Latest news with #ChannelCrossing
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
OPINION: The Channel is only the last part of the journey!
Small boats bringing illegal migrants were the main story coming from the meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron recently, but there was really a lot more to talk about. Since William the Conqueror defeated his cousin Harold in 1066, the story between England and France has taken many twists. The raising of two fingers was originally a salute to the French from medieval English archers, showing that the two key fingers for pulling a bow were in good working order! Migrants arriving at the Channel ports have already had a long and arduous journey. Statistics state that seventy per cent of people recently crossing in small boats have come from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, or Eritrea, leaving the final strip of water a relatively minor challenge. It is difficult to imagine that any migrant who has reached Calais would then give up! All the gloom and doom in our news should surely put people off wanting to come here, with the bin strike in Birmingham, the economy stagnant or in decline, plus uncertainty over jobs in the gig economy. Certainly, most of the French prefer to stay in France, but President Macron said the UK is too attractive for migrants, making them want to come here. What we do have is a long-standing belief and conviction in the freedom of the individual. Our Parliament evolved into an argumentative debating chamber, where each MP is elected by their own constituency and free to promote constituency interests, not tied to any party. Our Prime Minister may have the right and power to do anything he wants, but unlike Donald Trump and President Macron, he can lose that authority overnight if Parliament so decides! Most important to migrants, and to us, is that we are free to go about our lawful business without being chaperoned or documented by the government, whether local or national. We are not required to carry identity papers, as happens in the USA. The migrant problem is actually much worse for many of our neighbours; more lives are lost crossing the Mediterranean than crossing the Channel. Italy bears the brunt of this, being the most obvious destination for any boat. Germany had a major influx of migrants across their land border with Eastern Europe, and statistics show that Germany has taken in more migrants than other European countries. The UK is lower down the list. "Irregular arrivals" are not the largest number of migrants arriving into our multicultural society. We are already a mixed bunch. The news displays presenters from various ethnic origins quoting experts, many of whom have names which are clearly not British. In general, we have become a multicultural society. This is our strength as it has been for many generations, with Normans, Huguenots, Indians, Africans, and my ancestor blown ashore from the Spanish Armada! The boat people have undertaken long and dangerous journeys to join us, is it fair to condemn them to live in France? We cannot afford generous benefits, nor can we afford to turn away willing workers. But housing asylum seekers awaiting processing while our homeless are sleeping rough is crazy. Migration is a world problem. New migrants, once here, need proper organisation.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Grinning small boat migrant chronicles his journey across the Channel to the UK - as he films himself celebrating on Blackpool beach after illegally crossing into Britain
A small boat migrant who was helped across the Channel by the French authorities is documenting his 'best life' in Britain on TikTok. Shocking footage filmed by the migrant and posted on the social media platform showed him on a small boat with around 20 other men being given bottles of water by the French coastguard. The group of around 30 men cheer, wave and hold out their hands in thanks to the French boat which travels right next to them to hand over the water. Despite crossings being against the law - and often deadly - the coastguard made no attempt to stop the boat or urge them to return. It was posted on the TikTok of an account of a man, believed to be from Iraq, called Youssef Hassan. He has more than 5,000 followers. The footage of the crossing was posted this week and clearly shows him holding his phone in a selfie position. Another video sees him on the same small boat talking to the camera with people on the boat with him. Young children can be seen in the centre of the boat. His TikTok now shows him enjoying living in Blackpool, Lancashire. The social media giant has been accused of being an 'online travel agent for illegal crossings'. His profile has the phrase: 'I live in peace and I post videos that I shoot for myself and for my personal page. Greetings to everyone.' He has posted numerous videos of him enjoying his time in the Lancashire town, including the iconic Blackpool Tower. He is believed to have travelled through Germany for the boat crossing. He posted videos of him last month in the country. Videos from Blackpool started this month, and include shots of him outside an amusement arcade. One follower urged him to return to Iraq and wrote: 'Go back to your family, living abroad is hard. There is nothing better than Iraq, I swear.' But others wished him well, writing: 'May God protect you, my dear Youssef. Congratulations on your arrival in Britain. God willing your dreams will come true. May God ease your mind and your future. You deserve all the best, my brother.' The migrant was with a group of around 30 men seen cheering, waving and holding out their hands in thanks to the French boat which travels right next to them to hand over the water He replied: 'You are my soul.' Other clips show him outside the Coral Island children's amusement centre in Blackpool. Each has thousands of views. On the clip featuring him on the boat, some followers question how easy and safe it is to make it to Britain on a small boat. One follower boasted how easy it is. He wrote: 'My brother, you will reach Britain, and Britain does not allow rejection and does not allow deportation. 'The English language and work are all Iraqis and it is the best country and trust.' Another commented him to say: 'May God protect you, my dear Youssef. Congratulations on your arrival in Britain. God willing, your dreams will come true. 