Sweden’s minister for migration believes Britain could learn from policies which have seen asylum claims plummet to their lowest rate since 1984.
Some of the 70,000 migrants that recently invaded the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (Image: Getty)
Britain could turn the tide of illegal immigration from small boats crossing the Channel if it adopts the same tactics used by Sweden, the country’s migration minister has claimed. Politicians in the UK have argued Britain can only solve the out-of-control migrant crisis by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which left-wing human rights lawyers repeatedly use as a tool to fight for asylum cases.
A staggering 30,000 people have arrived by small boat in the year ending July 31, 2026, with record-breaking numbers packed onto each flimsy vessel in recent weeks. Home Office figures show that from around 178,845 asylum claims between 2018 and 2025, a huge 44.5% (79,589) were granted refugee status in the UK.
Johan Forssell, the Swedish minister for migration (Image: Getty)
Mr Forsell, part of Sweden’s Right-wing coalition, which took power in 2022, told The Telegraph that cutting benefits, deporting criminals and making asylum seekers live in reception centres had slashed migration numbers to record lows.
“It is possible to reduce asylum-related migration, and to do that in a short period of time and in full accordance with international law and human rights.
“There is no silver bullet, but what we have done is that we have been looking at every piece of legislation, trying to make it strict and firm.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party’s plan to intercept and return migrant boats crossing the English Channel would comply with international law.
Reform UK has proposed using the Royal Navy to transport migrants to France or Belgium under a plan called “Operation Fortress”. The party described the scheme as a humanitarian response.
Setting out his party’s proposal at a press conference, the Reform UK leader said: “Operation Fortress will be a combined military operation.”