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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
First small boat migrants detained in Dover for removal to France
The first small boat migrants have been detained for removal to France under the new 'one in, one out' scheme. The Home Office confirmed Channel arrivals were held after they were brought into Dover yesterday. It did not disclose how many migrants had been held. But the detentions come amid huge concerns that human rights challenges and other legal actions could delay migrants being sent back for months, as well as scepticism over the narrow scope of the scheme. Migrants selected for removal will be held in Home Office detention facilities rather than being sent to live in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil [at Dover port] and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France. That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat. No-one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs.' She added: 'Criminal gangs have spent seven years embedding themselves along our border and it will take time to unravel them, but these detentions are an important step towards undermining their business model and unravelling the false promises they make. These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started - sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change.' As part of the treaty Britain will accept migrants from France in exchange for small boat arrivals. That element of the scheme also began today, allowing migrants to lodge 'expressions of interest' on a specially-created Home Office website. It comes after a Cabinet minister appeared to contradict the terms of the new treaty with France yesterday. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said small boat migrants sent back under the deal would see their human rights claims heard after being sent back to France. However, it later emerged that some types of human rights cases would, in fact, block the Home Office from being able to remove migrants in the first place. The treaty clearly sets out how small boat migrants cannot be sent back to France if they have 'an outstanding human rights claim'. The Home Office confirmed some human rights claims will block migrants' removal until they have been concluded in full. It will include cases which cannot be formally 'certified' by officials as 'clearly unfounded'. The Mail has learned pro-migrant groups have begun informal discussions about launching a joint legal action against Labour's plan – just as they did against the Tories' Rwanda asylum scheme. Sources said there had already been 'a certain amount of co-ordination' between charities and other groups, with details of the treaty still being analysed. Last month Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged migrants would be 'detained and returned to France in short order' under the agreement. But yesterday – the first day it was in force – Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp posted videos from the Channel as he watched migrant boats bound for the UK coast, escorted by a French vessel. He said it showed the Anglo-French deal was a failure, adding that occupants of the boats were 'coming to a hotel near you soon'.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
First small boat migrants are detained for removal to France under new 'one-in, one-out' scheme after arriving in Dover yesterday
The first small boat migrants have been detained for removal to France under the new 'one in, one out' scheme. The Home Office confirmed Channel arrivals were held after they were brought into Dover yesterday. It did not disclose how many migrants had been held. But the detentions come amid huge concerns that human rights challenges and other legal actions could delay migrants being sent back for months, as well as scepticism over the narrow scope of the scheme. Migrants selected for removal will be held in Home Office detention facilities rather than being sent to live in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil [at Dover port] and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France. 'That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat. 'No-one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs.' She added: 'Criminal gangs have spent seven years embedding themselves along our border and it will take time to unravel them, but these detentions are an important step towards undermining their business model and unravelling the false promises they make. 'These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. 'But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started - sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change.' As part of the treaty Britain will accept migrants from France in exchange for small boat arrivals. That element of the scheme also began today, allowing migrants to lodge 'expressions of interest' on a specially-created Home Office website. It comes after a Cabinet minister appeared to contradict the terms of the new treaty with France yesterday. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said small boat migrants sent back under the deal would see their human rights claims heard after being sent back to France. However, it later emerged that some types of human rights cases would, in fact, block the Home Office from being able to remove migrants in the first place. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the first group of migrants had been detained The treaty clearly sets out how small boat migrants cannot be sent back to France if they have 'an outstanding human rights claim '. The Home Office confirmed some human rights claims will block migrants' removal until they have been concluded in full. It will include cases which cannot be formally 'certified' by officials as 'clearly unfounded'. The Mail has learned pro-migrant groups have begun informal discussions about launching a joint legal action against Labour's plan – just as they did against the Tories' Rwanda asylum scheme. Sources said there had already been 'a certain amount of co-ordination' between charities and other groups, with details of the treaty still being analysed. Meanwhile, the Free Movement website, which offers advice to immigration lawyers, yesterday published an analysis of the new measures which said: 'Legal challenges will be more difficult than for Rwanda, however there are still likely to be grounds on which some people can resist removal to France. 'For example, if the inadmissibility decision was wrong, if people have family in the UK, or had experiences in France which make it inappropriate to send them back.' It means the Home Secretary is likely to face a huge legal battle to get the first migrants removed from Britain. Last month Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged migrants would be 'detained and returned to France in short order' under the agreement. But yesterday – the first day it was in force – Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp posted videos from the Channel as he watched migrant boats bound for the UK coast, escorted by a French vessel. He said it showed the Anglo-French deal was a failure, adding that occupants of the boats were 'coming to a hotel near you soon'.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Little Boats Crackdown! Members of criminal gangs in Britain who advertise migrant Channel crossings online could face 'five years in jail'
