Labour has put action against people-smuggling gangs, as well as broader law enforcement efforts, at the heart of its strategy to reduce boat crossings.

On Sunday, the Home Office published new figures showing a total of 13,460 foreign nationals had been returned to their home countries through both forced and voluntary departures since Labour came to office in July.

The department said the number of enforced returns was up compared to the same period last year, arguing greater collaboration with other countries had made more return flights possible.

Philp argued the uptick in returns was the continuation of a “trend” which had started before this year’s election.

Labour has also previously expressed an interest in studying Italy’s deal with Albania, under which some migrants rescued by the Italian coastguard will be sent there to have their asylum claims processed.

That five-year agreement has faced significant challenges, with transfers recently halted by a court in Rome.

Asked whether Labour would also consider processing asylum claims offshore, Cooper said the government would “look at whatever works” but emphasised that any such scheme would need to be “effective”.

She also blamed an increase in hotel places for asylum seekers since the election on a “collapse in decision-making” ahead of the vote, which she argued had left Labour with a “soaring backlog” of cases on entering office.

Speaking on Sky News, Home Office minister Angela Eagle defended the lack of an official timetable for reducing crossings, adding that the public wanted to see “steady progress” rather than a “date snatched out of the air”.

But Philp told the BBC Australia’s offshore processing policies had shown that “deterrent works” – and pledged the Tories would aim to resurrect a Rwanda-style deal if they returned to power.

It was “telling”, he argued, that reducing Channel crossings had not featured in the six government “milestones” laid out by Sir Keir Starmer last week.

The Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch have also separately committed to setting a cap on annual legal migration into the UK.

Asked where the cap would be set, Philp did not offer details beyond saying it would be “far, far lower” than the 350,000 predicted for future years by official economic forecasters.