Latest news with #smallboatscrisis
The Sun
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Epping migrant protesters aren't racists – they're mums worried about their kids & angry at Labour smears
THE small boats crisis is a national security emergency. In the last 100 days we have seen a spate of alleged attacks by illegal migrants. A girl in Epping, sexually assaulted. A ten year old in Stockport, nearly kidnapped. Three stabbed in Southampton. All adding to a general sense of lawlessness in the country. 2 2 It's no wonder protests are starting up across the country. I wouldn't want my children to share a neighbourhood with small boat migrants about which we know next to nothing. I don't want anyone else's family to have this forced on them either. For saying this I, and the millions of people who agree with my statement, were labelled 'racist' on BBC Radio 4's Thought For The Day. The BBC didn't see anything wrong with this statement and allowed it to be broadcast. Well, there is nothing racist about caring about the safety of your family. Patriotic protesters When I was in the Home Office I saw up close that dangerous people were crossing the Channel. I sounded the alarm publicly that terror suspects were crossing in small boats. I am pushing for the Government to publish the migrant crime stats quarterly, but until then the indicative data suggests certain nationalities are far more disposed to commit crime than others. The overwhelming majority of those crossing in small boats are adult males with no paperwork. Protesters arrested near migrant hotel after 'asylum seeker guest' arrested on suspicion of assault How are the authorities supposed to identify them and check their criminal record? The British people are right to be worried. It's why on Sunday I visited peaceful and patriotic protesters in Epping, Essex, who are simply fed up. I spoke to teenagers, parents and grandparents — all rightly concerned about the safety of their community. These weren't racists or far-right thugs — they were mums in pink T-shirts with Union Jack bunting. One mother told me how her daughter's school had written to her suggesting children avoid certain parts of town on their walk home. Her young daughter told me that men from the hotels loiter outside certain spots 'where they look at us.' These weren't racists or far-right thugs — they were mums in pink T-shirts with Union Jack bunting Another mother told me how her daughter had bought a pair of construction worker's boots to put outside the house, to make it look as if there was a man inside. Among everyone I spoke to there was outrage at how they felt the perfectly legitimate anger over mass, uncontrolled migration had been ignored by the Government and smeared by an absurdly out-of-touch liberal elite. The Government isn't listening to the community in Epping, nor those across the country who have asylum hotels forced upon them. These hotels aren't where the cabinet or senior officials live. They are safe in their ivory towers. It doesn't affect their day-to-day lives like it does for those in the rest of the country. Sir Keir Starmer should get out of Westminster and come and speak to the people of Epping to hear their concerns and act on them. Maybe then he will wake up and do something about the spiralling small boat crossings. But until then we will keep seeing fair-minded Brits out protesting that enough is enough. Sick joke We're seven years into this and more than 170,000 have arrived illegally. Based on a Dutch study, each migrant is set to cost us roughly half a million pounds over the course of their lifetime. By the end of the decade, we'll have spent tens of billions on this. It's a disgrace. A sick joke on the British people. It simply has to end. I will be the first to admit the last government didn't do enough to fix this problem. I was the first Minister to close hotels, initiating 100 exits — but we needed to do more. I fought tooth and nail with then Home Secretary Suella Braverman to get Rishi Sunak to disapply Tony Blair's Human Rights Act and ECHR so we could deport all those coming illegally. But despite much arguing, I couldn't persuade him, so I resigned and fought on the backbenches for much stronger measures. If Starmer is to succeed he needs to close all the loopholes immigration offenders use to frustrate their removal. And he needs to reform the judiciary to remove activist judges who compromise the independence of the judiciary. Otherwise the British people will continue to suffer.