Criminal gangs who advertise small boat crossings across the English Channel or fake passports online could spend up to five years behind bars under new legislation. Ministers are looking to create a new offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament in an attempt to crackdown on criminal gangs promoting Channel crossings on the Internet, The Mirror reports. Under the proposed law, offenders could receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a hefty fine. Assisting illegal migration is already a crime, but officials hope the changes will give more powers to police to disrupt criminal gangs. Around 80 percent of migrants arriving to the UK by small boats say they used social media to find someone associated with a criminal gang who could smuggle them into the country. According to the Home Office, many of those who make the perilous crossings across the Channel are sold a 'false narrative' about their ability to live and work in the UK. 'Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral,' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said. 'These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.' Ministers are looking to create a new offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament The potential new measure comes the Government announced last week that members of people-smuggling gangs who send migrants across the Channel in flimsy boars will face financial sanctions. The new powers target smugglers and those who supply them with money and equipment. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the measures are 'the world's first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers.' Those in breach of the rules can have UK assets seized, be barred from using British banks and be banned from entering Britain. The government said the new rules are authorised by existing sanctions legislation. British lawmakers won't get a chance to debate them until they return from a summer break in September. Keir Starmer has pledged to stop criminal gangs sending thousands of migrants each year on dangerous journeys across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. A group of migrants run from the beach into the water to reach an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain as tougher migration controls were announced, at the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, July 17, A migrant tries to board a smuggler's inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel off the beach of Gravelines, northern France on July 29, 2025 The Prime Minister has said the crime gangs are a threat to global security and should be treated like terror networks. Some 37,000 people crossed the channel in 2024, and more than 22,000 so far in 2025 - an increase of about 50 percent from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died attempting the journey.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- BBC News
UK Immigration: Why are children coming to the UK in small boats?
Every day, migrants try to cross the English Channel - the stretch of water between England and France - in small boats or them are lots of children. There are different reasons migrants might try to come to the UK. Some are fleeing war or persecution in their home country. Others are coming hoping to make money. That is against the people's circumstances, entering the UK in a small boat is illegal and anyone arriving in this way is breaking the gangs organise the crossings. While some children make this journey together with their families, many arrive alone. How many children travel to the UK this way? Since 2018, nearly 25,000 children have travelled to the UK on small boats. That's according to the Migration Observatory, who used Home Office data to work it say that in 2024, around 37,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats. However, those coming to the UK by small boat are only a small part of the overall number of migrants into the UK. In 2024, the total number of people arriving in the UK was 948,000. Most of these will have applied to come to the UK from their home country and arrived 108,000 people sought asylum in 2024. Of that number, 4,104 claims were from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children - under-18s travelling without a grown-up. How dangerous is it to cross the Channel in a small boat? Small boats and dinghies were not designed to be used to cross the also often have far too many people on them to be safe. The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with many large boats crossing it every day. This makes travelling across it in a small boat dangerous. As well as the dangers posed by passing ships, most migrants rely on criminal gangs, who they pay large amounts of money in order to make the gangs don't always offer protective gear, like life jackets, and when they do these are often unsafe or this, small boats and dinghies are regularly used by those who have travelled from their home country into mainland Europe, and want to travel on to the UK. The numbers of migrants attempting to cross the Channel in small boats changes with the seasons. Numbers are usually higher in summer months as the weather is better and the seas are calmer, which means travelling seems safer. However, even in summer the water of the Channel is very reality is that this is a very dangerous journey at any time of year. What happens to children once they arrive in the UK? Most of the migrants who cross the English Channel claim asylum. Asylum seekers hope to receive refugee status, so that they can legally stay in the UK to live and gain refugee status the authorities must decide that someone can't return to their home country because they face persecution. This could be because of their race, religion, political opinion or conflict.A child who is with their family is generally considered for asylum as a dependant, as part of the adult's application. Families usually stay together in temporary accommodation and children can go to are different rules for unaccompanied children, who have travelled to the UK alone. These children have extra protection by law, which says that their safety and welfare must be children should be provided somewhere safe to live, often in a residential care home or a foster home, and helped to access education and healthcare. They should also be supported in claiming asylum. What is the debate in the UK about small boats? The Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour party describe the situation with small boat crossings a "crisis".In their 2024 election campaign, Labour pledged to reduce the number of small boats crossing the English Channel by cracking down on the criminal gangs that organise them. Since then, the number of people crossing the Channel has Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is working together with the French President Emmanuel Macron on a joint plan to tighten up on small boats. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said that Labour "can't be trusted" to protect the UK's her leadership, the party has announced new policies that they say show their commitment cutting when the Conservatives were in power, the party were criticised for the way they handled immigration, with Labour Party saying that it "spiralled out of control on their watch".The Liberal Democrats 2024 manifesto focused on creating a "fair, effective immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect." They say they want immigration rules to be simpler and clearer UK say they want to "take back control of our borders". Their 2024 manifesto pledged to "pick up illegal migrants out of boats and take them back to France", and calls for "zero illegal immigrants to be resettled in the UK."Meanwhile, the Green Party proposed a "fair and humane" immigration policy and say they will "treat all migrants as potential citizens."
