PRITI Patel has vowed to change asylum laws to end the “utter farce” of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
The Home Secretary said EU rules were hampering her efforts to tackle the crisis.
But she promised to dismantle all legal hurdles as soon as Brexit is completed on December 31.
Ms Patel told MPs: “I’m working with my colleagues on the development of a new asylum system that is balanced and fair. Existing regulations will go at the end of this year.
“And I’m developing new legislative measures that will seek to tackle the endless legal obstacles that cost UK taxpayers millions.”
She revealed her determination to tear up the “inflexible and rigid” rule book in a response to Tories demanding action to halt the rising tide of illegal migrants.
Last week saw a record 409 people in 27 flimsy boats and dinghies rescued by Border Force patrol vessels.
‘INFLEXIBLE AND RIGID’
But efforts to deport 1,000 who entered illegally are blocked by “legal barriers” and “judicial activism” by human rights lawyers.
In a letter to a handful of MPs, Ms Patel says complex EU rules prevent the UK intercepting boats at sea, turning people back or making immediate law changes.
She writes: “I want to end this utter farce of small boats coming to the UK.
“I am therefore, doing everything legally and practically possible to find ways of making this route unviable.”
She adds: “There are limits to what we can do under international maritime law.
“I’m working against a tide of legal barriers.
“Until we leave the transition period we are limited in the action we can take.
“The system is inflexible and rigid and is open to abuse by both migrants and activist lawyers.”
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