Deportation czar to target illegal migrants
Tony Blair has appointed a special envoy to speed up the return of illegal immigrants living in Britain.
The Prime Minister gave Foreign Office minister Lord Triesman the task of "significantly increasing" the number of people returned to their home country or a third state.
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The appointment will be seen as another blow to Home Secretary John Reid and his department's record on law and order, particularly in removing failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.
Previous home secretary Charles Clarke toured north African and Middle East countries to seek agreements that illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers, including terror suspects, could be returned to their country of origin without the risk of being tortured.
But the Tories seized on Mr Blair's announcement as a sign that the Home Office had failed to reach such agreements in many cases.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "Perhaps the Prime Minister hopes the Foreign Office will prove more successful and vigorous than the beleaguered and progressively more incompetent Home Office ministers."
Mr Blair is demanding monthly progress reports from a co-ordinating committee, chaired by Lord Triesman and Home Office minister Liam Byrne.
Downing Street insisted that Lord Triesman will not be taking over Home Office responsibilities.
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