from Libya.<\/p>\n
Rome believes it is part of Moscow\u2019s response to support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
And Poland said Belarus lured migrants to Minsk with the promise of European visas, leading to a crisis on the border between the two nations.<\/p>\n
Belarus has been one of Russia\u2019s few supporters since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Wagner forces have been operating in several African countries including Libya, Mali, and Central African Republic.<\/p>\n
The scale of the illegal migration crisis in Europe has prompted renewed calls for the Refugee Convention to be updated.<\/p>\n
Critics say it was not originally drafted to cope with an era of mass-migration.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a visit to Rome that he would push for reforms to the global asylum system.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIf we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that requires us to update our laws and lead an international conversation to amend the post-war frameworks around asylum, then we must do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The number of small boats crossing the Channel has fallen this year, from 45,755 to 29,328.<\/p>\n
But the number of migrants who have arrived in Europe has skyrocketed this year. At least 249,272 asylum seekers have arrived in EU countries by boat this year.<\/p>\n
The true figure will be even higher as smugglers are still moving people into and across the continent using lorries.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister warned of the failure to act: \u201cOur enemies will see how unable we are to deal with this and so they will increasingly use migration as a weapon: deliberately driving people to our shores to try to destabilise our societies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Sunak is also facing a January battle to get the first deportation flights to Rwanda off the ground.<\/p>\n
Government lawyers are already holding talks with Tory rebels concerned the Prime Minister\u2019s Safety of Rwanda does not go far enough, the Daily Express understands.<\/p>\n
Some Conservative MPs are concerned migrants still have too many opportunities to appeal decisions to deport them to Kigali.<\/p>\n
They are worried that Clause 4 of the Safety of Rwanda Bill effectively signposts migrants to their best chances of avoiding deportation to Kigali.<\/p>\n
Critics hope this will be tightened to drastically reduce the number of people who would be able to successfully appeal deportation to Rwanda.<\/p>\n
This newspaper has also learned MPs who voted for the Bill during last week\u2019s Second Reading could vote against it when it returns to Parliament if significant changes are not made.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told Tory rebels: \u201cI\u2019m confident that the Prime Minister has looked at this very carefully and has got the best possible measures, but if there are ways of improving it further, just as with any piece of legislation, we\u2019ll work with backbench Members of Parliament, including Conservatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can make it even better, of course, we\u2019ll do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Dowden said the Prime Minister \u201cis a pretty rigorous person, he\u2019s looked through this very carefully, turned it upside down, shaken it around, he\u2019s pretty sure this is the best thing we can get\u201d.<\/p>\n
Conservative MP Mark Francois said the rebel MPs abstained because \u201cwe took the Prime Minister at his word\u201d. He added: \u201cThe Prime Minister said he was prepared to entertain tightening up the Bill. There were lots of discussions behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took him at his word, so rather than trying to vote the Bill down at Second Reading, we abstained to allow a breathing space in order to come up with some amendments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Home Office is also said to be struggling to find an airliner to carry migrants to Rwanda. Firms have so far declined to sign up over fears of damage to their reputations from taking part in the plan.<\/p>\n
Ministers have since appointed an agent to source a commercial aircraft supplier willing to ferry migrants to the African nation if and when the scheme becomes operational.<\/p>\n
A failure to do so raises the prospect of the Ministry of Defence and the RAF stepping in.<\/p>\n
Home Official officials insist that if and when the Rwanda legislation becomes law, there will be flights available.<\/p>\n
A Government spokesman said: \u201cThe Government is committed to doing whatever it takes to stop the boats and get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cRwanda is ready to welcome large numbers of people and we have robust plans in place for future flights following discussions with a range of companies.\u201d<\/p>\n