Latest news with #ShahSalimSajjadi
The Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Greedy smuggling gangs cramming more migrants into small boats as Labour's excuse for record arrivals is sunk
GREEDY smuggling gangs are cramming ever more migrants into small boats — as the Government's excuse for record arrivals was sunk. The number of dinghies carrying 80 or more people tripled in just one year. 3 In the 12 months to April, there were 33 compared to 11 in 2024 and just one in 2023. And there were 312 boats carrying 60 or more compared to 153 the year before. The dangerous squeeze emerged yesterday when the Home Office published for the first time data on both the number of migrants -per-boat and how weather affected the crisis. Labour has tried to blame recent sunny spells for a higher number of migrants completing Channel crossings. They pointed out the last year saw 190 so-called calmer 'red days' — up from 106. But Sky News research showed that in rougher conditions small boat journeys were still up 30 per cent. Last night the Home Office said smugglers overloading boats was 'all the more reason why we should crack down on their vile trade'. Afghans Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were yesterday jailed for eights months each in Folkestone after a woman and child died in the overcrowded Channel dinghy they captained. A probe into the deaths continues. 3
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Death trap' boats overloaded with migrants surge under Starmer
The number of overloaded dinghies crossing the Channel with more than 80 migrants on board has trebled in a year, Home Office figures have revealed. Ruthless people-smuggling gangs are cramming ever increasing numbers of people into flimsy dinghies in an attempt to maximise profits, the data showed. Some 33 small boats carrying more than 80 migrants were intercepted in the Channel in the year to April – up from 11 in the previous year and only one in the 12 months to April 2023. The number of dinghies with 70 to 79 people on board also increased nearly four-fold, from 35 to 123 in a year. Ministers have claimed the rising numbers are a consequence of an international crackdown on supply chains from China and in Europe, which has restricted smugglers' access to boats, engines and life jackets. 'We call them small boats, but honestly, they're not worthy of the name boat,' Sir Keir Starmer has previously said. 'To me, they look like death traps, flimsy rubber, no firm structure. You wouldn't even let your children climb aboard, even for a second, in shallow water.' At least 82 people, including 14 children, died trying to cross the Channel last year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. They lost their lives not only through drowning or hypothermia but also after being crushed inside boats that collapse in on themselves because they do not have wooden bases. Women and children crammed into the well of a boat are often the most vulnerable. As the Home Office statistics were published on Tuesday, two Afghans were jailed for eight months for piloting a dinghy across the Channel from France in a crossing attempt that saw a woman and child crushed to death. Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were arrested after a vessel packed with more than 70 people arrived into UK waters on May 21. Shortly after its departure from a beach near Calais earlier in the day, a woman and child had been pulled off the overcrowded boat by a French coastal patrol vessel but were declared dead. The Home Office data showed that the number of boats with 60 to 69 migrants on board increased from 118 in the year to April 2024 to 189 in the year to this April. This was up from 50 in 2023 and 13 in 2022. The number of boats with fewer than 60 people in them fell from 450 to 393. The figures also revealed that the surge in Channel migrants under Sir Keir could be partly blamed on the weather. There were 149 red days with calm seas suitable for crossings from the election last July to the end of this April. That was nearly double the 77 red days in the same period in the previous year under Rishi Sunak. It meant there were 33,183 migrant crossings on red days under Labour, compared with 21,139 under Mr Sunak – a 57 per cent increase. So far this year, there have been a record 14,812 migrants reaching the UK, the highest ever recorded in the first five months of a year and up 42 per cent on this time last year. According to the data, there were 60 red days between Jan 1 and April 30 this year, when factors such as wind speed, wave height and the likelihood of rain meant crossings were classed as 'likely' or 'highly likely'. Some 11,074 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during these four months. There were 27 red days in the same period last year, less than half the number, with 7,567 crossings recorded – nearly a third lower than the total for this year. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Labour seems to think praying for bad weather is a good border security strategy. This is a weak Government, with no plan to end illegal immigrants crossing the Channel. 'They should never have cancelled the Rwanda removals deterrent before it even started. That's why 2025 is the worst year in history for illegal crossings – not the weather. Blaming the weather for the highest ever crossing numbers so far this year is the border security equivalent of a lazy student claiming 'the dog ate my homework'. 'This is a clear failure for our weak Prime Minister and his weak Home Secretary.' Assessments of the likelihood of migrant crossings are prepared for the Home Office by the Met Office. The assessments are colour-coded red, amber or green according to likelihood of activity based on environmental and other factors, including wave height, surf conditions on beaches, wind speed and direction, the chance of rain, and recent trends in conditions. If the probability of migrant activity in the Channel is greater than 55 per cent, crossings are classed as 'likely' or 'highly likely' (a red day). If the probability of activity is less than 35 per cent, crossings are considered 'unlikely' or 'highly unlikely' (a green day). Red days accounted for 35 per cent of all days and 84 per cent of total arrivals between May 2021 and April this year. A further 11 per cent of arrivals occurred on amber days and five per cent of arrivals on green days. All assessments are based on data recorded in the Dover Strait and do not consider other factors that can influence the number of arrivals, such as the availability of boats. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The National
