Home Secretary Suella Braverman has refused to give a timeframe on when the government’s plans to stop the crossing of small boats across the Channel will succeed.

The government is set to publish legislation designed to stop migrants from crossing the Channel to the UK, but both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman have faced questions about the timescale for that commitment.

Speaking to ITV News on a visit to Brighton, the Home Secretary appeared to suggest that government plans would make an impact in a year’s time, before appearing to row back on that suggestion.

She said: “You can judge me on results. We have told you that we want to stop the boats. You will come here in a year or so and it’ll be very clear whether we’ve succeeded or not.

“We will see a dramatic reduction in the numbers arriving illegally.”

However, when quizzed if that reduction would happen in a year, Ms Braverman said: “I’m not going to put a timescale on it, but what I am going to say is it’s going to take as long as it will take.

“It is absolutely essential that we do whatever it takes to stop the boats.”

Ms Braverman also said she was “very confident” in the government’s plans.

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The government has been under pressure from Conservative backbenchers over the issue, with some calling for more urgent from the Prime Minister to crack down on crossings.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called Ms Braverman’s remarks “shambolic and embarrassing”.

She said: “Rishi Sunak made this one of his government’s key pledges, yet his Home Secretary who is supposed to deliver it clearly doesn’t have a clue what it means.

“The Tories are all bluster and rhetoric with no serious plan.”

The Home Secretary’s comments came as she visited The Level and a police station in the city to discuss a crack down on antisocial behaviour in Brighton and Hove.

Following her visit, Ms Braverman said on Twitter: “Antisocial behaviour is a blight on our communities and can leave people feeling unsafe.

“I am committed to tackling antisocial behaviour and we are looking at further ways to ensure the law-abiding majority feel safe in their communities.”