Latest news with #ChannelCrisis
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Put Navy and drones in Channel to stop boats, says Labour peer
A Labour peer has urged Sir Keir Starmer to use the Royal Navy and drones in the English Channel to stop crossing boats. Lord Glasman told the Prime Minister he should 'just turn them back to France' as he set out his proposals to curb the worsening Channel crisis. His suggestions came after the number of migrants to reach Britain in small boats since Labour came to power last summer hit 50,000 earlier this week. Lord Glasman is viewed as an important voice within the party and is believed to have the ear of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir's chief of staff. Speaking to Tom Swarbrick on LBC, the peer said the current scale of illegal migration was 'completely out of order'. He said: 'The first thing I'd do is put the Royal Navy in the English Channel to stop the boats.' Asked where the boats would then go, Lord Glasman replied: 'Just turn them back to France. What is the problem with being in France? France is a country that's signed up to human rights. Why are they leaving France? This is a very big question. 'Then we've got a really serious political problem with France. I think this is all part of the post Brexit agenda. We've got to actually assert our national interests.' He added that drones could be used to play a message to migrants urging them to turn back. 'Also, very interestingly, [I've] just been to Ukraine. They claim to have drones that can target every boat. 'So we could just send drones out as well and say, please turn back. We are under no obligation whatsoever to take the boat and it's been going on for much too long, and there has to be immediate action on that.' Sir Keir struck a deal last month with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, which means Britain will detain illegal migrants and send them back to France in return for taking a similar number of asylum seekers. But the evidence suggests that the 'one in, one out' scheme is already failing, with 50 per cent more migrants crossing the Channel since the deal than in the same period last year. 'The Treasury has outlived its function' During a wide-ranging phone-in, Lord Glasman – who has emerged as one of the staunchest Labour critics of Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves – also called for the abolition of the Treasury. He said: 'I actually think the Treasury has outlived its function. I'm in favour of abolishing the Treasury and having an economics ministry inside No 10. 'I think that over this period, certainly starting with Margaret Thatcher, the Treasury has become much too powerful. And the problem with the Treasury is it's all about accounts and it's about the Exchequer. 'And it doesn't understand the long term commitments that you have to make in order to build industry.' Ms Reeves is widely expected to launch a series of fresh tax raids at her second Budget this autumn to fill a hole in the public finances that may be as high as £50bn. Her first fiscal package last October raised taxes by a record-breaking £40bn, including an increase in employer's National Insurance and an inheritance tax raid on farmers. Ties with Trump and Vance Lord Glasman was the only Labour politician invited to Donald Trump's inauguration in January and said he is 'very' sympathetic to warnings about free speech issued by JD Vance, Mr Trump's vice-president. At a keynote speech in February, Mr Vance warned Britain that mass migration and the erosion of free speech pose a greater threat than Russia. Asked if he agreed that the biggest threat to Europe was an influx of 'unvetted foreign migrants', he said: 'I don't know if that's the biggest threat to Europe, but as I've said to you, I consider it as a pretty bad thing. 'He's also said some things about freedom of expression, expression and freedom of speech that I'm quite sympathetic [to].' A report released by the US state department this week claimed there were 'credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression' under Sir Keir's Government. Lord Glasman was then pushed to confirm he was sympathetic to Mr Vance's warnings that free speech in the UK was 'in retreat'. He replied: 'Yeah, very. I think our tradition of liberty is absolutely… In the ancient constitution which we still live with, there's four fundamental liberties. 'One of them is freedom of expression, one of them is freedom of conscience, another one is freedom of religion and the other one is freedom of association. 'Those four are essential to our country and our tradition. That's why I don't think we need the Human Rights Act here.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
It's not our fault! Ministers try to dodge blame as number of small-boat migrants to reach Britain since Labour came to power hits 50,000
