
King’s coronation ultimate guide: How to watch, timings, and the rest of the weekend
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2 years agoon
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adminThe King has been crowned, but celebrations will take place all weekend – including a concert and nationwide lunches.
Here’s an ultimate guide to the coronation weekend.
The ceremony

The coronation ceremony of the King – and his wife, Queen Camilla – is taking place at Westminster Abbey.
Royals, celebrities and foreign dignitaries arrived for the momentous event.
There were big hats, fabulous outfits, lots of crowds and lots of rain.
Here’s what you might have missed:
The procession route

The King and Queen Consort took a 1.3-mile route to the ceremony.
They travelled down The Mall via Admiralty Arch, took the south side of Trafalgar Square, went along Whitehall and Parliament Street, took the east and south sides of Parliament Square to Broad Sanctuary, before arriving at the abbey.
The Queen took a much longer route after her coronation, travelling five miles through Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, and finally down the Mall to end at Buckingham Palace.
The new King and Queen used the Diamond Jubilee State Coach on their way to the ceremony. For the way back, the 260-year-old Gold State Coach was chosen.
More details of the coronation procession route here.
Spectators got wet

Crowds wearing rain ponchos in the grandstand opposite Buckingham Palace
Viewing spots along the procession route were in high demand – particularly as the royals took a shorter journey than the late Queen in 1953.
Outside Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace as well as along The Mall, the Horse Guards Parade and Parliament Square were all prime spots, with royal fans pitched up and getting soaking wet.
Will there be a flypast?
More than 60 aircraft are expected to soar over London – but bad weather may mean it won’t go ahead.
If it does go ahead, you can expect to see it over Buckingham Palace at 2.30pm.
If you’re not planning on being in the capital for the coronation, there are still places you can catch the display.
Here’s everything you need to know about where to see the flypast – if it happens.
And the balcony moment?
Well, the mystery remains over which members of the Royal Family will appear on the balcony.
The King and Queen would usually be expected on the famous balustrade, accompanied by other family members, to end the day.
Speculation has been rife as to why the Palace has not yet announced who will be up there.
Some claim it could be a ploy to eschew newspaper headlines indicating Prince Harry has been “banned” from the balcony.
While an official announcement has not been made, it has been confirmed that neither Prince Harry nor Prince Andrew will have any formal role in the ceremony in the Abbey, which can only offer a significant hint.
But royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Sky News that there is often “no rush” for the palace to make such announcements, and believes they still will.
“Announcements are fed to keep a sense of drama… and it succeeds.
“This is a solemn day but also theatre; 200 countries are represented, and the world will be tuning in.”
You can read more about that here.
How to watch all the coronation events on TV
In a milestone for TV broadcasting, Sky customers can watch the King and Queen crowned in the clarity of Ultra HD, for free on Sky News channel 501 and on Sky Showcase channel 106 (7am-3pm).
The Ultra HD broadcast will be available to those watching on Sky Glass or Sky Q via the red button. Non-Sky customers can watch UHD coverage on the Sky News YouTube channel with a compatible TV.
Coverage will also be available to watch for free on Freeview channel 233, Virgin channel 603, BT channel 313, Saorview channel 23.
Ad breaks will be removed between 9am-3pm on the Saturday Sky News to ensure uninterrupted coverage of the main event on 6 May.
You can also watch multiple live streams on the Sky News website, app and on our YouTube channel.
Joanna Lumley will join Sky News presenters for coverage.
The Absolutely Fabulous actress, who provided commentary for Sky News for the Queen’s Jubilee last year, will attend the service at Westminster Abbey in May as a guest of Charles and Camilla.
Dame Joanna, 76, will then be joining the broadcaster’s coronation line-up, which includes royal events commentator Alastair Bruce and presenters Kay Burley and Anna Botting.
Every aspect of the big day will be televised, from royal fans gathering in the streets to the ceremony and processions.

