Tag Archives: small boat crossings

Emmanuel Macron Blames Brexiteers For Small Boats Crisis After Striking Migrant Deal With Starmer

Posted on by
Reply

Emmanuel Macron has blamed Brexiteers for the small boats crisis as he agreed a “groundbreaking” migrant returns deal with Keir Starmer in a bid to solve the issue.

The French president said British voters had been “sold a lie” before the EU referendum in 2016.

He made his comments at a press conference marking the end of his three-day state visit to the UK.

Starmer had earlier announced a “one in one out” agreement which will see illegal immigrants who arrive in Dover in small boats being detained and then returned to France.

In return, the UK will accept the same number of immigrants whose asylum claims have been processed in France.

The PM hopes that the scheme will act as a deterrent to stop asylum seekers making the perilous journey across the Channel.

An initial pilot scheme will start within weeks and will initially see 50 migrants per week being sent to France.

However, that is only one in 17 of the total number who cross the Channel.

The prime minister said: “There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables.”

But Macron – a fierce critic of Brexit – used the press conference to launch an outspoken attack on those who had campaigned for the UK to leave the EU with promises that it would lead to a fall in immigration.

He said: “Since Brexit, and I’m saying all this quite honestly – I know this is not your case prime minister – but many people in your country explained that Brexit would make it possible to fight more effectively against illegal immigration, but since Brexit the UK has no migratory agreement with the EU.”

Macron said that meant those crossing the Channel know that they will not automatically be returned to France.

He added: “That makes an incentive to make the crossing, precisely the opposite of what the Brexiters promised.”

The French president later said the British people were “sold a lie…which is that the problem was Europe, but the problem has become Brexit”.

In a speech at the Guildhall in London on Wednesday night, Macron said that the UK was “stronger in the European Union”.

He said: “I am not totally convinced that both the European Union and France and the UK are in the best possible position today.

“I am very respectful for the voice of the people and the choice your country made nine years ago, and I’m lucid about the solemnity of the state visit being the first one of a European head of state post-Brexit.

“But I have to say the European Union was stronger with you and you were stronger with the European Union.”

Reacting to the UK-France migrant deal, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour’s deal will only return one in every 17 illegal immigrants arriving.

“Allowing 94% of illegal immigrants to stay will make no difference whatsoever and have no deterrent effect.

“This is the latest catastrophic example that when Labour negotiates, the UK loses.”

Share Button

Darren Jones Admits He Was Wrong To Say Most Migrants On Small Boats Are ‘Children, Babies And Women’

Posted on by
Reply

Darren Jones has admitted that he was wrong to say that the majority of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats are “children, babies and women”.

The chief secretary to the Treasury made the erroneous claim on the BBC’s Question Time programme on Thursday night.

He was challenged on the programme by former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf, who claimed that more than 90% of those on the boats were men.

In actual fact, Home Office data indicates that adult males made up 73% of small boat arrivals between January 2018 and March 2025.

Jones has been under pressure to correct his statement all day, and finally did so in a post on X on Friday evening.

However, he said his comments had been “misrepresented” by Labour’s opponents.

He said: “Of course the overall majority of people arriving illegally on small boats are men – but not “north of 90%” as Reform claimed.

“On Question Time, I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and babies who had suffered horrific burns.

“I’m happy to clarify this given how this is now being misrepresented. Labour committed new funding this week to secure our borders while Reform have voted against giving our police the powers needed to smash the gangs fuelling this vile trade.”

Share Button

‘A Dark Moment In British History’: Labour Slammed Over Illegal Immigration Crackdown

Posted on by
Reply

Labour ministers have been accused of creating “a dark moment in British history” in their latest crackdown on illegal immigration.

Changes announced by the Home Office mean that anyone arriving via an unsafe route, such as across the Channel in a small boat, will be blocked from becoming UK citizens.

The new guidance states: “A person who applies for citizenship from 10 February 2025 who has previously arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic travel authorisation, having made a dangerous journey will normally be refused citizenship.”

The controversial move has already sparked a Labour split, with Stella Creasy MP saying it would turn illegal immigrants into “second class” citizens.