Ministers tried to dodge the blame yesterday after the number of small-boat migrants reaching Britain under Labour passed 50,000. Keir Starmer was slammed for 'incompetence' over the handling of the Channel crisis, with the soaring figure a clear indication of the lack of a plan since he axed the Tories ' Rwanda deportation scheme on his first day in power. Remarkably, former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith blamed the Tories, claiming: 'What is happening is the result of the last government.' Yesterday, large groups of migrants were seen sprinting into the surf off Gravelines beach, between Calais and Dunkirk, to board a boat to Britain. At first light, as French police stood and watched and a navy boat patrolled nearby, scores waded into the water to clamber on to a taxi boat that appeared just off shore. Only a few of them wore life jackets for the perilous crossing. The Government's 'returns deal' with France appears to have done little to deter those determined to get to Britain, with the latest total including more than 1,500 arrivals in the seven days since the 'one in, one out' scheme launched. Official figures revealed there were 474 arrivals on Monday alone, bringing the total since the general election on July 4 last year to 50,271, despite the Prime Minister's promise to 'smash the gangs' behind the trafficking trade. The milestone was passed seven months earlier than under his Conservative predecessor, Rishi Sunak. It does not include hundreds brought into Dover by Border Force vessels yesterday after being picked up mid-Channel, with the number to be confirmed today. Baroness Smith – who is now an education, women and equalities minister under Sir Keir – said: 'It is a completely legitimate claim to say that what is happening is the result of the last government that chose to focus on gimmicks with the Rwanda scheme.' Asked if the crossings were not Labour's fault, she insisted that the Government was taking responsibility now, but added: 'I don't believe it is our fault that it was enabled to take root in the way in which it has done by a government who failed to do what was necessary at that point. 'The last government enabled this hideous criminal activity to really get its roots into Europe. There was a lengthy period at the time in which the criminal gangs... behind this had the opportunity to have this operation set up and really embedded. 'And that's the task that this Government now has – to deconstruct that.' However, her attempt to evade responsibility was met with incredulity. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The Government has confirmed 50,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel in Labour's short time in power – the worst crisis in our history. 'Labour has surrendered our borders, and the consequences are being felt in our communities, from rising crime to shocking cases of rape and sexual assault by recent arrivals. Labour has scrapped Conservative deterrents and created the conditions for chaos, leaving the British people to foot the bill.' Labour scrapped the Tories' Rwanda asylum deal – designed to deter migrants from crossing – as one of its first acts, pledging instead to 'smash the gangs' by boosting law enforcement. However, small boat numbers are soaring, with 27,029 arrivals this year, up by 47 per cent on the same point last year and 67 per cent on the same point in 2023. Since the start of the crisis in 2018, 178,167 migrants have reached Britain, with only about four per cent of them removed. Yesterday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch insisted she would reduce migrant crossings to zero if the Conservatives regained power. She added: 'Labour's plan to smash the gangs was just a slogan. Things are so much worse since Labour came into office. 'Their one in, one out scheme isn't going to work, and what we're seeing is a lot of local communities having to pay the price and bear the brunt of the Government's incompetence.' Asked if the Tories would cut the number of crossings to zero, she replied: 'I think we can. It wouldn't happen straight away, but it would happen quickly. 'My team are looking at what we can do in terms of detention centres. But stopping people from coming here in the first place – if they think they're going to be sent to Rwanda and not get here, get a free hotel, get benefits, then they won't come here.' It emerged yesterday that a woman drowned off the French coast as she tried to board a traffickers' dinghy on Monday. Thought to be a Somali in her late twenties, she was reportedly unable to get aboard and went into the sea off Dunkirk at 4am. She was brought back to the beach but could not be revived, making her the 19th small-boat migrant to die this year. The 'one in, one out' deal involves small-boat arrivals being sent back to France, with the UK accepting in return an equal number who have legally applied to come through official channels.
