'It's NOT working!' Steve Reed's defence of Labour's small boats strategy shut down in fiery GB News grilling

Steve Reed has been shut down in a heated GB News grilling after assuring viewers the Government is "taking action" to stop small boat crossings.

Defending Sir Keir Starmer's strategy in the Channel, the Housing Secretary told the People's Channel the numbers coming across into Britain illegally "have been falling".

Reacting to the latest surge in crossings over the bank holiday weekend, Mr Reed made clear: "It's unacceptable and it's certainly unsustainable, and that's why the Government is taking action to stop it."

Pushing back on Mr Reed's claim, host Ellie Costello hit back: "It's not working, is it? We had 800 people crossing at the weekend and two women died?"

The Housing Secretary responded: "That's a lot of people are crossing this weekend, and it's wholly unacceptable.

"But the numbers coming across have been falling and the Government has been removing those who are here."

Laying blame on the previous Conservative Government, Mr Reed argued the Tories chose to "put them in hotels" rather than deporting illegal arrivals.

He said: "The previous Government was just putting people in hotels, they weren't being removed from the country if they had no right to be here. That encouraged more people to come.

"This Government has removed now over 60,000 people who had no right to be here. We are closing down the hotels that were full of asylum seekers opened by the Conservative Government, and some of the Conservative ministers who did that now sit in Reform UK."

He argued: "They opened the hotels, we are closing the hotels, and we're able to do that because we are removing people who have no right to be here. If people crossing the Channel know they will be sent back again, they won't come."

Challenging Mr Reed, host Alex Armstrong hit back and stated his deportation figures are "misleading" to GB News viewers.

Alex said: "Yes you are sending record amounts of people that shouldn't be here, illegal migrants that have come into the country through legal routes. But those who have come over here on small boats, only 7,612 have been deported.

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"So it's not much of a deterrent, is it? It's not a very good record to say you've only deported 7,000 illegal migrants?"

Mr Reed told Alex: "We are removing people who have no right to be here, and we are working with the French Government so we can take more action on the French coast to stop people coming across the Channel in the first place.

"We can't do it on our own. We're working more closely with the French, and we are deporting more people who have no right to be here than ever before."

Ellie then argued the source of the crossings is "now changing", with small boats also now departing from Belgium as well as France.

Asked what Labour is doing to prevent crossings from Belgium as well as France, Mr Reed said: "We're not just speaking to the French, the Prime Minister is speaking to our allies right across Europe.

"And that, of course, would include Belgium. Of course, the people smugglers are trying to shift across to Belgium, so we have to speak with our friends in other countries as well to stop people coming."

Mr Reed argued the Government needs to place "more officials in the Home Office" to help identify and remove illegal migrants.

He concluded: "Of course, we need to do more, and of course, you're right to point to the numbers that have not yet been removed, but we're getting much better at removing people much faster than the previous Government was."

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