Gary Lineker compares Suella Braverman migrant plan to Nazis

The ex-England striker wrote: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.

“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s.”

In response, Ms Braverman told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she was “very disappointed” by his comments.

She added: “Equating our measures – which are lawful, necessary and fundamentally compassionate – to 1930s Germany is irresponsible and I disagree with that characterisation.”

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Asked if Mr Lineker should resign or be sacked, she said: “That’s a matter for the BBC and they will resolve that.”

A BBC spokesperson said the star would be "reminded of his responsibilities".

In a round of media interviews, the Home Secretary insisted the new government plans would see small boat crossings “fall dramatically.”

In 2022, a record 45,755 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.

More than 3,000 have already made the journey this year. Home Office figures show 197 made the crossing on Monday – the first arrivals since February 24 – taking the total to date to 3,150.

Ms Braverman said she expected around 40,000 people or more to cross the Channel this year, however, she acknowledged 80,000 was a possibility.

The new Illegal Migration Bill is coming in for fierce criticism, with many of her own MPs questioning whether the plan to return anyone who enters the UK by illegal means can even work. 

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Ms Braverman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that voters would know by the next election “whether we have succeeded or not.”

She said: “We will see, based on other countries’ experiences, that, once we’re able to relocate people who’ve come here illegally from the United Kingdom to another safe country, like Rwanda, or back to their own home country, then, actually, the numbers of people making the journey in the first place will fall dramatically.”

The Tory minister was unable to say when new detention centres would be built because of “logistical challenges.”

“But very, very soon we will be expanding our detention capacity to meet the need,” the Home Secretary said.

Asked about when the first removals would start, she said: “I can’t give you precise dates, we have lots of processes which are in train.”

In a letter to MPs, Ms Braverman has conceded there is a “more (than) 50 per cent chance” her legislation may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

But she told Sky News: “We’re not breaking the law and no Government representative has said that we’re breaking the law.

“In fact, we’ve made it very clear that we believe we’re in compliance with all of our international obligations, for example the Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights, other conventions to which we are subject.”

The plans announced on Tuesday would see migrants who arrive through unauthorised means deported and hit with a lifetime ban from returning.

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Anyone who crosses the Channel in a small boat would only be eligible for asylum in a “safe” third country, such as Rwanda.

Powers would be granted 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.

The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it was “profoundly concerned” describing it as an “asylum ban."

The SNP's immigration spokesperson, Stuart McDonald called the policy "inhumane and cruel." 

"This latest proposal from Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman will trash the Refugee Convention and the Human Rights Convention, as well as the Modern Slavery Act protections for victims of trafficking.

"The UK government must realise their plans will achieve nothing except extra pain and misery to families fleeing war-torn countries, or places where they face persecution."

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said the morning's media round showed that the Home Secretary couldn't "even answer basic questions about her flawed, callous and inhumane policy."

He added: “To suggest that those who oppose these divisive plans are somehow betraying Britain is stooping to a new low. It is an insult to all those worried about the dangerous rhetoric of this Conservative government and their heartless, unworkable approach.

“Britain has a proud history of offering sanctuary to refugees. To turn our back on those fleeing war and persecution trashes that proud legacy - and that’s the real unpatriotic move."