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Hello and welcome to this edition of The Westminster Hour with me, Ben Wright, and my guests.

Can the government's border security bill stop the small boat crossings?

Ministers are banking on tougher law enforcement and more prosecutions to tackle the problem

that defeated the previous

government. But with Reform UK, apparently surging in the polls, can voters be convinced that

Britain has control of its borders? I speak to the former Labour Home Secretary, David Blunkett,

about the bill and whether his old idea for ID cards could come back into fashion.

We'll also discuss the sacking of a Labour health minister over offensive WhatsApp messages,

and there are two important summits coming up on AI and on the future of Ukraine.

That is all ahead, but first, let's meet my panel.

Mark Ferguson has been the Labour MP for Gateshead

Central and Wickham since July's general election. Before that, he was an official with the

Unison Trade Union and also edited the Labour List website from 2010 to 2015. And it's 12 years

since Mark was last on the Westminster hour, now in the ranks

of Labour MPs he once reported on. Do you remember Mark what you were talking about on the

programme back then, long before my time? I think, I think it was 12 years ago. I think it was about

whether the then Prime Minister David Cameron was really going to go ahead with this plan to have

a Brexit referendum.

Feels like a lifetime ago.

We know how that ended up.

Thanks very much, Mark.

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