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Charles warns small boats crisis is a ‘profound challenge' as he hosts Macron at state banquet ahead of migrant ‘deal'
KING Charles has warned the small boats crisis is a "profound challenge" has he hosted Emmanuel Macron at a state banquet. In his 15-minute long speech the King addressed the small boats crisis and spoke about a range of cross channel collaborations including in defending Ukraine. 2 2 Charles said at a speech at the state banquet: 'Our security services and police will go further still to protect us against the profound challenges of terrorism, organised crime, cyber-attacks and irregular migration across the English Channel.' The King warned earlier this week that Britain cannot be a fortress despite 'complex threats' and challenges that 'know no borders'. The deal came as the French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte flew into RAF Northolt in West London yesterday, where they were met by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They later joined the King and Queen for a procession in Windsor town centre before Charles welcomed the French President to Windsor Castle for a glitzy state banquet. Attendees straight from the A-list at descended on historic St George's Hall last night. There were around 160 guests, among them fellow royals including Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who were pictured arriving ahead of the festivities. Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John topped the star-studded guest list last night. It comes as Macron has again offered to loan the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain once more. The fragile 70 metre (230ft) cloth depicts the events leading up to the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. Kate dazzles as she arrives at glitzy state banquet with William & Charles after rolling out red carpet for Macron However, the tapestry announcement has been eclipsed by crunch talks on the Channel migrant crisis, which are going right down to the wire before a summit between Mr Macron and Sir Keir this week. A deal is expected to confirm new French tactics of puncturing small boats in the shallows, while a 'one in, one out' returns agreement is still in the balance. That arrangement is likely to centre on small boat migrants being returned to France in exchange for asylum-seekers who have family in the UK. The deal has provoked a fresh row over cash, with Mr Macron expected to demand more money on top of the £480million already handed over since 2023 for his country to help stop small boat crossings. Despite the costs to taxpayers mounting as crossings reached a record rate this year, No10 has refused to rule out stumping up more cash for the French. Meanwhile, a one in, one out migrant agreement with France has still not been finalised and talks are expected to go down to the wire, it has emerged.
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Wednesday briefing: Can Macron and Starmer solve the small-boats crisis?
Good morning. Emmanuel Macron arrived in the UK yesterday for a three-day state visit. While the British royal family and political elite rolled out the red carpet for the French president, with all the expected pomp and pageantry, the real focus was, and remains, the politics behind the scenes. Top of the agenda: how Britain and France intend to deal with the small-boats crisis. The UK has backed recent moves by French police to immobilise the inflatable boats used by people smugglers by slashing them. It's not yet clear whether this was a one-off instance or part of the broader shift in strategy expected to be outlined soon by Keir Starmer and Macron. There has also been growing media speculation about a potential one in, one out policy, under which the UK could return small boat arrivals to France in exchange for accepting another asylum seeker from France, such as someone with a clearer right to claim asylum in Britain through family ties. But how did the UK sleepwalk into this crisis? And what role, if any, did Brexit play in it? To answer those questions and many more, I spoke to Peter William Walsh, a migration studies researcher at the Migration Observatory and lecturer at the University of Oxford. That's after the headlines. Middle East crisis | Medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily 'mass casualty incidents' as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid. Post Office | More than 13 people may have killed themselves as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, while it drove at least 59 more to contemplate suicide, according to the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history. NHS | Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted in favour of strikes that could result in industrial action lasting until January next year, the British Medical Association has announced. Crime | Thousands of defendants in England and Wales could lose the right to a jury trial under plans designed to save the criminal justice system from collapse. UK News | Gregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter ahead of a report into misconduct allegations, including claims, denied by Wallace, of