Latest news with #EnglishChannel
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Taunton Prep School pupils complete relay swim across English Channel
A team of Somerset schoolchildren has completed a 21-mile relay swim across the English Channel. Nine pupils and four staff from Taunton Prep School took on the challenge on Tuesday, August 12 to raise funds for Scotty's Little Soldiers, a charity supporting children who have lost a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. Ed Burnett, headmaster of Taunton Prep School, said: "The English Channel is known as the 'Everest of swimming' and the mindset, ambition, and teamwork needed to complete it requires something special. "As our 13-year-old pupils have shown over the last two years, hard work and commitment builds the courage to succeed. "I am very proud of them for the work they have put in, and I am delighted that they have completed their Everest." The pupils have raised more than £7,250 so far, with donations still coming in. They are being welcomed at The school has now led nine groups across the Channel, involving more than 50 pupils and staff and raising over £75,000 for charity. This year's team, named Channel Titans V, began training for the swim two years ago when they were just 10 and 11 years old. They trained in the school pool, at Wiveliscombe's outdoor pool, and in open water along the Somerset and Devon coasts during both day and night. The swimmers were split into two teams for the 21-mile relay. The Red Team completed the crossing in 15 hours and 28 minutes, while the Pink Team finished in 14 hours and 43 minutes. Each pupil swam for an hour at a time, with all completing two swims and some taking on a third. Despite starting as beginners, the children built up the stamina and skills needed to take on the challenge, facing blooms of jellyfish and curious dolphins along the way. Hamish McCarthy, head of geography and lead coach of the long-distance swimming club, supported the pupils throughout their training. The young swimmers regularly compete in long-distance events around the UK and have taken part in swims such as the Gwineas and St Michael's Mount. Many plan to continue open-water swimming during their time at Taunton School. Scotty's Little Soldiers aims to support 1,000 bereaved military children by 2030 through programmes focused on well-being, education, and personal development.
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Chris Philp pelted with bottles and has knife pulled on him during trip to French migrant camp
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said he had a large knife pulled on him and was 'pelted with bottles' during a visit to a migrant camp in northern France. During a trip with Daily Express journalist Zak Garner-Purkis, the Conservative MP attempted to speak to asylum seekers living in tents near Dunkirk, as they waited to cross the English Channel in small boats. After attempting to speak to a group of Eritreans and a man carrying lifejackets, he is approached by Mr Garner-Purkis, who informs him that a man with a 'rather large knife' has walked behind them. In the clip, Mr Philp says: "I found it pretty shocking - you said behind me somebody had pulled out some sort of machete and we left pretty quickly." Mr Garner-Purkis says the man was "swinging it around in the air", adding: "It was clear he was doing it to send a message to the other people there - whether it was a case of 'don't speak'." Shortly afterwards while walking along the road recounting the incident to the camera, objects can be seen being thrown at them. Mr Garner-Purkis says "they are throwing bottles at us" and Philp responds: "Right, we've got to go. In a post on social media, the Croydon South MP said: 'We were attacked today at the migrant camp dubbed 'The Jungle 2' just outside Dunkirk. 'We were threatened with a machete, pelted with bottles & our car hit as we sped off. 'Those responsible are likely to be in the UK soon in a taxpayer funded hotel. This border madness must end.' In another video, he filmed a group of migrants boarding a bus while French police appear to be standing by showing 'complete inactivity'. He said: 'I just found French Police actively facilitating illegal immigration. 'The officers - likely UK funded - are ushering illegal immigrants onto a public bus to take them towards boat embarkation points. I took this shocking footage in Gravelines, northern France, an hour or so ago.' More than 50,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since Labour won the 2024 general election. Home Office figures show 474 migrants arrived by small boat on Monday alone, which brings recorded arrivals to 50,271 since the election on July 4 2024. Labour former home secretary Baroness Smith of Malvern had said earlier on Tuesday that reaching the milestone is 'unacceptable'. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour's promise to 'smash the criminal boat gangs' in its manifesto last year was 'just a slogan', with crossings now 'so much worse' than they were before the vote. There have been 27,029 arrivals so far this year, which is 47 per cent higher than at the same point of 2024 when the figure stood at 18,342, and 67 per cent higher than at the same time in 2023 (16,170). Earlier this month, the government began detaining migrants under a new 'one in, one out' deal with France. UK officials aim to make referrals for returns to France within three days of a migrant's arrival by small boat, while French authorities will respond within 14 days. An approved asylum seeker in France will be brought to the UK under a safe route as part of the exchange.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
More small boat arrivals under Starmer than Sunak, despite ex-PM being in power seven months longer
More migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the 13 months that Sir Keir Starmer has been in power than that did during the whole of Rishi Sunak's 20-month premiership. The total number of people who have arrived under Sir Keir's time in government has now reached 50,716 - equivalent to 126 per day, surpassing the total of 50,637 (82 per day) that arrived under his predecessor. If the current rate is sustained, by the end of 2025 more migrants will have crossed the Channel under Sir Keir than the number that did under Boris Johnson, despite Mr Johnson having been prime minister for more than three years. Mr Johnson's premiership coincided with the COVID pandemic, when the number of people arriving in the UK was low for a sustained period while lockdowns were in place in both the UK and Europe. Talking about the weather The Home Office has pointed out that Labour took office in summer, when good weather tends to boost the number of Channel crossings. That is true, although the number of arrivals in a rolling 12-month period has also been steadily rising and now sits just