Latest news with #cross-Channel
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Daily Boat Immigrant Arrivals Top 1,000 for 1st Time This Year
More than 1,100 illegal immigrants have arrived by crossing the English Channel, the highest number recorded in a single day this year. Provisional Home Office figures show 1,195 people arrived on Britain's shores in 19 small boats on Saturday, the highest total so far in 2025 and the first time this year the number exceeded 1,000 in one day. The previous highest figure was 825, recorded on May 21. So far in 2025, 14,812 people have illegally entered the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats. According to analysis of the data by The Epoch Times, this is 42 percent higher than this time last year, when a total of 10,448 had arrived. It is also nearly double the number of arrivals by May 31, 2023, when 7,610 had landed. Saturday's figures remain below the daily record of 1,305 set on Sept. 3, 2022, which was a year that saw the highest number boat landings overall. In total, of 45,755 people had arrived in 2022, with similarly high daily figures recorded on Oct. 9 (1,241) and Nov. 12 (1,214). Landings so far this year are also higher than the number who had arrived by May 31, 2022 (9,607), which suggests 2025 could be another record year, unless government efforts to stop the boats and tackle the smuggling gangs are successful. A total of 165,590 people have crossed the English Channel to enter the UK since record-keeping for this type of illegal immigration began in 2018. Undermining Border Security A Home Office spokesperson said the government wants to end dangerous small boat crossings, 'which threaten lives and undermine our border security.' Related Stories 5/22/2025 5/19/2025 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders,' the spokesperson said. Since coming to power in July 2024, the Labour government has taken a different approach to tackling illegal immigration compared with its Conservative predecessors. Notably, it scrapped the Rwanda Plan, which aimed to send asylum seekers who arrived illegally to safe third countries like Rwanda, a policy the previous administration argued would deter people from making the cross-Channel journey. The Conservatives had also Similarly, the Labour government continues to work with international and European partners to ' UK Working With France The Labour government has since founded the cross-agency Border Security Command, which will take a Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a visit to BAE Systems in Govan, Glasgow, on June 2, 2025. Andy Buchanan/PA Wire Giving a major defence speech in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that 'nobody should be making that journey across the Channel, and it's our duty to make sure that we ensure that they don't.' Starmer said his government was working closely with French counterparts on taking further action in northern France, which is where most of the boats depart from. Asked about the Rwanda Plan, the prime minister said, 'The reason we stood down the Rwanda scheme was because it cost a fortune, and only a handful of people went on a voluntary basis to Rwanda, and it didn't deter anybody.' 'I'm not up for gimmicks. I'm up for the hard work of working with partners, enhancing the powers that law enforcement have in my determination to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade,' he added. Home Office figures revealed in December that the Rwanda Plan had However, the UK is in talks with several Balkan nations about setting up ' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp had called the proposals a 'weak imitation' of the Rwanda policy.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
British bosses paying peanuts to migrants working on black market, warns Calais president
The UK must clamp down on allowing migrants to cross the Channel illegally and then 'work for peanuts' on the black market, according to the head of the Calais region. The call from Xavier Bertrand, the Right-wing head of the Hauts-de-France region came a day before a meeting between Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, and Bruno Retailleau, her hardline French counterpart, to discuss the Channel migrant situation. Speaking to French broadcaster TF1, Mr Bertrand said: 'We have to be prepared to say listen, Britons, if things don't change we're going to hand your border back.' He was referring to the Le Touquet agreements, a 2003 deal under which France and the UK carry out immigration controls in each other's territories at seaports. French officials have regularly threatened to rip up the accords but have never done so amid fears that would simply attract scores more migrants hoping to reach the UK from France's northern shores. Last year, some 36,816 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK. Mr Retailleau mooted the idea of ending the accords in November but then said that doing so 'would be the best way to rebuild the 'jungle' [a former makeshift migrant camp] and to clog up cross-Channel traffic.' He said it would not come to that, adding: 'Don't tell me that this is going to create a magnet effect because overnight the British will change their policy.' 'Brinkmanship is not the preserve of certain countries,' he said, apparently referring to Donald Trump's diplomacy of threats. 