'A Horrific Moral Failure': Campaigner Slams Labour And Tories Over Illegal Immigration

Zoe Gardner confronts Katie Lam and Mike Tapp on Newsnight.Labour and the Tories have been accused of “a horrific moral failure” over their approach to tackling illegal immigration.Migrants rights campaigner Zoe Gardner confronted politicians from both parties during a debate on the issue on BBC Two′s Newsnight.Labour MP Mike Tapp and shadow home office minister Katie Lam told the programme that anyone entering the UK via irregular routes should be deported.But Gardner said: “We’ve just had the two supposed options that we have for government in this country – detain and deport, or detain and offshore and deport. We don’t have anyone taking seriously the reality of the matter.”Pointing to Tapp and Lam, she added: “This has failed. It has been a horrific moral failure and a total pragmatic failure. We have seen that after decades of a deterrence approach, we have more people risking their lives, we have children drowning.“We have boats coming in day in and day out, and both of your parties are completely sacrificing any political goodwill you ever had because of your total failure to grasp the reality that you’re not going to make them disappear.“What you just simply have to consider is to offer them a safe alternative.”"It's been a horrific moral failure and a total pragmatic failure."Campaigner Zoe Gardner tells @vicderbyshire about the need for safe and legal migration routes to the UK.#Newsnightpic.twitter.com/buh94Rchsv— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) July 7, 2025Labour pledged to reduce immigration before the election and has said it will “smash the gangs” sending asylum seekers across the English Channel on small boats.But record numbers have made the perilous journey this year so far, piling further pressure on Keir Starmer to make good on his promise.The prime minister hopes to strike a deal with French president Emmanuel Macron, who is coming to the UK for a three-day state visit this week.Starmer wants to strike a “one-in-one-out” deal, which would see the UK accept asylum seekers who have had their claims processed in France, while sending illegal immigrants back across the Channel.Related...Keir Starmer's Immigration Plan Shows UK Is 'In A Very Dark Place', Says Albanian PMDiane Abbott Slams Keir Starmer's Immigration Speech For Being 'Fundamentally Racist'Chris Philp Tried To Attack Labour's Response To Immigration – But There Are Receipts

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