short of the all-time record. A total of 45,823 people have arrived in the past 365 days, the highest total since April 2023. It was 46,870 when Rishi Sunak took office at the end of October 2022, following very high numbers of arrivals during the last months of Mr Johnson's tenure that continued through the short reign of Liz Truss. Within five days it reached 48,670, which is still the record. By the time Mr Sunak handed over to Sir Keir, it had fallen by more than a third, to 31,578. It has risen by 45% since then. Analysing the number of crossings over a full year means each period is equal in terms of the seasons it represents, but not necessarily the weather. The Home Office says that this winter was unusually sunny and lacking in wind, which has contributed to the record number of arrivals so far in 2025. That is true, but previous analysis by the Sky News Data x Forensics team found the high number of small boat arrivals under Labour cannot just be blamed on this. . This week, the first migrants were detained under a new "one-in one-out" deal agreed with France. Under the pilot scheme, the UK can exchange a migrant who arrived illegally for one who has not tried to cross and can pass security and eligibility checks. Numbers are limited and are thought to be up to 50 a week. The government hopes this will act as a deterrent. But our analysis found , and less than 0.3% of total net migration to the UK. The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Sky News
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
More small boat arrivals under Starmer than Sunak, despite ex-PM being in power seven months longer
More migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the 13 months that Sir Keir Starmer has been in power than that did during the whole of Rishi Sunak's 20-month premiership. The total number of people who have arrived under Sir Keir's time in government has now reached 50,716 - equivalent to 126 per day, surpassing the total of 50,637 (82 per day) that arrived under his predecessor. If the current rate is sustained, by the end of 2025 more migrants will have crossed the Channel under Sir Keir than the number that did under Boris Johnson, despite Mr Johnson having been prime minister for more than three years. Mr Johnson's premiership coincided with the COVID pandemic, when the number of people arriving in the UK was low for a sustained period while lockdowns were in place in both the UK and Europe. 2:40 Talking about the weather The Home Office has pointed out that Labour took office in summer, when good weather tends to boost the number of Channel crossings. That is true, although the number of arrivals in a rolling 12-month period has also been steadily rising and now sits just short of the all-time record. A total of 45,823 people have arrived in the past 365 days, the highest total since April 2023. It was 46,870 when Rishi Sunak took office at the end of October 2022, following very high numbers of arrivals during the last months of Mr Johnson's tenure that continued through the short reign of Liz Truss. Within five days it reached 48,670, which is still the record. By the time Mr Sunak handed over to Sir Keir, it had fallen by more than a third, to 31,578. It has risen by 45% since then. Analysing the number of crossings over a full year means each period is equal in terms of the seasons it represents, but not necessarily the weather. The Home Office says that this winter was unusually sunny and lacking in wind, which has contributed to the record number of arrivals so far in 2025. That is true, but previous analysis by the Sky News Data x Forensics team found the high number of small boat arrivals under Labour cannot just be blamed on this. More migrants were also crossing on days when weather conditions were more challenging. This week, the first migrants were detained under a new "one-in one-out" deal agreed with France. Under the pilot scheme, the UK can exchange a migrant who arrived illegally for one who has not tried to cross and can pass security and eligibility checks. Numbers are limited and are thought to be up to 50 a week. The government hopes this will act as a deterrent. But our analysis found 50 people a week is less than 5% of the average number of weekly arrivals, and less than 0.3% of total net migration to the UK. The Data and Forensics
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Migrant promoting Channel crossing on TikTok has account removed
A migrant who shared videos on TikTok of how to cross the English Channel on a small boat, and encouraged others to make the crossing, has had his account removed. Using the handle @alexandrah4200, the man gained hundreds of thousands of views on his videos, which included a live-stream from what he said was a UK asylum hotel, answering questions about his voyage. TikTok removed his account his account after being asked about it by the Sun newspaper, which originally reported the social media giant said in a statement it took a "zero-tolerance approach to content promoting human smuggling". It said that it removed the "vast majority" of such content before it was reported and that it was working with the National Crime Agency (NCA) "to identify and disrupt organised immigration crime online". In the first of several videos, the man - who is thought to have arrived in the UK over the weekend - can be seen in an orange life jacket sitting in a dinghy in the middle of a body of he is seen giving viewers a look at his room in an asylum hotel in London. In his streams the man reportedly advised others to make the dangerous crossing to the UK. How many people cross the Channel in small boats?Violent Channel smuggling gang's French and UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation A Home Office spokesperson said: "We have made clear that it is unacceptable for any individual, whether they are a member of a smuggling gang or otherwise, to promote the criminal services of people-traffickers or for social media companies to allow it."They added that specific laws are being introduced through the government's border security bill, which is currently making its way through the House of Lords, that will "make it easier to prosecute individuals who publish material online which promotes or offers services facilitating small boat crossings". People advertising illegal Channel crossings online could face up to five years in prison under a new offence the government plans to the latest figures show that the number of migrants to cross the Channel in small boats since Labour came to power last summer has surpassed 50, has pledged to "smash" people-smuggling gangs and reduce Channel crossing numbers, recently introducing a "one in, one out" deportation scheme with France. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Tuesday's small boat migration figures showed that the government's plan "was just a slogan".