Where can I watch it on a big screen?
The government has provided funding for big screens at more than 60 locations across the UK.
Parks, town squares and libraries will all be transformed into coronation viewing venues.
You can find every big screen showing the coronation in this list.
When is the bank holiday?
The Monday after the coronation – 8 May 2023 – will be a bank holiday for all of the UK.
The day has been set aside for volunteering and is being billed as “The Big Help Out”, with people encouraged to pitch in with projects in their local communities.
Will the pubs be open later?
Pubs will be allowed to stay open until 1am for the weekend.
People will be able to enjoy an “extra pint or two” between Friday 5 May and Sunday 7 May, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said.
Extending closing time for two hours beyond the normal 11pm was backed by 77% of the public who took part in a month-long consultation.
Who was at the coronation – was Harry there?
Prince Harry was at the coronation, while Meghan stayed in California with their children.
Westminster Abbey’s 2,200 seats were filled with members of the Royal Family, the prime minister, representatives from the Houses of Parliament, heads of state, other royals from around the world and people with links to the royal couple or the charities they support.

Pic: AP
Ant and Dec, Lionel Richie, Stereophonics singer Kelly Jones, Vogue’s UK editor Edward Enninful and the magician Dynamo were among the famous faces at Westminster Abbey.
They were on the guest list because of their connection with the Prince’s Trust.
More than 850 community and charity representatives were also invited, including the “boy in the tent”, who raised more than £750,000 for North Devon Hospice by camping in his garden for three years.
Invitees received an invitation that was handwritten by calligraphers from London Scribes Calligraphers, using traditional italic dip pens and bespoke mixed inks.
Veterans and NHS workers were front row in 3,800 seats in a specially built grandstand in front of Buckingham Palace.
Will Queen Camilla’s ex-husband be there?

Andrew Parker Bowles arriving at Westminster Abbey
Yes. Andrew Parker Bowles was there to watch the crowning of the new King and Queen.
He was also present at their wedding in 2005.
Here’s more about Andrew and the Parker Bowles family.
What’s in the ceremony?

Westminster Abbey floorplan, showing the Coronation Theatre
Like every coronation in the last 900 years, the ceremony for the King takes place Westminster Abbey, where the Queen’s funeral was held in September and where the Prince and Princess of Wales married in 2011.
The service is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, a position currently held by Justin Welby. The Archbishop of Canterbury has presided over almost every coronation since the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The Earl Marshal – the Duke of Norfolk – is in overall charge of the coronation.
He is Oxford-educated father-of-five Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 67, and was responsible for organising Elizabeth II’s funeral, as well as the Accession and State Openings of Parliament.
He was banned from driving for six months in September for using his mobile phone behind the wheel despite claiming he needed his licence to arrange the upcoming coronation.
This is the order of service here.
Why will Camilla also be crowned?
According to the Royal Family’s website: “A Queen Consort is crowned with the King, in a similar, but simpler ceremony.”
The last Queen Consort to be crowned was the Queen Mother alongside King George VI in 1937.
Find out more about why Camilla will also be crowned here.
What happens during a coronation?
There are six basic phases to the coronation: the recognition, the oath, the anointing, the investiture (which includes the crowning), the enthronement and the homage.
During the ceremony, the King will swear to uphold the law and the Church of England, be anointed with holy oil, receive the Royal Orb and sceptres and be crowned with the solid gold St Edward’s Crown. Read more about the crowning ceremony here.
Buckingham Palace has announced the dukes, bishops, peers and retired generals who are set to take on ceremonial duties during the coronation.
More than 50 people, including representatives from orders of chivalry, the military and wider public life, have been chosen to take part in the historic event, and were selected because of their “significant service”, the Palace said.
Among them are TV presenter Floella Benjamin, former MI5 chief Baroness Elizabeth Manningham-Buller and Lincolnshire farmer Francis Dymoke.
Mr Dymoke, as he is the owner of the Scrivelsby country estate, will be the King’s champion and carry the Royal Standard.
The order of procession into Westminster Abbey has also been revealed, with faith leaders and representatives going first followed by governors-general, prime ministers and flag bearers from each of the 15 realms where the King is head of state.
Ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, the UK’s flag bearer will be Cadet Warrant Officer Elliott Tyson-Lee.
The King and Queen Consort’s procession will follow, led by the Marquess of Anglesey, the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Caledon and the Earl of Dundee, who will carry the Standards of the Quarterings of the Royal Arms and the Standard of the Principality of Wales.