'May God ease your mind and your future. You deserve all the best, my brother.' Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'TikTok is basically an online travel agent for illegal crossings. How on earth is this allowed? 'It's just an online advert to say come to Britain, it's easy and you'll have a great life. It's very worrying.' One source said: 'It looks like this guy is living his best life here in Britain. It's sticking two fingers up to the authorities. 'Not only was he basically helped to get here, he's now living a very good life.' According to the latest government figures at least 21,000 people have embarked on the perilous journey across the Channel since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings. Earlier this month, Keir Starmer announced a new pilot scheme that will see migrants arriving via small boat being detained and returned to France. A one-in, one-out system will operate with migrants sent back to France in exchange for asylum seekers. But the scheme could be canned if it is found to be ineffective. The new scheme has been condemned by campaigners, who said they would support court cases brought by small-boat arrivals chosen to be sent back to France. A border union boss said the legal challenges could take a year. Brussels ominously warned that it was assessing whether the scheme complied with the 'spirit and the letter of the law', while governments including Italy were said to be harbouring 'huge doubts' about its legality. Meanwhile Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refused to say how many of the thousands arriving by dinghy will be removed under the pilot scheme, amid fears it could be even fewer than the 50 a week suggested by French officials. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Mail: 'This pathetic arrangement may be sunk by legal challenges from activist lawyers and irresponsible charities who want to facilitate illegal immigration into the UK. 'With illegal immigration across the Channel so far this year hitting record levels, Keir Starmer must now be bitterly regretting his foolish decision to cancel the Rwanda deterrent scheme before it even started. 'After two years of legal challenges and legislation, the scheme was ready to go, but Starmer cancelled it just days before the first plane was due to take off last July. 'This would have enabled 100 per cent of the illegal immigrants to be immediately removed without judicial interference. 'The boats would soon have stopped. But Starmer is too weak and too mentally enslaved by his human rights lawyer friends to do what is needed to protect our country's borders.' Downing Street insisted the controversial 'one in, one out' agreement was legally sound and that Brussels supported it. But fearing that returned migrants could head to Italy, the country's interior minister told Sky News: 'We know the EU Commission is still evaluating the agreement, and EU countries, including us, have huge doubts about security and legal aspects of the deal.' It has been a decade since a sporadic number of boats with migrants on board arriving off the Kent coast from France was reported in the media. At the time, the focus was mainly on the thousands of attempts by migrants in northern France, who were attempting to stowaway on lorries and ferries to the UK. In the nearby Calais Jungle thousands of people, including children, were living under canvass in a camp which was later cleared by the French authorities. But as security was tightened around the ports and Eurotunnel, within three years, significant numbers were using small boats instead to make the dangerous crossing. The cost for a single small boat journey can cost upwards of £1,500 for a single person with no guarantee that the journey will be a success.
Times
5 days ago
- Times
French resort loved by Britons becomes migrant crossing hotspot
O n a sunny summer's day in Le Touquet, throngs of tourists wander the streets of shops and restaurants, stroll along the beach and explore the sand dunes and parks. But the resort, which was developed in the late 1800s with British tourists in mind and was one of Winston Churchill's favourite retreats, is being increasingly drawn into the small boats crisis, as smugglers move further southwest to avoid the heavy police presence around Calais. From the River Canche, directly next to the town, as well as the miles and miles of beaches and dunes either side of Le Touquet, people smugglers are launching taxi boats to collect migrants from the beaches and bring them to the UK, risking their lives with a much longer Channel crossing.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Moment French coastguard hand out lifejackets to migrants on small boat as they prepare to cross the Channel for Britain
This is the horrifying moment the French handed out lifejackets to migrants about to cross the Channel instead of dragging them back to the beach. The coastguard made no effort to stop the inflatable boat before it motored off towards the UK with mainly young men on board near Calais this morning. The embarrassing footage is yet another humiliation for Sir Keir Starmer as record numbers are crossing the Channel illegally to claim asylum in the UK and he heralded a 'one in one out' deal with France. It came days after Emmanuel Macron promised a tougher approach was afforded a three-day state visit by King Charles including a lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle. But this doesn't appear to have been passed on to those policing the French coast. Today the French authorities approached an overcrowded dinghy that had just set off from the beach at Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais. But instead of turning the perilously full boat around, police came alongside in relatively shallow water and began passing those on board lifejackets. The dinghy then motored off towards the UK. No police were seen on the beach when the groups of people came out of the sand dunes and attempted to board the black inflatable boat. Witnesses saw one boat drop off several men at around 5am, who went into the sand dunes, before a second boat came close to shore, circling until the migrants appeared on the beach. The people, including a family with two children, put themselves into groups before trying to climb onto the boat. Around 40 people, believed to be about half of the full group, left on the dinghy. Last week more than 500 small boat migrants arrived in Britain on the day Sir