groping and indecent exposure. Over 50 new complaints have since been made to the BBC. In December 2018, after a few hundred migrants in total arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel on small boats that year, the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, declared the situation 'a major incident'. Now, Peter William Walsh told me, hundreds of people can arrive in the UK on small boats in a single day. Walsh describes 2018 as a 'critical moment', where there was a switch in the tactics used by people crossing the Channel. Before small boats became the main method, most people trying to reach the UK did so by hiding in lorries around freight terminals in the French port of Calais – sometimes with drivers' help, sometimes without. At its peak in the mid-2000s, there were about 10,000 detected attempts a year. The UK and French government response to this was largely successful, but in part drove the increasing use of small boats. 'There was a big enforcement drive – such as kilometres of fencing erected in and around the freight terminals of Calais, deployment of a whole range of technologies, CO2 detectors, thermal imaging, heartbeat sensors and dog patrols – to really try to clamp down on the lorry route but smugglers, as we know, are highly adaptable,' Walsh said. People smuggling goes professional Until 2018, it was widely assumed that crossing the Channel in a small boat was too risky and not a viable route into the UK. But as Walsh told me, that changed quickly. 'Then people successfully made the trip in the hundreds and then thousands, and as the smuggling operations became more professionalised and better resourced, it kind of had a life of its own – and that idea that the Channel was some kind of impenetrable stretch of water just dissolved.' It's worth reading a First Edition from November by Archie on why the government's promise to 'smash the gangs' has always been a doomed strategy. In a briefing paper co-authored with Mihnea V Cuibus last month, Walsh highlights some striking statistics. Since 2018, small boat crossings have increased, with about 37,000 people detected in 2024 and a record-breaking 14,800 in the first five months of 2025 alone. Nearly all of those who cross apply for asylum once they arrive in the UK – 99% did so in 2024. Between 2018 and 2024 the asylum grant rate for people who arrived by small boat was 68%. The Brexit effect There have been quiet murmurings that Brexit has worsened the situation, most notably from the Conservative shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, who admitted in a leaked 2018 recording that returning migrants to the EU would become significantly harder after the UK left the bloc. Walsh said: 'There's emerging evidence that there is a Brexit effect, and it's two things. One is that we no longer have access to the EU's asylum fingerprint database. So previously, if someone had arrived in the UK and they'd claimed asylum or been fingerprinted on entry to the EU, at say, Italy, we would know that. And then using the Dublin system, we could return them to the country of first entry.' But now, he said, migrants understand that if they've perhaps claimed asylum in an EU country and been refused, they can try again in the UK. The Mixed Migration Centre, a research institute that conducted interviews with migrants in Calais and the surrounding areas, found this 'has come up again and again and again'. But Walsh added that other factors, such as reuniting with family members in the UK, speaking the English language, and perceptions of the UK as being more welcoming, have long been significant pull factors. Deterrence v safe routes The parties of the right, and several voices within Labour, have long called for beefing up deterrence as a way to reduce the number of people crossing on small boats to claim asylum. Such deterrents include detaining migrants and processing their claims elsewhere, such as the Tories' infamous Rwanda policy. 'The available evidence suggests that deterrence policies historically have very little impact on the flow of unauthorised migration, asylum migration. They might say look at Australia, which had an offshoring kind of deterrence policy. But actually the big declines in unauthorised maritime arrivals to Australia happened after they started physically intercepting these boats in the water and returning them to countries of departure,' Walsh said. That isn't really an option in the Channel, he said. 