Oral Answers to Questions

James McMurdock Excerpts

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I pay tribute to Joy Allen, who I know very well. She is a very good police and crime commissioner, and I thank her for all her work. I know that our announcement last week was difficult for police and crime commissioners to hear, but we thank them for all the work that they do and will continue to do for the next two years.

What do the public want? The public want police in our neighbourhoods fighting crime. Did the Conservatives deliver that? No, they did not. Neighbourhood policing was slashed, the number of police community support officers was halved, and the Conservatives failed to tackle the fundamental problems in policing that need reform. Policing is the most unreformed part of our public services. We will make—the Home Secretary will make—the tough decisions in the coming weeks in order to put policing on the right footing for the future.

[James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Ind)]

7. What steps she is taking to reduce the cost to the public purse of migrants who have crossed the channel illegally.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood)]

The previous Government lost control of our borders, and the result was a ruinously expensive asylum system that used more than 400 hotels at a cost of nearly £9 million a day. We have acted to cut those costs, with fewer than 200 hotels now in use. Our historic agreement with France means small boat departures are prevented, arrivals are detained, and those with no right to be in the UK are returned. As the House knows, I will shortly make a statement setting out the additional steps to go further and faster in the reform of our asylum system.

[James McMurdock]

According to a recent National Audit Office report, £15.3 billion will be spent on asylum accommodation alone over the next 10 years. That money will be spent on people who will, in some instances, commit violent and sexual crimes—crimes that would make our skin crawl—against the British people. What do we say to our residents, voters and taxpayers, who feel like we are spending money on people who want nothing for us but harm?

[Shabana Mahmood]

The hon. Gentleman should wait for the statement later today. The assumptions made by the National Audit Office in its projections are based on the current policy environment, which is about to change very significantly.