Latest news with #peopleSmuggling
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Yvette Cooper blames the French after 1,200 people cross the Channel in a single day - as PM Starmer says people 'have every right' to be angry
Yvette Cooper today tried to lay the blame for a massive surge in migrants crossing the Channel on the French - as Keir Starmer admitted voters have 'every right to be angry'. The Home Secretary came under fire in the Commons after almost 1,200 people reached the UK in small boats on Saturday - the first four-figure daily tally this year. Saturday's crossings brought the provisional annual total so far of migrants who have made the journey to 14,812. Ms Cooper told MPs she had been in contact with her French counterpart Bruno Retailleau about the 'disgraceful and unacceptable' scenes on the beaches. It came after PM Keir Starmer publicly acknowledges the scale of the problem. Writing on social media site X on Monday, the Prime Minister said: 'You have every right to be angry about small boat crossings.-Starmer'-angry '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. But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch hit back, responding: 'Rubbish! Even the Defence Secretary admits the govt has 'lost control' of our borders.' It came after PM Keir Starmer publicly acknowledges the scale of the problem. It came after a leading member of France 's governing party has described Britain as an 'El Dorado' for migrants with a 'very weak asylum policy'. The comments made by Eleonore Caroit, 39, on Monday are particularly significant because she is a close lieutenant of President Emmanuel Macron, and vice president of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee. The Renaissance Party member was asked if a generous benefits culture and lax controls meant the UK was still an 'El Dorado' – the mythical city of gold in South America. Ms Caroit replied: 'It is. It's a complex situation, people want simple solutions, but you have to go to Calais and see what it looks like, and how many small boats you have and how many people are waiting to go to the UK. 'So, of course, there is a part that can be improved in France, and we're working towards that. 'But I also think the UK needs to take responsibility, because it is so attractive on these migrant routes today, and we actually need to work together instead of blaming each other.' Some 1,195 migrants arrived in 19 boats on Saturday, bringing the provisional annual total so far of migrants who have made the journey to 14,812. This is 42 per cent higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95 per cent up from the same point in 2023 (7,610). It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3 2022. At Gravelines in northern France, more than half a dozen French police officers simply stood by and watched as migrants waded into the sea and scrambled on to an inflatable boat. French authorities said they rescued 184 people. Britain had agreed a deal in 2023 under the last Tory government to pay France £480million over three years to stop the crossings, including £175million in the current financial year – more than £480,000 per day. Speaking during Home Office questions today Ms Cooper said: 'Criminal gangs will likely have made millions of pounds this weekend alone. 'The gangs are increasingly operating a model where boats are launched from further along the coast and people climb in from the water, exploiting French rules that have stopped their police taking any action in the sea. This is completely unacceptable. 'The previous government raised this with France for years, but to no avail, and I have raised it with the French government since the summer. 'The French interior minister and the French cabinet have now agreed their rules need to change. 'A French maritime review is looking at what new operational tactics they will use, and we are urging France to complete this review and implement the changes as swiftly as possible. 'I have been in touch with the French interior minister who supports stronger action again this weekend, and there are further discussions under way this week.' As he made a major defence speech in Glasgow this morning, the Prime Minister was asked if the Government was failing to keep the UK safe in the English Channel. He replied: 'In relation to border security, I want to be really clear: nobody should be making that journey across the Channel and it's our duty to make sure that we ensure that they don't. 'We are working very closely with our counterparts in France and elsewhere to take further action in northern France, and of course, we are giving enhanced powers to our own law enforcement through the Borders Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.' Speaking about the previous Government's Rwanda plan, Sir Keir insisted it 'didn't deter anybody'.
The Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Sun
People-smugglers are using boats ‘like taxis' says John Healey, as 1,194 cross channel in a DAY
Julia Atherley Jack Elsom Published: Invalid Date, BRAZEN people-smugglers used boats 'like a taxi' to pick up migrant masses from French beaches and ferry them to the UK. Police stood and watched as the gangs took advantage of calm seas on Saturday to launch 18 boats for the use of mostly young men. 4 4 A total of 1,194 people made the crossing successfully, the highest number in a day since 2022. Officials said only 184 were stopped — fewer than 15 per cent. Photos of smiling migrants in the boats crossing the Channel emerged later on social media. It comes despite a deal agreed in 2023 to pay the French £480million to stop the crossings. Defence Secretary John Healey described the weekend scenes from the French beaches as 'shocking'. He said: 'Truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years.' He said the smugglers were dodging waiting cops by 'launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi'. Mr Healey said it was a 'really big problem' that, under French law, the police were not allowed to intervene once boats were in shallow waters. However, he said that 'for the first time' France had agreed to 'change the way they work' so boats could be intercepted once launched 'and not just on the shore'. It was a catastrophic mistake by our weak Prime Minister to cancel the Conservatives' Rwanda removals deterrent just days before it was due to start Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp The total of arrivals so far this year is 14,811, Home Office figures show — the most in the first five months of a year since data was first recorded in 2018. Scores of migrants board overloaded dinghies to make dangerous Channel crossing to UK - as French cops watch on With more good weather on the way, the number of crossings is expected to rise. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Labour's claim that it would smash the gangs lay in tatters after 'the worst day of the worst year for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel'. He told The Sun: 'It was a catastrophic mistake by our weak Prime Minister to cancel the Conservatives' Rwanda removals deterrent just days before it was due to start. 'The Government now needs to demand that the French intercept these boats at sea and return them to France, like the Belgians do.' He added: 'The French interception rate on land is pathetic and those they catch are just released and then try again the next day. The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models Spokesman 'And every single illegal immigrant that arrives in the UK should be immediately removed to a place outside Europe. Then the crossings would soon stop. It's as simple as that. This madness must end.' A Home Office source said: 'We've developed strong co-operation with the French and it is important that they have agreed to disrupt these boats once they're in the water — and not just on the shore. 'This vital step now needs to be operationalised to protect border security and save lives.' The Home Office said international intelligence-sharing and enhanced enforcement in France would help to combat the problem. A spokesman said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models.' 4 4
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
People smuggling investigation under way after two men discovered in truck at Rosslare Europort
A truck driver was arrested at Rosslare Europort early on Friday morning after two people were discovered hiding in his vehicle as he attempted to enter the country. Gardaí in the Wexford/Wicklow Division have launched a people smuggling investigation following the discovery of the two men, who are currently being assessed by medical personnel. They were found in the truck during a customs check that was being conducted by gardaí along with officials from Customs and Revenue. The driver, man in his 20s, was arrested for an alleged offence under the Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act, 2021. READ MORE He is currently being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in the area. Gardaí attached to Wexford Garda Station, supported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, are investigating all of the circumstances of this incident. Anyone with any information in relation to this discovery is asked to contact Wexford Garda Station 053 9165200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 66 11 or any Garda Station.
ABC News
4 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Suspected boat arrivals from China discovered in Arnhem Land
Up to eight people, believed to be from China, have been detained by border protection authorities after reaching a remote part of the Northern Territory coast by boat earlier this week. The ABC has been told the first six members of the group were discovered by local workers on Tuesday while walking near the remote Indigenous township of Maningrida, approximately 500 kilometres east of Darwin in Arnhem Land. Another two men were picked up the following day by Indigenous rangers before eventually being taken into custody by the Australian Border Force, which has so far not commented on the operation. It's unclear where the group has now been taken, but a source familiar with the interception says the men were believed to be Chinese and had reached the Australian mainland by sea before being detected. So far authorities have not discovered any boat used by the suspected Chinese nationals, raising the possibility they were dropped off the Northern Territory coast by an Indonesian