Telegraph
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Bad people' coming to Britain on small boats, Trump warns
'Bad people' are coming to Britain on small boats, Donald Trump has warned Sir Keir Starmer. Mr Trump met the Prime Minister at his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, where the pair discussed the conflict in Gaza. The Prime Minister arrived with his wife, Lady Starmer, to the sound of bagpipes and was greeted by Mr Trump before the two leaders went inside for talks. Asked about the Channel crisis, Mr Trump said: 'If you're stopping immigration and stopping the wrong people my hats are off to you, you're doing not a good thing, but a fantastic thing. But I know nothing about the boats. 'But if the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are because other countries don't send their best, they send people that they don't want. And they're not stupid people and they send the people that they don't want and I've heard you've taken a much stronger stance on this.' Warning that Europe was 'a much different place' from five years ago, the president added: 'This is a magnificent part of the world, and you cannot ruin it, you cannot let people come here illegally. 'And what happens is there'll be murderers, there'll be drug dealers, there'll be all sorts of things that other countries don't want and they send them to you and they send them to us and you've got to stop them and I hear you've taken a very strong stand on immigration. And taking a strong stand on immigration is imperative.' According to Home Office provisional statistics, almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK in 2025. Asylum seekers working illegally The Prime Minister has taken an increasingly hard line on immigration after Reform UK made huge gains across the country in May's local elections. Last week, Sir Keir announced that the Government would share the locations of asylum accommodation with food delivery firms so 'they can take action if riders are staying there'. The move was unveiled after it emerged that significant numbers of asylum seekers were working illegally as food delivery riders. But in the last week, the Government has also been forced to grapple with anti-immigration protests outside an asylum hotel in Essex. Demonstrators gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Some 32,000 asylum seekers are being housed in around 210 hotels, according to the latest Home Office data from March. This compares with just under 30,000 last June, days before Labour won the election, but down from the peak of 56,000 at 400 hotels in September 2023 at a cost of £9 million a day. Elsewhere during the meeting, Mr Trump said that while he did not mind Sir Keir taking a position on formally recognising Palestine as a state, he would not do so himself and that getting food into Gaza was his priority. He went on to argue the US should have been thanked for its support for the Middle East and that the international community had failed to do so.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
'What a joke!' Keir Starmer's half baked deal with France to deter small boat migrants already in peril as Tories claim plans will not 'deter a single person from crossing the Channel'
Keir Starmer 's big plan to solve the Channel crisis was already threatening to unravel last night. The Prime Minister and French president Emmanuel Macron announced a 'one in, one out' migrant swap deal which was far less ambitious than expected. Sir Keir claimed the 'ground-breaking' pilot scheme would 'prove the concept that if you come over by small boats, then you will be returned to France '. He said it was 'acutely a crisis for our two nations', but admitted the scheme may not be a 'silver bullet'. And as the Anglo-French summit was being held, hundreds more migrants were crossing the Channel from northern France. The deal was already looking in peril last night as it emerged: The whole agreement has yet to be signed off by Eurocrats, who could block France from entering into a bilateral deal with Britain; Small-boat migrants selected for removal to France will be able to launch legal challenges, raising the prospect of cases becoming bogged down in the courts; Any individuals sent back will not be detained by the French, leaving them free to try to enter Britain again – possibly seeing a return to the days of migrants hiding in the backs of lorries; Expected details of a new agreement to allow French police to intercept migrant boats in the water were missing from yesterday's announcement; Reform leader Nigel Farage called on the Government to declare a national emergency and intern small-boat migrants. And as the Anglo-French summit was being held, hundreds more migrants were crossing the Channel from northern France Since Labour came to power, 44,359 small-boat migrants have reached Dover, including 21,117 so far this year – a 50 per cent leap on the same period last year. The figures do not include up to 400 arrivals who made it to British soil yesterday, just as the two leaders announced the migrant plan in a press conference. Insisting it was 'hard-headed, aggressive action', Sir Keir said: 'For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order. In exchange for every return, a different individual will be allowed to come here via a safe route, controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally.' But the Prime Minister failed to say how quickly migrants will be sent back in total or on a weekly basis when the scheme launches, which he said would be in the 'coming weeks'. Mr Macron said the deal needed legal ratification first, without putting a time frame on it. Earlier reports that up to 50 migrants a week, around one in 17 arrivals, would be sent back to France appeared not to have been signed off by the leaders, as negotiations went down to the wire. Tories branded the deal a 'total joke'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Starmer's first move in power was to rip up the Illegal Migration Act, scrap the Rwanda deterrent plan, weaken age checks and reopen the path to citizenship for illegal migrants. This is a green light to people smugglers. 