Immigration is the big topic this week. Or rather, illegal immigration.

On Tuesday, immigration minister Robert Jenrick announced the closure of several asylum hotels.

Here in Wyre Forest, we have two. The Gainsborough Hotel, on Bewdley Hill in Kidderminster, is to be stood down and no new asylum seekers will be admitted. It is expected the last one to leave will be in January. Meanwhile, the old Heath hotel, outside Bewdley, will continue.

Behind this is success in a few areas.

Asylum claims, previously handled laboriously slowly by the Home Office, at just over 400 per week, has  been accelerated to over 4,000 per week.

Similarly, due to action by the government with regard the so-called pull influences, work with the French authorities, and international efforts to break up the people trafficking gangs, illegal entries have been reduced by a third. Indeed, some policies have been hugely effective. Returning Albanians immediately has resulted in a 90% drop in Albanians arriving illegally on our shores.

And alternative accommodation has been found, such as the Bibby Stockholm barge and a newly purchased disused prison.

Interestingly, France is also bringing in policies that they believe will help their illegal immigration problem. President Macron is set to break European human rights law to expel dangerous foreigners. Under this plan, asylum seekers will be denied the right to a final appeal at the European Court of Human Rights, with France electing to pay any fines as necessary. To get to that point, they will have had their cases heard many times, but it is interesting to see how this approach works.

Robert Jenrick also announced that visa holders, who do not uphold British values, will lose their visa and be denied the right to remain in the UK. This is aimed at so called hate preachers, and it sounds, on first sight, like a good idea. But the important question is who decides which people will have to leave?

We must uphold our rule of law. Deny some people the right to justice and it becomes easier to do likewise in the future – the thin end of the wedge. And we should never forget that we are a compassionate country – witness the help we have given to Afghans, Syrians, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BNO passport holders, all of whom have become displaced and who we have welcomed with open arms. These are our true, core values.