fishing vessel. Last year the ABC reported on several suspected people smuggling operations involving Chinese nationals, including a venture which was disrupted by Indonesian authorities 12 months ago. The Australian Border Force and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have both declined to answer questions about the arrivals, saying the government does not comment on "operational matters". Newly appointed Shadow Home Affairs Minster Andrew Hastie says if confirmed, the arrival of Chinese nationals was a demonstration of the Albanese government's "underinvestment in our border security and defence capabilities". "We should have unblinking surveillance on our northern approaches, but instead we have illegal boats penetrating our borders and people making it ashore. This signals weakness to the people smugglers that business is back on under Labor," he said.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
If someone wants to come into this country illegally, there are people ready and willing to help
There are many things that will shock you about The Smuggler (BBC Sounds), investigative journalist Annabel Deas's 10-part podcast about a chap called 'Nick'. That a former Royal Engineer in the British Army could turn into a lynchpin – and pioneer – of the people-smuggling trade on the Channel. That some individual migrants repeatedly re-enter the country using the same methods. That Nick could get paid up to £12k per person (imagine how much the people above him in the chain were making). But the thing that will shock you most – and that certainly shocked Nick – was how easy it was. However Deas got hold of Nick (not his real name) and convinced him to spill the beans we'll likely never know (no money changed hands), but this is surely the scoop of her career so far. Across the episodes, Nick is extraordinarily candid about how he did what he did – though presumably less than honest about why – and his insouciance about the whole endeavour, while occasionally sticking in the craw, reveals an uncomfortable truth about our borders and about British society as a whole. It also makes laughable various politicians' repeated promises to tackle illegal immigration. The truth of the matter is this: if someone wants to come to this country illegally, there are people like Nick ready, willing and able to help them do so. Nick's story is that he fell on hard times – a self-employed builder hammered by the 2008 recession, with a baby on the way, he was desperate for cash. One of the men who worked for him, an Albanian named Matt, had repeatedly, cryptically mentioned Nick's passport to him. 'You'll always be OK,' Matt told him, 'because you have that passport'. One day, at a low ebb, Nick finally caved and asked Matt exactly what he meant. On a day trip to Calais, Matt showed him. Here's where you'll pick up a migrant and stick them in the boot of your car. Here's where you'll let them out on the ferry. Here's the knife you'll give them to cut a tear into the side of a lorry. Here's the phone you'll use to text one of my friends who'll be waiting in Dover. And here, hypothetically, is the £3,500 that will be waiting for you by the time you get home. Nick – white, British, confident – was a gift to the Albanians. His training with the Royal Engineers made him an expert in reconnaissance and concealment, while his knowledge of sailing would later become invaluable. Getting people on lorries inside the ferries proves as easy as falling off a log, once his early nerves settle down. Even when he messes up and loses one frequent flyer in the duty-free terminal, it is resolved in his favour, in the most farcical manner – I won't reveal exactly how, except to say that the ferry company should be extremely embarrassed. Nick's attitude throughout is that of Del Boy flogging a few VHS machines that fell off the back of a lorry. The most extraordinary revelation comes midway through, with Nick forced to think of alternative routes to the ferries. This was the mid-2010s, around the time of the Brexit referendum, and the idea of 'small boats' bringing migrants across was unheard of, even to the authorities who kept tabs on the smugglers. Even the Albanian gang he worked for thought he was 'mad' when Nick suggested the future was a small sailboat and a series of leisure marinas. 'I'm creating something,' says Nick, with no little pride. He monetised his ingenuity. It was, once again, startlingly easy, and life on the open water was a pleasure. 'I loved it,' he says of the sailing. Yet while Nick reveals the unsettling ease with which people can be smuggled into the UK, he also reveals an awful lot about himself. The desire to provide for his daughter was surely genuine, but it's hard to believe him when he says he had 'no choice' but to become a people smuggler. He admits he was a self-employed builder because he struggled to work for others, while he had to quit the Army following a fight with a fellow soldier. He also shows absolutely no sense of conscience towards the migrants themselves, convincing himself that he is a mere taxi driver for people making positive life decisions. When Deas mentions people-trafficking, not smuggling, he bristles. Yet he never asked any questions about who he was bringing into the country. Despite his eloquence and likeability, his charming breeziness wears thin by the end, with Deas gently exposing Nick's inability to think of the migrants as anything other than cargo. It's a vital listen, and one that will change your perception of the society around you. You'll certainly never look at the pleasure boats in your local marina – or your local builder – in the same way again.