7 days ago
- General
- The National
Two Afghans jailed over migrant boat crossing that killed woman and child
Two Afghans have been sentenced to jail for piloting an overcrowded boat in which a woman and a boy aged eight died as they attempted to cross the English Channel. Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, pressed ahead despite knowing the vessel was dangerously overcrowded, the UK's National Crime Agency has said. Their conviction comes as figures show that so far this year, 14,812 migrants have made the crossing, with 1,195 arriving on May 31 alone, a record for a single day and an increase of 40 per cent compared to the same time last year. The UK Home Office has also released data showing there has been an increase in the number of days when conditions are favourable for crossing in small boats, known as 'red days'. The woman and child who died on the boat piloted by Sajjadi and Mohammadi on May 21 last year were Turkish nationals, according to reports at the time. They were found dead in an overloaded boat from the northern town of Gravelines, carrying some 80 migrants who requested help from a French navy vessel. The small boats used by smugglers to take asylum seekers across the Channel are often so overloaded that passengers die of suffocation or are crushed to death. The French military intervened when authorities were informed that two passengers on board were unconscious. They were pronounced dead by a medical team and taken to the port city of Calais, along with 10 other passengers who had requested assistance. The boat continued its journey towards the UK. Those on board included Iranians, Iraqis and Sudanese. Sajjadi and Mohammadi were later charged with enabling illegal immigration to the UK, and pleaded guilty during a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates. They have been sentenced to eight months in prison. National Crime Agency branch commander Adam Berry said: 'This tragic incident demonstrates just how dangerous these crossings are, and the callous nature of those who organise them. The boat in question was dangerously over-crowded, but Sajjadi and Mohammadi chose to carry on with their journey.' Mr Berry added that the agency is continuing to work with the French authorities to investigate the circumstances of the crossing and the fatalities. Meanwhile data shows that, in 12 months to April this year, there were 190 red days, compared to 106 in 2024, and 102 in the previous year. The Labour government came to power in July 2024. 'Small boat arrival numbers are subject to seasonal fluctuations in part due to changes in the weather, typically with peaks in warmer summer months when crossing conditions are more favourable," the Home office said. 'Just as small boat arrivals are subject to seasonal variation through any given year, there is also variation in arrivals across years.' But Chris Philp, the Conservatives shadow Home Secretary, blamed the increase in small numbers on the Labour mistakenly cancelling the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which would have acted as a deterrent. 'Labour seems to think praying for bad weather is a good border security strategy. This is a weak Government, with no plan to end illegal immigrants crossing the Channel. 'That's why 2025 is the worst year in history for illegal crossings - not the weather. This is a clear fail for our weak Prime Minister and his weak Home Secretary.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for greater assistance from France in tackling the people smugglers, who are launching boats down further away from the coast to exploit loopholes in French rules that have stopped police from taking any action in the sea. 'The previous Government raised the issue with France for years, but to no avail, and I have raised it with the French Government since the summer,' she told the House of Commons. 'The French Minister of the Interior, and the French Cabinet, have now agreed that their rules need to change. 'French maritime review is looking at what new operational tactics they will use, and we are urging France to complete the review and implement the changes as swiftly as possible. "This weekend I have again been in touch with the French Minister of the Interior, who supports stronger action, and further discussions are under way this week. I will update the House in due course."
ITV News
7 days ago
- General
- ITV News
Two men jailed after woman and child die in migrant boat Channel crossing to Dover
Two boat pilots have been jailed following the deaths of two people who were trying to cross the English Channel on a small boat. Shortly after leaving a beach near Calais, a woman and child were pulled off an overcrowded boat, which was carrying more than 70 people, by a French coastal patrol vessel, but were declared dead. Afghan nationals Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, arrested after the boat arrived into UK waters on 21 May. They were sentenced to eight months in prison. The pilots of the boat were detained and questioned by National Crime Agency investigators, shortly after arriving in Dover. They were later charged with facilitating illegal immigration to the UK, and pleaded guilty at a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates on 24 Branch Commander Adam Berry said: "This tragic incident demonstrates just how dangerous these crossings are, and the callous nature of those who organise them."The boat in question was dangerously over-crowded, but Sajjadi and Mohammadi chose to carry on their journey." Police in France are also investigating the circumstances of the fatalities, due to orders from the Dunkirk prosecutor's office.
