Yvette Cooper, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to Theresa May’s comments on Woman’s Hour that the number of border staff ‘doesn’t matter’, said:

“It is unbelievable that Theresa May thinks that the Border Force and enforcement officers make no difference to tackling illegal immigration.

“It is this defeatist and out of touch attitude that has led to fewer deportations of foreign criminals, fewer seizures of drugs at our border and fewer people being refused entry because they have no right to enter. Little wonder too that fines and prosecutions of firms employing and exploiting illegal workers has fallen. We need more staff to do proper checks, identify overstayers and make sure the rules are enforced.

“We can’t have any more of this ridiculous attitude in the Home Office - we need a Labour’s better plan of stronger borders with 1,000 more border and enforcement officers, stronger powers to prevent exploitation leading to the undercutting of local jobs and wages and people who arrive here not expecting benefits until they have been here for at least two years.”