The British state has been idealistic for decades. It insists that there is no contradiction between mass migration, human rights and national security. This has been sustained despite the fact that our open borders and often non-existent deportations system allow terrorists, hostile state agents and organised criminals to enter and remain in this country at will. But now, at last, it seems the delusion is ending.

Today Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation has brought some realism to the discussion. He has made a rare public statement, stating that immigration needs to be treated as a national security threat, because violence by newly arrived migrants is “becoming more relevant” after a Sudanese asylum seeker was charged over a knife attack in Belfast, and violence spread across the province in response.

Hall noted that “if [people from]] certain countries are more likely either to commit very serious offences or particular offences, or to get involved with state threat activity, do we need to start thinking about migration now, not simply in terms of the economy and housing, but also in terms of national security?” He also noted that there was the added factor that many asylum seekers from war-torn states had suffered serious trauma which potentially increased the risk that they could be more likely to commit violence.

In making these assessments, Hall is correct. Mass migration risks destabilising Britain beyond repair, not just because migrants, especially those from regions such as the Horn of Africa are disproportionately likely to commit sexual and violent offences – foreign nationals accounted for one in seven sexual convictions in 2024 – but also because of how migrant crime is destroying the state’s legitimacy.

So Jonathan Hall is right – the state needs to wake up, fast, and become realistic about mass migration, the threats it poses to our security and the conflict between it and human rights culture. His intervention is very significant. I believe Hall hopes to begin a serious awakening in the establishment. We must hope that others follow, and it proves to be the first step in the British state waking up and getting real.