Heywood and Middleton North MP Elsie Blundell has backed the Home Secretary's plans to boost border security with stronger immigration enforcement.

The measures, which were revealed on Wednesday, are aimed at managing organised immigration crimes and returning the highest number of illegal immigrants in five years, since 2018.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the measures which, involve the immediate employment of about 100 specialist intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency.

Their primary role will be to target, dismantle, and disturb organised immigration crime networks.

Ms Cooper added the government had planned to maximise the removal rate of unauthorised residents within the next six months.

It will also implement an intelligence-driven illegal working agenda, aimed at investigating and punishing illegal employment of migrants who have no work rights in the country.

The measures pledge to uphold the government's dedication to long-term border security.

In her statement, Ms Cooper said: "We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced.

"Our new Border Security Command is already gearing up and by increasing enforcement capabilities, we will establish a system that is better controlled and managed, to replace the chaos that has plagued the system for far too long."

In response, Ms Blundell said: "On border security and the asylum system, the sheer scale of incompetence and the staggering waste of taxpayer’s money under the Tories has left the new Home Secretary with a huge mess to clean up.

"But already we are taking the swift and decisive action required to strengthen our border security, crack down on the smuggling gangs, and get our asylum system under control."

Conservative Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly accused new ministers of failing to “get a grip” on cross-Channel migration between France and England’s South Coast over the weekend.