'These are much smaller boats, really precarious. And the French maritime doctrine states you can only intervene on a boat in the water if there's a serious threat to the lives of the occupants. And it's not unreasonable because they expect resistance to an intervention – if there's any kind of panic on board these boats, people can get crushed. People can go into the water, where there's a real risk of death by drowning.' A record 73 people died trying to cross the English Channel by small boat in 2024 alone, more than in the previous six years combined, according to figures from the Migration Observatory. The other proposed solution, touted by some on the left, is to expand safe routes for asylum seekers. But Walsh believes that refugee resettlement, where the UN picks people from camps it operates around the world and then transfers them to participating countries, won't likely have a noticeable effect on small boat crossings, largely due to the extraordinary numbers of refugees in the world. Another way would be expanding the visa scheme on offer to Ukrainians. It would need to be expansive and uncapped, Walsh said, so that anyone considering getting in a small boat would instead use the legal route. He argued that it isn't currently politically viable for the Labour government to introduce a scheme for all nationalities. People willing to risk their lives Finally, what impact could this 'one in, one out' policy have? Such a scheme would have a similar deterrence logic to the Rwanda plan, Walsh said, and its success would depend on returning a sufficiently large share of Channel migrants to France. 'These are individuals. They travel thousands of miles to get to Calais, they spend thousands of euros determined to reach the UK. They're willing to risk their lives to get in a small boat – if there's not a sufficiently high chance of failure to settle in the UK, then they may just view this as one additional risk that they're willing to face,' he said. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion As of yesterday morning, more than 100 people were confirmed to have died in the Texas floods. From a woman swept away while driving to work to the – at least – 27 young girls and counsellors at Camp Mystic, Anna Betts and Cecilia Nowell have a deeply affecting rundown of the victims. Charlie Lindlar, acting deputy editor, newsletters An independent review of the criminal courts in England and Wales recommend the creation of intermediate courts without juries for certain offences. But in a hard-hitting interview, a leading campaigner warned that the move would disproportionately disadvantaged people of colour. Aamna Henry Hill makes a compelling case for what today's party leaders – even on the left – can learn from Norman Tebbit, who died this week: 'He believed in change and he fought for it. He was a fighter, at a point when the party needed fighters, and a bulwark for his leader against the forces of genteel reaction.' Charlie I was shocked by these stats: one in three women experience urinary incontinence, one in 10 faecal incontinence, and half of women over 50 have pelvic organ prolapse. These prevention and treatment tips are well worth a read. Aamna And here's something to listen to today: the talented Joy Crookes joins Grace Dent to kick off the 10th season of our Comfort Eating podcast, talking about food, her mental health struggles and the 'rollercoaster of success'. Charlie Cycling | Tadej Pogacar secured his 100th career win on stage four of the Tour de France after the defending champion narrowly outsprinted the race leader Mathieu van der Poel just before the line in central Rouen. Tennis | Cameron Norrie said he leaves the All England Club proud of his performances and fight after falling 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to an imperious Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Tuesday afternoon. Aryna Sabalenka lost the first set to Laura Siegemund but came through 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. Football | João Pedro's eye-catching double against his boyhood club Fluminense earned Chelsea a spot in the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 win. Lead story in the print edition of the Guardian is 'Limit trials by jury to save justice system from collapse, says report'. The i paper runs with 'UK state pension triple lock – the end is in sight' while the Financial Times has 'UK's soaring debt load is 'daunting' threat to public finances, OBR warns'. The Metro's splash is '13 suicides linked to PO scandal' and others splash with that as well including the Express – '13 lives likely lost due to Horizon' – and the Daily Mail which says 'Post Office 'has blood on its hands' over toll of 13 suicides'. In the Mirror it's 'Post Office scandal: tragic toll'. 'Macron to blame PM for small boats crisis' – slightly ambiguous, since France also has a PM, but the Telegraph means Keir Starmer. Top story in today's Times is 'Labour rules out paying doctors more to halt strike'. Can we trust nuclear power again? Dr Tim Gregory argues that nuclear power is safe, relatively cheap and the only realistic route to achieving net zero targets. A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad You may know of burly St Bernards acting as mountain rescue dogs – they're estimated to have saved about 2,000 lives over the past two centuries on the St Bernard Pass on the Swiss-Italy border alone – but last week it was the turn of a much more unexpected breed to play the role of snowy saviour: a chihuahua. According to reports, a man and his faithful friend took a hike on the Fee glacier above Saas-Fee near the Italian border of the Swiss Alps, when he 'suddenly broke through a snow bridge'. The hiker radioed for help using an amateur walkie-talkie, and the helicopter rescue team was able to fix his location because the (so far unnamed) chihuahua stuck by him, perching on the edge of the eight-metre deep crevasse into which he had fallen. 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation,' the Air Zermatt helicopter company said in a statement. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