'Brinkmanship that respects the law is to ensure that France and the French are respected.' Mr Bertrand also said he would ask Ms Cooper 'whether British bosses sleep well at night knowing they are paying peanuts [on black market jobs] for migrants who have lost family members crossing the Channel'. French officials have repeatedly claimed the UK turns a blind eye to illegal immigrants propping up its economy. A spokesman for Mr Bertrand told the Telegraph: 'He wants the British to change their labour laws that favour illegal immigration. Today, British companies employ undocumented migrants and pay them very little, creating a magnet effect.' The call came as Francois Bayrou, the French prime minister, was due to hold a cabinet meeting on Wednesday on how to 'take back control of migratory flows'. Mr Bayrou recently raised eyebrows by calling for a national debate on immigrants, who he said were 'flooding' France. Under a joint multi-year arrangement agreed at the UK–France leaders' summit in March 2023, the UK pledged to commit about £478 million over three years, notably on extra equipment and gendarmes patrolling the northern French coast. Labour has pledged to treat people-smugglers like terrorists under its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Suspects face travel bans, social-media blackouts and phone restrictions. A new offence of endangering lives at sea will carry a jail term of up to five years, and those convicted of acts in preparation for smuggling – such as buying boat parts – will face up to 14 years in prison. Separately, the government has issued guidance saying anyone entering the UK by an irregular route such as a small boat crossing will normally be refused citizenship. Previously, refugees who entered this way could apply for citizenship after 10 years. Mr Bertrand made no mention of these changes. In November, Mr Retailleau called for a new 'comprehensive' Europe-wide deal with Britain on migration in which the UK accepted legal routes for migrants in exchange for the 'return' of illegal immigrants from Britain to the EU. British hopes of the bloc-wide agreement were raised after France and Germany wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, requesting her to kick-start negotiations. But diplomatic sources later warned that any future deal would only be acceptable if Britain were to take in more refugees from Europe and make it easier for migrants in France to be able to join any family members they have in the UK. 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.
Telegraph
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
British bosses paying peanuts to Calais migrants working on black market, says Calais president
The UK must clamp down on allowing migrants to cross the Channel illegally and then 'work for peanuts' on the black market, according to the head of the Calais region. The call from Xavier Bertrand, the Right-wing head of the Hauts-de-France region came a day before a meeting between Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, and Bruno Retailleau, her hardline French counterpart, to discuss the Channel migrant situation. Speaking to French broadcaster TF1, Mr Bertrand said: 'We have to be prepared to say listen, Britons, if things don't change we're going to hand your border back.' He was referring to the Le Touquet agreements, a 2003 deal under which France and the UK carry out immigration controls in each other's territories at seaports. French officials have regularly threatened to rip up the accords but have never done so amid fears that would simply attract scores more migrants hoping to reach the UK from France's northern shores. Last year, some 36,816 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK. Mr Retailleau mooted the idea of ending the accords in November but then said that doing so 'would be the best way to rebuild the 'jungle' [a former makeshift migrant camp] and to clog up cross-Channel traffic.' He said it would not come to that, adding: 'Don't tell me that this is going to create a magnet effect because overnight the British will change their policy.' 'Brinkmanship is not the preserve of certain countries,' he said, apparently referring to Donald Trump's diplomacy of threats. 'Brinkmanship that respects the law is to ensure that France and the French are respected.' Mr Bertrand also said he would ask Ms Cooper 'whether British bosses sleep well at night knowing they are paying peanuts [on black market jobs] for migrants who have lost family members crossing the Channel'. French officials have repeatedly claimed the UK turns a blind eye to illegal immigrants propping up its economy. A spokesman for Mr Bertrand told the Telegraph: 'He wants the British to change their labour laws that favour illegal immigration. Today, British companies employ undocumented migrants and pay them very little, creating a magnet effect.' The call came as Francois Bayrou, the French prime minister, was due to hold a cabinet meeting on Wednesday on how to 'take back control of migratory flows'. Mr Bayrou recently raised eyebrows by calling for a national debate on immigrants, who he said were 'flooding' France. Under a joint multi-year arrangement agreed at the UK–France leaders' summit in March 2023, the UK pledged to commit about £478 million over three years, notably on extra equipment and gendarmes patrolling the northern French coast. Labour has pledged to treat people-smugglers like terrorists under its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Suspects face travel bans, social-media blackouts and phone restrictions. A new offence of endangering lives at sea will carry a jail term of up to five years, and those convicted of acts in preparation for smuggling – such as buying boat parts – will face up to 14 years in prison. Separately, the government has issued guidance saying anyone entering the UK by an irregular route such as a small boat crossing will normally be refused citizenship. Previously, refugees who entered this way could apply for citizenship after 10 years. Mr Bertrand made no mention of these changes. In November, Mr Retailleau called for a new 'comprehensive' Europe-wide deal with Britain on migration in which the UK accepted legal routes for migrants in exchange for the 'return' of illegal immigrants from Britain to the EU. British hopes of the bloc-wide agreement were raised after France and Germany wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, requesting her to kick-start negotiations. But diplomatic sources later warned that any future deal would only be acceptable if Britain were to take in more refugees from Europe and make it easier for migrants in France to be able to join any family members they have in the UK.
