'Moral responsibility to tackle the boats'

THE Home Secretary said the Government has a moral responsibility to tackle the small boats crisis, but refused to say when the number of people arriving over the English Channel will decline.

Yvette Cooper said she wanted to see them fall sharply, but did not set a deadline of when the target would be met.

Speaking on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One, Ms Cooper said: "Of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. What we're not going to do is deal with this by slogans." She added: "There is a history of home secretaries and prime ministers making grand promises but never actually having a proper plan.