French president Emmanuel Macron claims France will adopt a 'firm' approach to the small boats crisis - but warns MPs that the UK makes it too easy for migrants to build a new life
Emmanuel Macron last night pledged that France will finally adopt a 'firm' approach to the small boats crisis – but warned that Britain must act to make it harder for migrants to build a new life here. The president and first lady Brigitte Macron were welcomed by the Prince and Princess of Wales as he arrived in the UK yesterday for a three-day state visit. After some pomp and pageantry with the King and Queen at Windsor, he headed to Parliament where he addressed both Houses from the Palace of Westminster's Royal Gallery. In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Macron, under pressure over record small boats numbers this year, said a summit with Sir Keir Starmer this week would produce 'tangible results' aimed at reducing the flow of illegal arrivals across the Channel. But he said the UK also had to address the 'pull factors' that mean a third of all illegal migrants entering the EU are heading for the Channel. France has long complained that the UK makes it too easy for illegal migrants to work and claim benefits in this country, with one of Mr Macron's MPs recently saying Britain has become an 'El Dorado for migrants'. Mr Macron said Britain and France had a 'shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarityand firmness'. It was 'legitimate', he said, for migrants to 'hope for a better life elsewhere'. But he said the two countries 'cannot allow' rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with 'so little respect for human life'. His comments came after warnings that Sir Keir's plans for a 'one in, one out' migrant returns deal could trigger a surge in arrivals this summer. The Prime Minister will hold talks with Mr Macron at Downing Street today in a bid to finalise the details of a returns deal, which Government sources yesterday said is 'in the balance'. The two are expected to use a summit tomorrow to announce plans to step up enforcement on French beaches in return for millions of pounds in extra funding from the UK. But Sir Keir is also pushing for a returns deal that would allow the UK to send back some migrants in return for accepting a similar number of from France. Ministers believe the plan could help act as a deterrent to those seeking a new life in the UK. But Government sources acknowledge the scale of any scheme is likely to be 'very limited' initially. Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Service Union, warned that the announcement of any new scheme could trigger a surge in arrivals. She said: 'Whenever there is a new policy, we have seen it time and time again, people smugglers try to push migrants across saying 'Go now before it is too late'.' Border Force officials are also said to have warned ministers privately that announcing the scheme before it is ready to be implemented could spark another wave of crossings. Some have predicted that the smuggling gangs could offer 'discounts' for those who sign up to cross quickly, in a form of 'summer sale'. No 10 last night refused to comment on progress towards a 'one in, one out' deal, which has been knocked off course by late objections from the EU. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has criticised the proposal as a 'migrant merry-go-round' and warned that only a deal deporting all Channel migrants would act as an effective deterrent. 'Anything less that 100 per cent of arrivals getting send straight back won't work,' he said. Sylvie Bermann, a former French ambassador to the UK, claimed Britain was getting value for money yesterday when confronted with the Mail's revelation that Paris has received £771million in taxpayers' money to combat migration in the last 14 years. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Britain is paying because France is 'doing the job for the UK' but admitted it could not prevent all crossings.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer hopes for migrants deal as Macron visits Britain
Sir Keir Starmer is pinning his hopes of solving the small boats crisis on Emmanuel Macron as the French president arrives in the UK for a state visit. The Prime Minister is hoping to agree a one in, one out deal with Mr Macron to deter the migrant crossings across the Channel. The deal would see France take back migrants who have illegally crossed the Channel in small boats in return for the UK accepting a similar number of asylum seekers from France. But Government sources said the deal was 'complex' and 'in the balance', with negotiations still ongoing. Mr Macron's state visit comes a week after the total number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year passed 20,000. Mr Macron will be hosted by the King during his three-day state visit, which is the first by a French president since 2008. He is due to address Parliament this afternoon before holding talks with Sir Keir and attending a Franco-British summit later in the week.
