Dan Jarvis

The right hon. Gentleman made an excellent point at the beginning of his remarks about the activities we have seen not being British. I completely agree with his analysis of the situation, and I hope he acknowledges my very long-standing interest in, and affection for, his part of the United Kingdom. Lots of right hon. and hon. Members feel a huge sense of determination to support him and his colleagues in the important work they are doing. The right hon. Gentleman raised a number of other points, and he will understand that I am joined on the Front Bench by the Minister for Migration and Citizenship, who was also listening very carefully. Of course, when a situation such as the one we have seen in recent days occurs, the Department will want to look very carefully at the circumstances of that case. In general terms, some of the metrics relating to some of the right hon. Gentleman’s points are heading in the right direction, not least initial decisions on asylum being up by 71%. The Government are determined to make sure we are processing claims much more quickly and effectively than was the case previously. However, we will give further consideration to his points and should he wish to discuss them, I would be very happy to do so.