Keir Starmer signed his 'one in, one out' deal with Emmanuel Macron. The figures were yet another blow to the Labour leader as the number of crossings over the year so far rose to 21,690, which is more than a 50 per cent higher than 2024. It came as a pact was agreed by the PM and Mr Macron during his state visit to the UK is already unravelling. There are questions over whether the scheme - which would see Britain send some Channel arrivals back but agree to take other asylum seekers from France - could even be blocked by the EU Commission. Unveiling the plan alongside Mr Macron, Sir Keir claimed it was 'ground-breaking' and would 'prove the concept that if you come over by small boats, then you will be returned to France '. But as the Anglo-French summit was being held, hundreds more migrants were crossing the Channel from northern France. Border experts said the proposals were 'scratching a very bare minimum of the surface'. Leaks had suggested 50 migrants a week, around one in 17 arrivals, would be sent back to France initially. But that was seemingly not signed off by the leaders. Touring broadcast studios this morning, Ms Cooper said: 'The numbers are not fixed, even for this pilot phase that we are starting now. 'So this will be a programme that we roll out step-by-step, and we will provide updates as we go. 'But we are going to do this in a steady way.' Despite signs EU states could object to the UK-France deal, Ms Cooper told LBC she was confident Brussels would let it go ahead. 'We have been talking to the EU commissioners. We've also been talking to other European interior ministers and governments throughout this process,' she said. 'The French interior minister and I have been speaking about this to develop this since October of last year, and the EU commissioners have been very supportive. 'So that is why we have designed this in a way to work, not just for the UK and France, but in order to fit with all their concerns as well.' She added: 'Because we've done that work all the way through, we do expect the EU Commission to continue to be supportive.' Ms Cooper also played down Mr Macron's jibe that Brexit had made tackling illegal immigration harder, arguing people smugglers would 'weaponise anything'. Downing Street said the UK is 'confident' the agreement complies with both domestic and international law and has discussed the plans with Brussels. The PM's spokesman said: 'We've done a lot of work to make sure the system is robust to legal challenges, and of course, France is a safe country and a member of the ECHR. 'We're confident that this arrangement complies with both domestic and international law, and clearly… we've discussed these arrangements already with the (European) Commission.' Sir Keir is holding talks with his Cabinet at an 'away day' at Chequers, his grace-and-favour Chequers country estate. Sir Keir said the governments were taking 'hard-headed, aggressive action'. 'For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order,' he said. 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 PM 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.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
French coastguard hand boat full of migrants life jackets as dozens more set sail for UK after ‘one in one out deal'
A FLOOD of migrants raced across a French beach to get on an overcrowded dinghy - with the coastguard handing them life jackets. The group of migrants raced to get on an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the Channel. 7 7 7 It comes after a new migrant deal was agreed between the UK and France in a bid to tackle the small boats crisis. The migrants were pictured trying to board the dinghy on the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France. Around 40 people, believed to be about half of the full group that scrambled over the sands, left the coast of France. French authorities in an inflatable boat out at sea approached the overcrowded dinghy, passing those on board lifejackets. No police were seen on the beach when the groups of people came out of the sand dunes and attempted to board the black inflatable boat. It comes after a new 'one-in-one-out' migrant deal was agreed with the country. But France will be able to choose which migrants to take back - prompting fears that the UK will be stuck with dangerous criminals. The details of each migrant selected for return will be given to France, allowing it to reject those with a criminal record or deemed a security risk. Both France and the UK will have a veto over which of the small boat migrants they take in. Britain will take into account if the migrants have a connection to the country and if they have lived here before. 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 There may be an uptick in migrants stowing away in cars and lorries, or taking more dangerous routes into the country. Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron confirmed a one-in-one-out deal will return small boat migrants to France - but only 50 a week will be sent packing. The PM hailed the "groundbreaking" returns' scheme as "aggressive" - but admitted it was merely a pilot plan that would deal with just a fraction of the migrants trying to cross the Channel every day. n a joint press conference with the French President, Sir Keir confirmed that in exchange for sending unlawful migrants back, the UK will accept asylum seekers from Calais who have "legitimate claims" and family in Britain. Only those who haven't tried to enter the country illegally before will be eligible for the scheme, which will come into force "in weeks". The PM hailed the plan as "hard-headed, aggressive action" and boasted that "previous governments tried and failed to secure results like this". But the agreement is the equivalent of just 2,600 returns annually (50 a week), compared with the 44,000 who have arrived since Labour took power a year ago. And this year alone more than 21,117 migrants have crossed the Channel - a 56 per cent rise on the same period in 2024. But Sir Keir admitted the new deal won't necessarily end the crisis, saying: 'There is no silver bullet here". And it was revealed the plan could descend into a legal wrangle - with "returned" migrants able to launch lengthy battles through the courts. It means the system could get bogged down with ongoing legal cases - and the whole plan thwarted in the same way that Rwanda flights were grounded by lefty lawyers. 7 7 7