Refugee charities have also joined in the backlash against the “deeply damaging” policy.

Kolbassia Haoussou, of Freedom From Torture, said: “Make no mistake, this is a dark moment in British history. If the government really follows through with blocking refugees from getting citizenship, the UK will be taking a huge step backwards.

Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: “This change flies in the face of reason. The British public want refugees who have been given safety in our country to integrate into and contribute to their new communities, so it makes no sense for the government to erect more barriers.

“We know that men women and children who are refugees want to feel part of the country that has given them a home, and support to rebuild their lives.

“So many refugees over many generations have become proud hard working British citizens as doctors, entrepreneurs and other professionals. Becoming a British citizen has helped them give back to their communities and this should be celebrated, not prevented. We urge ministers to urgently reconsider.

“Everyone deserves the chance to settle and fully integrate into society. I’m a survivor of torture, a British citizen, and I’ve even received an MBE from the late Queen.

“I know many people who also want to contribute to Britain, but blocking their ability to become citizens prevents refugees from fully integrating and flourishing in their new communities.”

Citizenship applications are decided on a case-by-case basis and policies are kept under review.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.

“This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”

Share Button

Yvette Cooper Repeatedly Refuses To Say When Small Boat Crossings Will Fall

Posted on by
Reply

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has repeatedly failed to say when the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats will come down.

Keir Starmer pledged to “smash the gangs” controlling the people smuggling operation before the election, but thousands more have made the dangerous journey since then.

On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC 1 this morning, Cooper said the number of crossings was “deeply damaging” and “puts lives at risk”.

Kuenssberg asked her: “The question that our viewers watching and listening to you have is when will they see a difference?

“People see the numbers continuing to go up. People see more hotels being used to house people without permission in their towns.

“So when can people expect to see a difference? When can you expect to see the numbers of small boats coming down if you’re approach is the right one?”

After the home secretary appeared to dodge the question, Kuenssberg said: “I do think the question that people want to know is when will we see a difference?

“This government now seems to be fond of giving us timelines and targets and milestones. So when can people expect to see a difference, to see the number of boat crossings coming down, to see the number of asylum hotels coming down too?”

Cooper said the government was cutting the existing backlog of asylum claims.

Trying a third time to get an answer, the presenter said: “I will ask you again. When can our viewers expect to see the numbers making small boat crossings – putting their lives at risk trying to get to the UK – when can they expect that to come down?

Cooper said: “Of course we want to see the boat crossings come down as rapidly as possible. What we’re not going to do is deal with this by slogans.”

Kuenssberg then told her: “But home secretary, this is not about slogans. When it comes to something like waiting lists and the NHS, the government is very happy to put targets on that and say ‘measure us by whether we hit those’.

“When it comes to kids’ education, the government’s been very happy to put a target on that and say ‘judge us by this measure’.

“When it comes to this issue, you won’t give us a yardstick by when people can expect a significant difference. Why not, because it makes it feel like it’s not a priority to the government in the way that some other issues are.”

But Cooper said: “We’ve made clear that border security is one of the foundational issues, before you get to any of the missions. We’ve been clear that we need to reduce both legal migration and illegal migration.

“There is a history of home secretaries and prime ministers making grand promises, but never actually having a proper plan. The approach we’re taking to this is step by step.

“We are putting in place the things that we need – the agreements with other countries, the stronger returns arrangements, much stronger law enforcement, the operations with Germany to go after the smuggler supply chains, the operations with Italy to go after the illicit finance.”

She added: “I think we’re being really clear and straight with people about the complexity of this because the gimmicks did not work.”

Share Button

Rishi Sunak Accused Of ‘Bare-Faced Lie’ For Wrongly Claiming Small Boat Crossings Are Falling

Posted on by
Reply

Rishi Sunak has been accused of a “bare-faced lie” for wrongly claiming the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats is coming down.

Sunak said: “Over the last twelve months, the number of crossings [are] down a third because the plans we’ve put in place are starting to make a difference.”

But figures released by the Home Office today show that 10,745 have made the perilous journey so far this year – up 41% on the same point last year.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow paymaster general, said: “Another bare-faced lie from Rishi Sunak has been exposed.