Queen Elizabeth pictured after her coronation in Westminster Abbey in 1953
What else will happen over the coronation weekend?
Sunday 7 May
- Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle
- Lighting up the Nation – locations across the UK will be lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
- Coronation Big Lunches – people will be invited to get together with their neighbourhood or community for a shared lunch, cup of tea or street party.
Monday 8 May
- The Big Help Out – will encourage people to try volunteering in their local area.
Tell me more about the concert
The coronation concert will see music stars descend on Windsor Castle, with Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on the line-up.
It will also feature “the coronation choir”, a diverse group of community choirs and amateur singers from across the UK, including refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs.
The audience will be made up of 10,000 people drawn from a ticket ballot, along with volunteers from charities affiliated to the King and Queen.
More information about the concert here.
How can I host a coronation street party?
There’s no better excuse to close off the street and string out the bunting than a major royal celebration, and the coronation is no exception.
If they’re small and just for residents, street parties don’t need a licence.
Coronation celebrations can be found and added to the official interactive map.
How will it be different to the Queen’s coronation in 1953?
While the 1953 coronation was three hours long and had 8,000 guests in attendance, the ceremony for the King is expected to be shorter and smaller in scope.
The Queen’s coronation was the first to be televised and was credited with bringing TV into the mainstream.
More than 20 million people watched the service on television, many crowded around neighbours’ screens, outnumbering the radio audience for the first time.
To stay up-to-date with the coronation – including details like timings of the day, news, features and analysis – bookmark our special coronation page for all the latest: skynews.com/coronation.
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UK
Parents tell ‘untold stories’ of how their ‘hero’ daughters survived Southport attack
Published
3 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
admin
The parents of survivors of the Southport attack have revealed the “untold stories” of how their “hero” children escaped.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, in what the chairman of the public inquiry Sir Adrian Fulford called “one of the most egregious crimes in our country’s history”.
Eight children were injured along with two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed class in the Merseyside seaside town on 29 July last year, while 15 others escaped without physical injuries.
The surviving victims and their families have been granted anonymity during the inquiry, with one girl referred to as C3. Her father was the first to give evidence at Liverpool Town Hall on Wednesday.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King were murdered in the attack
Reading a statement on behalf of him and his wife, he told how their daughter was the first girl to escape the scene by running from the Hart Space building and hiding behind a parked car before jumping through an open car door.
“Our nine-year-old daughter was stabbed three times in the back by a coward she didn’t even see,” he said.
“Although she didn’t know what was happening – she knew she had to run. She ran out of the studio door, down the stairs, and out of the building.”
Read more: Southport inquiry as it happened
He said she can be seen “looking scared, confused and pained” in CCTV footage of the incident, adding: “It was troubling for us to see what she had to go through, before either of her parents had arrived at the scene.”
“We are so thankful and proud that despite being critically injured, she was able to make the decisions she did in that terrible moment,” he said.
The girl’s father said his daughter “continues to astound” them with the way she dealt with the attack and her recovery, saying: “It has been inspiring for us to witness.”

Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford at Liverpool Town Hall. Pic: PA
He said she has difficulty sleeping, experiences flashbacks, looks over her shoulder scanning for potential danger when she leaves the house, has a fear of loud noises and has to turn off some songs when they come on the radio.
“Our daughter knows that she is loved,” he said.
“It is through this support and love that she will continue to thrive. We couldn’t be prouder of her. She is our hero.”
Stabbed 33 times
The parents of a girl referred to as C1 told how their “beautiful, articulate, fun-loving little girl” was stabbed 33 times.
After being attacked she escaped the building, but Rudakubana was seen dragging her back inside in CCTV footage played during his sentencing hearing, which drew gasps in court, before she was stabbed 20 more times.
“That is how she became known in this nightmare. The girl that was dragged back in,” her mother said.

