People-smugglers are using boats ‘like taxis' says John Healey, as 1,194 cross channel in a DAY

The Sun

2 days ago

Julia Atherley
Jack Elsom
Published: Invalid Date,
BRAZEN people-smugglers used boats 'like a taxi' to pick up migrant masses from French beaches and ferry them to the UK.
Police stood and watched as the gangs took advantage of calm seas on Saturday to launch 18 boats for the use of mostly young men.
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A total of 1,194 people made the crossing successfully, the highest number in a day since 2022.
Officials said only 184 were stopped — fewer than 15 per cent.
Photos of smiling migrants in the boats crossing the Channel emerged later on social media.
It comes despite a deal agreed in 2023 to pay the French £480million to stop the crossings.
Defence Secretary John Healey described the weekend scenes from the French beaches as 'shocking'.
He said: 'Truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years.'
He said the smugglers were dodging waiting cops by 'launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi'.
Mr Healey said it was a 'really big problem' that, under French law, the police were not allowed to intervene once boats were in shallow waters.
However, he said that 'for the first time' France had agreed to 'change the way they work' so boats could be intercepted once launched 'and not just on the shore'.
It was a catastrophic mistake by our weak Prime Minister to cancel the Conservatives' Rwanda removals deterrent just days before it was due to start
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp
The total of arrivals so far this year is 14,811, Home Office figures show — the most in the first five months of a year since data was first recorded in 2018.
Scores of migrants board overloaded dinghies to make dangerous Channel crossing to UK - as French cops watch on
With more good weather on the way, the number of crossings is expected to rise.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Labour's claim that it would smash the gangs lay in tatters after 'the worst day of the worst year for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel'.
He told The Sun: 'It was a catastrophic mistake by our weak Prime Minister to cancel the Conservatives' Rwanda removals deterrent just days before it was due to start.
'The Government now needs to demand that the French intercept these boats at sea and return them to France, like the Belgians do.'
He added: 'The French interception rate on land is pathetic and those they catch are just released and then try again the next day.
The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models
Spokesman
'And every single illegal immigrant that arrives in the UK should be immediately removed to a place outside Europe. Then the crossings would soon stop. It's as simple as that. This madness must end.'
A Home Office source said: 'We've developed strong co-operation with the French and it is important that they have agreed to disrupt these boats once they're in the water — and not just on the shore.
'This vital step now needs to be operationalised to protect border security and save lives.'
The Home Office said international intelligence-sharing and enhanced enforcement in France would help to combat the problem.
A spokesman said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models.'
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