“Last night, he told the British people that the number of small boat arrivals were coming down. But today, we have confirmation from the Home Office itself that small boat arrivals so far in 2024 are at a record high, running more than 40% higher than last year.

“Even worse, we now know that – when Rishi Sunak promised the British people that he would stop the boats – he was telling another lie.

“Exactly 18 months on from that day, 40,000 people have now made the crossing, while he has sat on his hands doing nothing to take on the smuggling gangs. Rishi Sunak has become a desperate liar.”

The row follows the controversy over Sunak’s claim that Labour will put up taxes by £2,000 per household if the party wins on July 4.

Share Button

‘Evidence Of Failure’: Rishi Sunak Slammed After Breaking Pledge To ‘Stop The Boats’

Posted on by
Reply

Rishi Sunak has been slammed after breaking his key promise to voters to “stop the boats” carrying asylum seekers across the English Channel.

A total of 29,437 people made the perilous crossing from France in 2023, according to provisional Home Office figures.

Although that is a 36% fall on the 2022 figure of 45,774, it is still the second highest total since the crossings began in 2018.

It is almost exactly a year since Sunak made stopping the boats one of his five pledges to voters.

He said at the time: “No tricks, no ambiguity – we’re either delivering for you or we’re not.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described the fall in small boat crossings since 2022 as “modest” and “helped by the weather”.

She said: “This has been the second highest number of small boat crossings on record, 100 times higher than it was five years ago – evidence of the failure of Rishi Sunak’s promise to stop the boats this year.

“We also have record high numbers in asylum hotels, 20% higher than when the Prime Minister promised to end them a year ago, costing the taxpayer £8m a day.

“The Tories have lost control of our border security and broken our asylum system. They are failing to tackle the criminal gangs where smuggler convictions have dropped by 30%, they’ve let the backlog soar and returns of failed asylum seekers are 50% lower than under the last Labour government.

“Too often they focus on gimmick rather than getting a grip.”

Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “The idea this is a victory for Rishi Sunak is absolutely laughable.

“In any other walk of life, someone meeting less than a third of their target would be in line for the sack. Yet Sunak expects praise. What a farce.

“This has been a mess of the government’s own making. Rishi Sunak promised the British public to stop all small boat crossings, anything less will be seen as a failure come the election this year.”

Sunak admitted last month that there is “no firm date” for when the small boat crossings will finally end.

He is pinning his hopes on parliament passing his Safety of Rwanda Bill, which could finally lead to asylum seekers being deported to the east African country.

Ministers say that will act as a deterrent to immigrants trying to reach the UK, despite little evidence to back that up.

Sunak has so far only met one of his five pledges by halving the rate of inflation.

Just last month, his promise to grow the economy was dealt a major blow when it emerged that GDP fell by 0.3% in October.

Share Button

‘We Have Failed’: Lee Anderson Admits Tory Government Migration Chaos

Posted on by
Reply

Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson has admitted his party has “failed” to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, despite Rishi Sunak’s pledge to end the journeys.

He said the situation was now “out of control” and that the Conservative government was to blame.

Anderson’s comments, in an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, followed the row over his claim that migrants who do not want to board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset should “fuck off back to France”.

He said: “I’m not going to sit here and make excuses to anyone. This is out of control.

“We’re in power at the moment, I’m the deputy chair of the Conservative Party, we’re in government and we have failed on this – there’s no doubt about it.

“We’ve said we’re going to fix it, it is a failure.”

Anderson insisted the Tories had policies in place to tackle the issue, but he added: “I know it’s a bit hard for the British public at the moment to actually understand what we’re trying to do with the Rwanda flights and the Illegal Migration Bill and it seems very slow, it’s cumbersome.

“We’re up against it Nigel, let’s be honest. We’ve got the lefty lawyers, we’ve got the human rights campaigners, we’ve got the charities – everything’s against us, but I’m not making excuses.”

His comments are a further blow to Sunak in a week that was meant to showcase the government’s attempts to stop the boats.

Instead, they have been forced to deny plans to deport migrants to Ascension Island, while they also face legal challenges over the Bibby Stockholm, which has been dubbed a “quasi-prison” by opponents.

Share Button