The Prime Minister has landed in Dover to launch the government's new Illegal Migration Bill today.

New legislation has been announced in parliament ahead of Rishi Sunak arriving by helicopter on the White Cliffs this afternoon.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed to MPs the new policy which will ban people entering the UK via small boats across the Channel from claiming asylum or re-entering in the future.

Mr Sunak visited a Home Office joint control centre in Dover monitoring those arriving in vessels via illegal routes and also seeing how coastguard teams work. Ahead of the visit he described the plans as "fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum".

During the meeting with the teams in Kent, Mr Sunak said: "We’re actually already seeing a deterrent effect to some extent with the initiatives we put in place at the end of last year with Albania that are starting to now bear fruit.

“Early signs, but you can start to see actually the numbers coming off, people realising there’s not much point in this, and we need that on a bigger scale.

“As you’ve seen on your screens, tragically, people are dying and we’ve got to do something different to stop this from happening and that’s what we’re doing, actually.

Staff talked through how they use tracking radars and monitor movements in the Channel adding that on busy days “we have to prioritise, we have to look in the boats and see if there are women and children in there”.

Large screens displayed footage of what would on a normal day show boats destined for the UK travelling in real time.

The Prime Minister was also shown a dinghy which had been seized when it was intercepted on Sunday.

He added: “What you do is incredibly important and the Home Secretary has just been in Parliament talking about it because we’ve got to somehow break the cycle of these criminal gangs, and you guys on the front line are doing that, and I’m very grateful to all of you for what you’re doing.”

He was also handed a card that is thought to have been given to migrants by people smugglers, instructing them to call a number when they reach the halfway point in their journey across the Channel.

The policy will also grant powers to detain migrants for 28 days without recourse for bail or judicial review, and then indefinitely for as long as there is a “reasonable prospect” of removal.

Challenges based on modern slavery laws would be barred, and any other legal attempt to stay would be heard overseas – after they are removed.

An annual quota on the number of refugees that can be settled through the limited number of safe and legal routes to asylum would be set.

Giving a statement during a press conference this evening, Mr Sunak said the plan would see the "government and this country decide" who comes to live in Britain "not criminal gangs".

He said: "The number of people illegally arriving in small boats has quadrupled in just the last two years.

"These people crossing the Channel aren't fleeing war, but are coming from safe countries and paying people smugglers huge sums to make the dangerous and sometimes tragic journey.

"The reason they begin to bring small boats is because they know our system can be exploited, and illegal migrants can gain a multitude of accommodation and human rights perks.

"The risk remains that these individuals can disappear.

"That's the reality we must deal with. With 100 million people displaced around the world, if we don't deal with it now the situation will just get worse and worse.

"People must know if they come here illegally it will result in their detention and swift removal.

"Once this happens they will not come and the boats will stop.

"Introducing legislation to make clear if you come here illegally, you can't claim asylum or make spurious human rights claims, and you can't stay.

"We will detain those who come here illegally and remove those within weeks, either to their own country or a safe third country like Rwanda.

"Once removed you will be banned from ever re-entering our country. This is how we will break the business of the people smugglers.

"People must know if they come here illegally it will result in their detention and swift removal..."

"This is tough, but it is necessary and it is fair. This legislation will be retrospective, if you come on a small boat today, measures in this bill will apply to you.

"This will always be a compassionate and generous country and something we're rightly proud of.

"Look at how we've welcomed Ukrainians, Syrians and Hong-Kongers - the current situation isn't morale or sustainable.

"It's unfair on the British people who have opened their homes to genuine refugees but are now having to spend nearly £6million a day for migrants in hotels.

"We have tried it every other way and it has not worked. I say again, my policy is very simple, It is this country and your government who decides who comes here, not criminal gangs. I will do whatever is necessary to achieve that."

Announcing the policy in the Commons earlier today, Ms Braverman said not responding to "waves of illegal migrants breaching our borders would be to betray the will" of voters.

She added: "They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.

