LABOUR was accused of “pandering to the far right” today after an MP said new counter-terror powers for border security will “be part of what makes a difference” a day after three people died trying to cross the Channel in a small boat.

Labour MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp talked up the “disruptive techniques” to tackle people-smuggling today in the government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

He said there was “no quick fix” to the issue, despite repeated warnings that only safe passage routes will stop the deaths, which have risen to an average of one per week this year.

The Bill, set to be introduced next year, aims to “modernise the asylum and immigration system” by creating new powers for law enforcement agencies to tackle, investigate and prosecute organised immigration crime.

When asked about suggestions that introducing ID cards as a requirement to get a job or access public services would act as a “deterrent” for migration, Mr Tapp said: “ID cards is something in general I support, but it is the cost of that sort of initiative that probably holds us back, particularly in an economic picture we’ve got at the moment.”

A spokeswoman for Momentum said: “The tragic deaths in the Channel yesterday were preventable and a direct consequence of the refusal of successive governments, including the current one, to provide safe passage for refugees.

“Appallingly, the current government appears intent on pandering to the far right, an approach which has been proven to strengthen the far right by reinforcing their narratives and will lead to more deaths in the future.

“Only a concerted pushback on misleading and racist far-right narratives and the introduction of genuine safe routes for refugees will prevent more needless deaths in the future.”

Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “There is actually a quick fix to this problem, and that’s adopting our Safe Routes policy.”