Keir Starmer faces three demands to tackle small boats at EU leaders summit
EU leaders will descend on London today, and the Refugee Council has called on governments to agree a string of steps to tackle small boats in the Channel
Keir Starmer must use today's crunch EU talks to agree radical steps to tackle small boat crossings, campaigners say.
So far at least 11 people have died this year trying to cross the Channel and more than 12,000 have reached the UK in dangerous vessels. The PM has been urged to expand safe routes and compel European leaders to take back people with an active asylum claim in their country.
A damning report by the Refugee Council today says the current enforcement approach is not working. Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst, at the charity, said: 'The Government is right to tackle the awful gangs that profiteer from desperate people who are simply trying to find safety.
"But the fact remains, that these measures alone are so far not achieving the intended outcome, with deadly crossings rising. Most men, women and children taking these journeys are fleeing countries like Sudan, where war is forcing them from their homes.
"No one risks their life on a flimsy boat in the Channel unless they are running from horrors more acute than what they find on the sea."
A report by the Refugee Council demands leaders create a new way for people to travel safely to claim asylum, with a focus on family reunion. It also said people in the UK should be returned to other EU countries if they already have an active asylum case under consideration.
And the document says the UK should agree to become part of a "solidarity mechanism" - meaning it will help out EU countries struggling to accommodate asylum claims.
Mr Featonby said: 'These rising numbers mean the Government must immediately move from enforcement-only to a comprehensive approach which also includes cross-national co-operation and ensuring refugees can access safe and legal pathways."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Glasgow Times
25 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Civil Service workforce up 2,000 to almost 20-year high, figures suggest
A total of 550,000 people were employed in the Civil Service as of March 2025, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is up from 548,000 in December 2024 and a rise of 1% year-on-year from 544,000 in March 2024. Headcount fell to 416,000 in June 2016, the month of the EU referendum. Since that date, the total has risen steadily, driven chiefly by the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government announced in April this year that it planned to cut around 2,100 staff from the Cabinet Office, as part of a plan to shrink the Civil Service and reduce the cost of bureaucracy. Some 1,200 roles will disappear through redundancies, while 900 will be transferred to other departments. The latest Civil Service headcount of 550,000 is nearly a third higher (32%) than it was in 2016, or an increase of 134,000. Of the 550,000, almost 443,000 are full-time roles and the remainder are part-time positions. The last time the quarterly headcount was higher than the current figure was in June 2006, when it stood at 553,000. The total was on a downwards path during the second half of the 2000s and this trend continued into the 2010s until the EU referendum in 2016, after which the headcount began to climb. It grew by 40,000 in the years between 2016 and the start of the pandemic, as thousands of people were recruited to manage the complex and lengthy Brexit process. There was then a further jump once the pandemic was under way, as the Government hired staff to oversee huge projects such as the furlough scheme, testing for Covid-19 and the rollout of the vaccination programme. Headcount increased by 56,000 between March 2020, when the first lockdown began, and March 2022. By June 2024, just ahead of the general election on July 4, the total had reached at 546,000, since when the figure has increased by a further 4,000. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in March that Civil Service running costs would be reduced by 15% by the end of the decade. As well as abolishing quangos such as NHS England, ministers have committed to increasing the proportion of civil servants working in digital and data roles, creating a workforce 'fit for the future'.

Western Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Winter Fuel Payments details of who is eligible confirmed
The payment, worth up to £300, will return for millions this winter, the Chancellor has announced. To be eligible for the winter fuel allowance, a person will need to have reached state pension age by the week starting September 15 this year. Devolved authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland will each receive a funding uplift so they too can meet the new threshold. Payments will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners who previously received it because anyone with an income of under £35,000 a year will now get the payment automatically Those with an income above this threshold will also receive the payment, but it will then be reclaimed from them in tax. Pensioners who do not want to receive the payment will be able to opt out, according to the Treasury. The decision to limit the winter fuel payment to only those who claimed pension credit was one of Labour's first acts in Government, aimed at balancing what was described as a £22 billion 'black hole' in the public finances. This meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. But Sir Keir Starmer announced there would be a partial U-turn on the policy in May, after it was thought to have contributed to Labour's drubbing in the local elections. The Treasury claims the new arrangement will cost £1.25 billion in England and Wales, while means-testing winter fuel will save the taxpayer £450 million. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'Targeting winter fuel payments was a tough decision but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government. 'It is also right that we continue to means test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including the wealthiest. 'But we have now acted to expand the eligibility of the winter fuel payment so no pensioner on a lower income will miss out. NEWS. Winter Fuel Payment to be reinstated for all State Pensioners this winter, but then clawed back via tax system for all who earn over £35,000 (roughly average earnings). This is a big improvement. Full instant analysis video coming with all the details in a minute.… — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 9, 2025 'This will mean over three-quarters of pensioners receiving the payment in England and Wales later this winter.' Some two million pensioners who earn more than £35,000 will see their winter fuel payments clawed back via the taxman, the Treasury estimates. Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Opposition, claimed the Prime Minister had 'scrambled to clear up a mess of his own making'. The Conservative leader added: 'I repeatedly challenged him to reverse his callous decision to withdraw winter fuel payments, and every time Starmer arrogantly dismissed my criticisms. hr /> Recommended reading: What is the energy price cap and does it need a smart meter? 'This humiliating U-turn will come as scant comfort to the pensioners forced to choose between heating and eating last winter. The Prime Minister should now apologise for his terrible judgment.' Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey said: 'Finally the Chancellor has listened to the Liberal Democrats and the tireless campaigners in realising how disastrous this policy was, but the misery it has caused cannot be overstated. 'Countless pensioners were forced to choose between heating and eating all whilst the Government buried its head in the sand for months on end, ignoring those who were really suffering. 'We will now study the detail of this proposal closely to make sure those who need support actually get that support. The pain they went through this winter cannot be for nothing.'