“Removed back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. And that is precisely what this Bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.”

The bill has already been criticised by refugee support groups claiming the plan is "costly and unworkable".

As well as banning asylum seekers from the UK and re-entering, the government's plan will withdraw their right to appeal automatic exclusion from the asylum system or appealing deportation.

The third main proposal is expected to prevent people using the Human Rights Act to block their deportations through the courts.

Ms Braverman said "deterrence is a core aim" in the bill and it was intending to "send a clear message" to those entering by paying people smugglers to transport them to the UK, that they "will not have an entitlement to life in the UK".

She said the need for reform is “obvious and urgent” with the asylum system costing British taxpayers more than £3 billion a year.

The bill allows the detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed, Ms Braverman said.

It also places a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrants and it will “radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal”.

Only children under the age of 18, and those who are “unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm – an exceedingly high bar – in the country we are removing them to will be able to delay their removal”, she said.

Any other claims will be heard “remotely” after removal.

The bill will also introduce an annual cap, to be decided by Parliament, on the number of refugees the UK will offer sanctuary to through safe and legal routes, Ms Braverman said.

People in Dover today reacted to the news of the announcement.

Twins Gill and Glenn Sanders, from Shepherdswell, were walking the White Cliffs of Dover and were surprised to hear about the visit.

They spoke to KentOnline just before the Prime Minister's helicopter was due to land at the nearby Coastguard Station.

Ms Sanders said: "Something has to be done about this illegal immigration problem.

"In the summer from the cliffs you can see the boats coming into the Western Docks."

One walker on the White Cliffs, Alastair who lives in Cornwall questioned why so many asylum seekers crossed several safe European countries to getting Britain.

He said: "Some of them come through as far away as Greece. They come through so many safe countries to get here.

"I think it's because they are told this is the land of milk and honey. I'd understand if they were getting shot at in France."

Another walker, Jack, said: "I can see both sides of the argument.

"Some people do need asylum but there are others taking advantage of our system because it's so weak. Why are they coming from France when it's a safe country?

"You don't know who's a genuine asylum seeker and who isn't."

Ms Braverman also made a direct plea to migrants not to fall prey to people smugglers and cross the Channel.

“Do not hand over your life savings, do not get into that flimsy dinghy, do not risk your life, because you will not be entitled to a life in the UK,” she told MPs.

The law was announced today and is expected to be passed officially in a few months but will be enacted retrospectively meaning anyone arriving via small boats from March 7 may be subject to deportation.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the bill a “con” and described the plans as “Groundhog Day” while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the plans are "unworkable".

Questions were raised by MPs in the Commons today about the legal implications of the bill and whether it will be allowed to pass and complies with international law, European law and human rights.

"Do not hand over your life savings, do not get into that flimsy dinghy, do not risk your life, because you will not be entitled to a life in the UK..."

Barry Gardiner (Lab) accused the government of "criminalising" people making crossings fleeing countries such as Afghanistan "simply because of their mode of travel".

Ms Braverman has also admitted there is a high chance it may be incompatible with European Convention on Human Rights rulings and the government is preparing for legal challenges.

But she said she was “confident” it did not breach international law and hoped the courts would take into account any endorsement parliament gave to her “robust and novel” plans.

In a letter to MPs and peers shared with PA news agency, Ms Braverman said she had had to make a statement under the Human Rights Act, which enshrined the convention rights in the UK.

She wrote: “We are testing the limits but remain confident that this Bill is compatible with international law.

“Both Houses will have an opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the Bill and, once approved, the measures in the bill will have been expressly endorsed by parliament and we would expect the courts to take that into account.”

The problem of asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats has continued over the last five years with rising numbers.

A record 45,756 asylum seekers crossed the Channel to the UK in 2022, according to government figures.

In 2018, 299 people were detected making the journey and there were 1,843 in all of 2019, 8,466 in 2020 and 28,526 for all 2021.

Latest numbers show more than 3,000 have made the crossing this year.