'Labour promised to 'smash the gangs', but 2025 so far has been the worst year in history for illegal immigrants crossing the channel. We've had enough of Starmer's weak and ineffective gimmicks.' Kent MP Katie Lam added: 'Keir Starmer's French 'deal' is a total joke. 'Swapping one of those who arrived on a dinghy for 17 Paris form-fillers won't deter a single person from illegally and dangerously crossing the Channel. 'The only thing that will stop this is detention and deportation. Until Labour accepts that simple truth, Britain will remain an easy target.' During the launch at Northwood military headquarters in Hertfordshire, Mr Macron said coastal countries such as Spain and Greece would 'need to agree' to take migrants returned from the UK from France if they originally entered the continent via such a route. In a joint declaration, the leaders also confirmed that the scheme was 'subject to approval' from the European Commission in Brussels. It is understood that Eurocrats have not yet seen the legal text, but they are likely to sign it off if it does not contain any human rights violations. If the EU Commission approves the deal, member states will be forced to accept it. Mr Farage, speaking of those in the small boats, said: 'Some of them may be terrorists, they may commit sexual offences, we just don't know. What we do know is they are going to be put up at a hotel at our expense and they will probably be working in the gig economy within 48 hours. We just cannot allow that.' Mr Macron hailed the plan as 'collaborative, co-operative and comprehensive', but went on to blame Brexit for the Channel crisis. Unable to hide his still-bristling anger at the 2016 Leave vote, he said: 'Since Brexit, and I'm saying all this quite honestly, I know it's not your case, Prime Minister, but many people in your country explained that Brexit would make it possible to fight more effectively against illegal immigration.' Earlier yesterday, Mr Farage watched from a boat as 78 migrants were unloaded from a dinghy to the Border Force catamaran Hurricane in the middle of the Channel. He said: 'Some of them may be terrorists, they may commit sexual offences, we just don't know. What we do know is they are going to be put up at a hotel at our expense and they will probably be working in the gig economy within 48 hours. We just cannot allow that.' Mr Farage said the Government should declare a 'national security emergency' with migrants 'interned in an old Army camp or wherever'. He described the new deal as 'farcical', adding: 'It is humiliating that Starmer is even considering it.' Although there remain major questions about the operation of the scheme, a returns agreement does represent a concession by the French. It follows years of the Elysees refusing to consider such a move when the Conservatives were in power. Director of migration think-tank British Future, Sunder Katwala, said: 'At ten times the scale, this deal could start to make a dramatic difference to small-boat numbers and put the smugglers out of business.'
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Shambles as 100s of grinning dinghy migrants arrive in UK blowing Keir's ‘humiliating' small boats plan out of the water
HUNDREDS more dinghy migrants got to Britain yesterday — as Sir Keir Starmer said he was getting a grip on the crisis. The PM agreed a deal with French pal Emmanuel Macron to initially return just 50 a month. 4 4 4 The influx came as the PM promised Sun readers he 'completely gets their frustration and their anger' over the Channel crisis — and vowed to drastically increase the numbers sent back to France. Sir Keir insisted his 'aggressive' one-in, one-out deal with President Emmanuel Macron — who blamed Brexit for the surge in illegal crossings — would mean migrants arriving here are detained and then sent back. For every one returned, Britain will take an asylum seeker from France with a legitimate claim and an all-clear on security. But officials are bracing for legal battles similar to those over the axed Tory scheme to sent migrants to Rwanda in Africa. They admitted those selected for deportation under yesterday's deal with France would be able to wage lengthy court appeals. The initial pilot, hoped to be launched in the coming weeks, will see just 50 migrants sent back per week with the French exercising a veto over who they accept. Under that arrangement it could take months to return all those who made the dangerous journey yesterday in flat seas. The Sun went to the Channel with Nigel Farage and watched as the French navy escorted a boatload of 78 migrants into British waters before passing them over to Border Force. They even demanded lifejackets be returned, ready for the next batch of illegals heading here. In an exclusive interview with The Sun after his announcement of the French migrants deal, the PM suggested the ultimate goal was for every one to be returned. 