- The Liberal Democrats have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to join the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact to help tackle small boat Channel crossings.
- Signing the pact would enable the UK to legally return migrants to their first EU port of entry and gain access to the bloc’s biometric database.
- Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey blamed Brexit for weakening UK border security by removing access to EU-wide criminal and asylum data sets.
- The party criticised Reform UK for proposing taxpayers fund Navy deployments or leave the ECHR rather than addressing Brexit-related border issues.
- Campaign groups such as European Movement and Best for Britain supported the proposal, calling for closer cross-border cooperation with Europe.
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