Priti Patel ‘battling to stay in her job’ over Channel crossing migrants crisis
PRITI Patel is “battling to stay in her job” over the Channel crossing migrants crisis, furious Tories have warned.
The knives came out for the Home Secretary as the number landing in dinghies hit 25,000 this year — triple last year’s figure.
Calls have been made for Britain to send troops and cops across the Channel to help the French patrol the coast.
And one fed-up Cabinet minister warned Ms Patel to get a grip or face the chop.
They told The Sun: “Boris has a soft spot for her and she is broadly unsackable since the reshuffle, but she’s running out of road.”
The senior minister also suggested the current approach to small boats is failing, adding: “If you’re not going to change the personnel, you’ve got to change the policy.”
One usual Priti loyalist told The Sun: “The postbags are overflowing. She is battling for her job now.”
Craig Mackinlay, Tory MP for South Thanet, yesterday blamed the crisis for the party’s plummeting poll ratings.
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He said: “It looks like state failure. How about we make a generous offer to the French and say, ‘How many of our police, border force and troops do you need to patrol this 100 miles of beach to stop this?’.”
A Home Office source said: “It is something we will always keep on the table”.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News: “It’s the people smugglers that are to blame and it’s right the Home Secretary is looking at every option to break this business model.”
The PM has ordered a cross-government review into the crisis, to be led by Cabinet minister Steve Barclay.
Sources close to Ms Patel insist it’s not a dig at her, but a rallying cry to other ministers to step up.
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