250710 Starmer IV UK-France deal - Jack Elsom Sir Keir insisted: 'We've got the flex to ramp this up.' But he warned the new deal would involve 'financial arrangements' which could go beyond the £771million we have already handed to France since 2018. Revealed in the Plan: Migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order A one-in, one-out system will operate with migrants sent back to France in exchange for asylum seekers The plan is merely a pilot scheme - which could be canned if it doesn't work Only 50 a week will be sent packing - a fraction of the thousands crossing into the UK In a joint press conference with the French president, Sir Keir admitted: 'Illegal migration is a global crisis and it's a European crisis but it's also very acutely a crisis for our two nations, a crisis of law, security, humanity and fairness. 'We face a sprawling multi-billion pound enterprise run by criminal gangs leading hundreds of people to their deaths in the Channel. 'So we're determined together to end this vile trade.' Illegal migration is a global crisis and it's a European crisis but it's also very acutely a crisis for our two nations, a crisis of law, security, humanity and fairness Sir Keir Starmer, in a joint press conference with the French president Sir Keir added: 'This is our plan together; hard-headed, aggressive action on all fronts to break the gangs' business model, secure our borders and show that attempting to reach the UK by small boat will only end in detention, failure and return.' 'Truly very angry' Despite the PM's triumphalism on the 'groundbreaking' deal, Mr Macron said it had been struck 'in principle' but was subject to 'legal verifications' and EU sign-off. The French would also be able to choose whether to accept an individual, with the UK also given the same right over who comes here. The Home Office refused to reveal how the 50 migrants per week would be selected, but said they would mainly be from countries deemed safe, with low rates of successful UK asylum claims. The numbers are expected to be limited by how many cells are available in immigration detention centres, which currently have around 2,500 spaces. Another 1,000 are being added. The selected migrants, all of them adults, will be handed notices informing them that they are due to be sent back to France. It was not yet known how they will be returned but it could be by chartered flights or on coaches. After being transferred to France, they will have access to the French asylum system or could be removed back to their country of origin. Anyone who comes back across the Channel in a small boat will be removed again and not allowed to claim asylum. 4 Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart said she was 'truly very angry' at the deal as she will 'soon be dealing with the problem of returns'. Speaking to The Sun Sir Keir appeared to acknowledge he had to deliver on the Channel crisis to stand a chance of winning re-election. He said: 'It's really important we make progress on that, and I don't shy away from that for a moment, because we must have control of our borders, but equally, we have to make sure that we deliver on living standards and a better health service. 'That is what I'm focused on every day. I know I have to deliver for the British people.' insisted: 'This agreement is a humiliation for Brexit Britain. We have acted today as an EU member and bowed down to an arrogant French president.' Sir Keir accused his rival of milking the small boats issue and only wanting to 'take pictures'. The PM said: 'You either point a camera at the problem because you want to exploit it as a problem, or you roll up your sleeves and do the serious work of actually dealing with the problem.' Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also piled in, saying: 'Labour's limp returns deal will only remove one in every 17 illegal immigrants arriving. 'Allowing 94 per cent of illegal immigrants to stay will make no difference whatsoever and have no deterrent effect. This is the latest catastrophic example that when Labour negotiates, the UK loses.' The 50-per-week trial agreement is equivalent to just 2,600 returns annually, compared with the 44,000 who have arrived since Labour took power a year ago. And this year alone more than 20,600 migrants had crossed the Channel — a 56 per cent rise on the same period in 2024. On the final day of his three-day state visit, Mr Macron put noses out of joint by blaming Brexit for the surge in boat crossings. He said: 'The British people were sold a lie about immigration. 'It's in fact since Brexit [that] the UK has no migratory agreement with the EU. It creates an incentive to make the crossing, the precise opposite of what Brexit promised.' CARRY ON MIGRATING By Sophia Sleigh HOURS before Keir Starmer unveiled his small boats plan I was in the middle of the English Channel with Nigel Farage, watching in horror as migrants made the crossing. A French warship chaperoned a dinghy carrying 78 illegal migrants — 74 men and four women and children — into international waters. There they were handed over to a UK Border Force boat. A state-facilitated crime was unfolding before my very eyes. 'It's almost as if it's being allowed to happen,' Nigel said. The French demanded 40 life jackets back for the next batch of illegal migrants heading to Britain. Clearly they expect hundreds more crossings in the warm weather. What we saw undermined any claims of 'stopping the boats'. It was less stop the boats and more carry on migrating.