Western Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Ex-watchdog chair warns of loss of public trust over business appointments
Lord Pickles, who until April chaired the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), told MPs he is concerned that a lack of focus on cases which do not fall under the committee's remit because they involve less senior roles could lead to a major scandal. Acoba's work involves independently advising the Government, former ministers, senior civil servants and other crown servants on the rules around taking employment after leaving their jobs. Echoing previous criticisms of the current rules, Lord Pickles described them as 'dead in the water, next to useless, pointless and in need of reform' during an appearance before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. He added: '(Acoba) only deals with top civil servants and less senior officials are the responsibility of the board at different government departments. 'That is the area that I'm most concerned about. I was concerned when I went in and I thought the last government were extraordinarily lucky not to have a scandal operating. 'The churn in the civil service is around 40,000 a year… it is of that magnitude. 'It would not be unreasonable to look at those people who had responsibility for procurement, for awarding contracts, and if you designated those posts and put them through a similar process.' When pressed further on the issue, he added: 'If there was to say one thing that I would really like (the committee) to pursue it is that, because it will blow and given the confidence that the public has in politicians and the system, I think it might well be fatal.' Lord Pickles repeated concerns about the focus on ex-ministers rather than Whitehall officials, some of whom he said are reluctant to engage fully with a process designed to maintain transparency. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments provides guidance to former ministers and senior civil servants who are taking jobs in the private sector PA) He added: 'I think it is really important to understand that everybody concentrates on the ex-ministers because they've heard of them. 'But the real action is taking place among civil servants and there has become, I think, a degree of entitlement that is deeply worrying – both at Acoba level and below. 'There is a kind of a cohort effect taking place, in which the existing cohort looks after the exiting cohort in the assumption that that new cohort will look after them.' He also questioned the ethos of some politicians and senior civil servants over their commitment to the seven Nolan Principles of behaviour in public life, adding 'everybody believes in the seven principles of public life until it applies to them'. Lord Pickles said: 'If you look at the number of problems that we've had over the past five years, it can be neatly summed up in that people say: 'You know, the rules aren't for me because I am completely impeccable.' 'So far as the seven principles are concerned, the runt of the litter, the one that everybody ignores – the one that actually should be the most important – is leadership. 'I think those who engaged in public life in terms of moving towards propriety, they should set an example. 'In the recent years, I have been threatened with judicial review. I have been threatened with various lawyers and the like. 'If you are looking to take in lawyers, if you are trying to sort … you've entirely missed the point of the government business rules.' Lord Pickles said the advisory process should be adjusted to focus on cases with the highest level of risk rather than applications in all circumstances. He added: 'The business rules should be changed to just remove the flotsam and jetsam out of the system altogether and go to a kind of exemption regime and move it much more on a risk basis so you can really focus in on the exact risk and can be much more transparent with the public.' Labour's manifesto pledged to establish a new ethics and integrity commission, with an independent chair, to 'ensure probity in Government'. Lord Pickles said there is limited time for the Government to establish the commission through legislation, with delays for proposed amendments likely. He added: 'I have got no objection whatsoever to it being put on a statutory basis. 'I'm just worried that the practicality is the Machiavellian nature of this building will conspire to ensure that it doesn't matter.' Isabel Doverty, who was an independent member of the committee since 2021, has been appointed as Acoba's interim chair until December 31 2025.