Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will unveil reforms to the border security and asylum system as Parliament returns on Monday from its summer break.
She will say the Government’s overhaul of the “broken” asylum system will contribute to ending the use of asylum hotels, an issue which has led to widespread protests over the summer.
Reform UK has called for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to tackle the migration crisis while the Conservatives are currently reviewing whether they should take the same approach.
Article eight of the agreement, the right to family life, has been used during court cases to justify illegal migrants remaining in the UK.
The Policy Exchange think tank has claimed that leaving the ECHR would not jeopardise peace in Northern Ireland, where it underpins the Good Friday Agreement.
No 10 said the move was not under consideration, telling reporters: “The Government has been clear that Britain will remain a member of the ECHR and that shutting ourselves off from the international stage will make it harder, not easier, to return people, and you do not strike international agreements by tearing up international agreements.”
The Government is also not considering suspending how the treaty applies to UK law, or decoupling human rights law from the agreement, as suggested by former Labour minister Jack Straw, No 10 said.
Ministers will, however, be “bringing forward new legislation on tightening the application of article eight”, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman added.
In her statement on Monday afternoon, Ms Cooper will set out planned changes to the refugee family reunion process, to give “greater fairness and balance”.
The BBC has reported she plans to tighten rules for migrants granted asylum to bring their families to the UK, including tougher English language standards and access to sufficient funds.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour “do not have the stomach” to take stronger action on immigration control.
Speaking to reporters during a visit on Monday, the Conservative Party leader said: “Well, what I would actually like to see the Home Secretary talk about is how she’s going to close down the asylum hotels.
“What they have done with their recent court case is actually shown that they believe that illegal migrants have more rights than our local communities, and we completely disagree with that.
“We had a deportation Bill, which we asked Labour to support, we talked about disapplying the Human Rights Act so you wouldn’t even get to some of the circumstances that she’s talking about.
“There’s a lot more that can be done on immigration control. Labour do not have the stomach to do it. We do, and we have the plans as well.”
The Government said earlier this year that it would seek to reduce the number of people claiming “exceptional circumstances” over the right to family life in order to remain in the UK under article eight of the ECHR.
It said in its immigration white paper that Parliament would set out a tighter framework for judges to follow when ruling on such cases.
On Monday, the Home Secretary will claim that the Government’s promise to “smash the gangs” behind English Channel crossings are showing results in stopping people arriving in the first place.
She will say the National Crime Agency (NCA) led 347 disruptions of immigration crime networks in 2024/25 – the highest level on record and a 40% increase on the previous 12 months.
That included 56 of the highest-impact disruptions, while NCA-backed efforts in Europe have squeezed the supply of boats and engines destined for the French coast, with 45 dinghies seized in operations at the Bulgarian border in July and August.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper leaves 10 Downing Street, London, after a Cabinet meeting (James Manning/PA)
Officials believe that contributed to the lowest number of boats crossing the Channel in the month of August since 2019, with 55 making the crossing, according to the latest figures.
The 3,567 arrivals in August were the lowest since 2021, but the 29,003 across the whole of 2025 so far is the highest on record for this point in a year.
Ms Cooper will say action to strengthen border security, increase returns and overhaul the asylum system are “putting much stronger foundations in place so we can fix the chaos we inherited and end costly asylum hotels”.
Also on Monday, the Court of Appeal will hand down its full written judgment in the Bell Hotel case.
The Government and the hotel’s owner last week succeeded in overturning an interim injunction which would have required asylum seekers to be removed from the site.
Epping Forest District Council, which applied for the injunction, is considering taking the case to the Supreme Court.
Protests continued in Epping on Sunday and police arrested three people.
About 200 demonstrators gathered outside the council building on Sunday, where a woman climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag.