As MP for Dover, bordering the English Channel, since 2019, Elphicke has been outspoken about asylum seekers arriving in Britain via small boats. She supported the government’s controversial Rwanda plan to permanently deport asylum seekers to the central African country.

“From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure,” Elphicke added in her statement Wednesday. “Lives are being lost in the English Channel while small boat arrivals are once again at record levels. It’s clear they have failed to keep our borders secure and cannot be trusted.”