Latest news with #ShehabKhan
ITV News
6 days ago
- Business
- ITV News
Security minister ‘confident' small boat numbers will go down, while French fail to intercept boats
This weekend, small boat crossings hit a record single-day high for the year. ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan rode along with an immigration raid to see how the government plans to tackle the rise The security minister says he is "confident" that co-operation with French police will reduce small boat crossings, despite a loophole that stops their officers from intercepting migrants once they are in the sea. In an interview with ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan, Dan Jarvis said: "I'm confident the agreement we've recently reached with the French will make a meaningful difference and we'll be able to get the numbers down." But at the weekend, crossings hit a record high for a single day this year, as rules for French police often prevent them from intervening while migrants pile into boats to cross the Channel. A loophole in French law means police are unable to intercept migrants if they are already in the water - something ITV News Correspondent Peter Smith saw in action in Dunkirk earlier this month. The French interior minister agreed in principle to close the loophole earlier this year, but that has yet to happen. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons on Monday she is "urging" the French to close the loophole as "swiftly as possible". When pressed on how those discussions are going, Jarvis said: "The Home Secretary has been in touch with the French interior minister... We do need the closest possible working relationship with the French, that is critical to reducing the number of people who are crossing the channel." Jarvis insisted the level of boat crossings is "unacceptably high", but "the way to get these numbers down is through cooperation with the French and with other allies and partners further afield." On Tuesday the Home Office released data for the first time showing the likelihood of migrant crossings based on the weather. The statistics showed that the number of "red days", meaning days where good weather made crossings more likely, has almost doubled since Labour took power. There were 149 'red' days between July 1 2024 and April 30 2025, a period that coincides broadly with the time since Labour won the general election on July 4. Some 34,401 migrants arrived in the UK during this period after making the journey across the Channel. In the equivalent period 12 months earlier – from July 1 2023 to April 30 2024 – there was almost half the number of 'red' days (77) and a lower number of arrivals (25,571). The statistics also show the number of people cramming onto the dangerous boats has also increased dramatically - with the number of boats carrying more than 80 people tripling in the past year. There were 33 occasions where more than 80 people crammed onto a small boat in the year to April 2025, compared to 11 in the previous year. Home Office data from the weekend also showed showed 1,195 migrants arrived in 19 boats on Saturday - the first time daily crossings topped a thousand in 2025. Writing on social media site X on Monday, the Prime Minister said: 'You have every right to be angry about small boat crossings. 'I'm angry too. 'We are ramping up our efforts to smash the people smuggling gangs at source.' He claimed hundreds of boats and engines had been 'seized', raids on illegal working were up, and 'almost 30,000 people' had been returned. The Conservatives are urging the government to suspend the recent agreement giving EU fishing boats access to UK waters until 2038, in order to force the French to act. When asked about whether the government would consider such a move, Jarvis would not be drawn, saying: "The Prime Minister has said that border security is national security, and that's why this is such a big priority of this government. The Home Secretary has been in touch with the authorities in France, we're working very closely with them."
ITV News
28-04-2025
- Business
- ITV News
No 10 says no extra money for NHS and teacher pay rises, amid warning of more strikes
The government will have tough choices to make if it wants to avoid more industrial action and disruption, as ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports There will be no further funding to meet pay increases for teachers and NHS staff, if they exceed the government's spending budgets, Downing Street has said, as unions warn of further industrial action. The independent pay review body is reportedly recommending increases of as much as 4% for some public sector workers like teachers and 3% for NHS workers, according to The Times. However, the government has only budgeted for a 2.8% rise for public sector workers and Downing Street says there will be no funding beyond what was set out in the Budget. Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that no decisions had been made on the recommendations, saying 'we are not at that stage of the process'. He told ITV News: "We accepted the pay recommendation last year, we were able to settle those disputes. Nobody wanted our nurses and doctors in industrial disputes. "The pay review bodies are now going through the process making their recommendations and we'll consider them as we always do, that's part of the annual cycle." Asked if he accepts that any rejection of pay rises could lead to further walkouts, the PM said: "Well I don't think anybody wants to see strikes. "Doctors and nurses don't want to be on strike, patients don't want to see strikes, so obviously we want to do as we're doing now which is work with NHS staff, not pit against them which the last government did." But Downing Street was clear on Monday that the government would not be providing any extra funding for increases above 2.8%. The prime minister's official spokesman said: 'There'll be no additional funding for pay if recommended awards exceed what departments can afford.' Last year, the government accepted the pay review bodies' recommendations of increases of between 4.75% and 6% in an effort to end long-running strikes across the public sector. But the prospect of either a lower award this year or departments having to take money from elsewhere to fund pay rises has raised the possibility of further strikes. Unions ITV News spoke to say they are not ruling out further industrial action if necessary and any pay rise needs to be fully funded. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below... General Secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, told ITV News: "I appreciate the government have tough decisions to make, but whilst there was a pay award last year that was accepted by the profession, 14 years of Conservative Government saw pay freezes and pay cuts and has, quite frankly, brought the system to the brink of crisis." He added: 'No one wants to take strike action but of course as a trade union we do stand ready to act industrially if we need to.' However, there are concerns that it could be too much of a strain on the public purse at a time when the economy is barely growing. Agreeing to the pay rises would mean the government would have to either raise the money or make cuts elsewhere. The Institute for Fiscal Studies' Paul Johnson said: "As ever, the government's got choices about if it's increasing pay, it can either pay less on other things - maybe less in the way of public services - or it'll have to increase taxes to pay for them. "Those are the choices that you always have. There's certainly no room to increase pay and do all the things the government wants to do."