Police at the scene. Pic: PA

She thanked the teachers who escaped to call police and flag down help but said: “The most painful of truths for us though, and what has been most devastating to come to terms with, is that there were no adults to help during both of her attacks.
“She was only supported by other children. The courage and strength she found leaves me crushed, but in complete awe.”
She added: “It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing when we have heard other accounts of this day.”
The mother said the “hours and days that followed the attack were a living hell” and her daughter’s memories – including a concert of her “idol” Taylor Swift – have “been forfeited to make space for the trauma that she carries”.
“We tell her she was brave. How proud we are that she was able to help other girls. How her strength makes us feel strong. How important what she did that day was. She is her own hero. She may be a survivor of this attack, but she is still trying to survive this, every single day,” she said.
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4:06
‘We need to understand what went wrong’
Attack ‘changed everything’
The mother of a girl referred to as C8 said she was “like any other seven-year-old little girl”, “with an incredible energy” and “full of life”.
But in a statement read out by a legal representative, she said the attack last year “changed everything” when she got a “panicked phone call” from a friend’s mother, who couldn’t find the girls.
“That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me,” she said.
“I rushed to the scene and what I saw is something no parent should ever see. My daughter had sustained serious physical injuries including a stab wound to her arm and a cut to her face and chin.”
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2:02
‘We don’t want Elsie forgotten’
Read more from Sky News:
Infected blood victims ‘waiting to die in limbo’
The fly-tippers turning trash into cash
She said her daughter “remembers the attack vividly” and later told her “she thought it had to be fake, because she couldn’t believe something that terrible could really be happening”.
“Where she was once eager to go off with her friends, she now needs my support if it is somewhere public or unknown,” she said.
“Simple days out now need a level of safety planning that we would never have considered before.”
‘Constant flashbacks’
The mother of a girl referred to as Q, who escaped without being physically injured, told how she arrived to collect her daughter to find “children running from the building, screaming and fearing for their lives”.
In a statement read to the inquiry by a legal representative on her behalf, she said it was “the most horrific experience of my life”.
“What I saw on that day will stick with me forever, I constantly have flashbacks and relive what happened,” she said.
She said her daughter has become “very withdrawn” since the attack and has asked her parents, “How will I ever be normal again?”
Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January and is being investigated over an alleged attack on a prison officer at Belmarsh prison in May.
The public inquiry, announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in January, is looking into whether the attack could or should have been prevented, given what was known about the killer.
Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, had contact with police, the courts, the youth justice system, social services and mental health services, and was referred to the government’s anti-extremism Prevent scheme three times before the murders.
A rapid review into his contact with Prevent found his case should have been kept open and that he should have been referred to Channel, another anti-terror scheme.
C1’s mother said: “She deserves the truth, she deserves accountability. She deserves an apology. Our girls deserve an apology.
“Backed up by the promise that changes will be made and this will not be allowed to happen again.”
UK
Infected blood victims are ‘waiting to die in limbo’ – with hundreds still waiting for compensation
Published
7 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
admin
Victims of the infected blood scandal say they are “waiting to die in limbo”, with just hundreds having received compensation to date.
For decades, more than 30,000 NHS patients were knowingly given infected blood products, and more than 3,000 people died as a result. Survivors are left living with long-term health complications, including HIV and hepatitis.
An inquiry into the scandal, which published its final report in May 2024, accused the NHS of a “pervasive cover-up”. Recompense payments for the victims and survivors were ordered, with the government setting aside £11.8bn to do this.
Earlier this year, the inquiry was reopened to examine the “timeliness and adequacy” of the compensation, and its report – published today – has accused the scheme of “perpetuating” harm.
Just 2,043 people have been asked to start a claim, 616 have been made offers, and 430 of those have been paid.
“For decades, people who suffered because of infected blood have not been listened to. Once again, decisions have been made behind closed doors, leading to obvious injustices,” says Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry.
“It is not too late to get this right. We are calling for compensation to be faster, and more than that, fairer.”
In his latest 210-page report, Sir Brian says yet more people have been harmed by the way they have been treated by the scheme.
It highlights how the compensation scheme was drafted without any direct involvement from the people most affected – the expert group that advised the government on how financial support should be delivered was not allowed to take evidence or hear from any victim of the infected blood scandal.
“Obvious injustices” within the scheme include the exclusion of anyone infected with HIV prior to 1982 and the unrealistic requirements for proving psychological harm.
How did the infected blood scandal happen?
Between 1970 and the early 1990s, more than 30,000 NHS patients were given blood transfusions, or treatments made using blood products, which were contaminated with hepatitis C or HIV.
The infected blood was used because the NHS was struggling to meet the domestic demand for blood products, so sourced around 50% of them from abroad, including the US.
But much of the blood had been taken from prisoners, drug addicts and other high-risk groups who were paid to give blood.
Blood donations in the UK were not routinely screened for hepatitis C until 1991, 18 months after the virus was first identified.
As a result, more than 3,000 people have died, and survivors have experienced lifelong health implications.
In 2017, the government announced a statutory inquiry into the scandal to examine the impact on families, how authorities responded, and the care and support provided to those affected.
The Infected Blood Inquiry published its findings last year and a multi-billion-pound compensation scheme was announced in its wake.
This included payments for a group of people with the blood clotting disorder haemophilia, who were subjected to “unethical research” while at school and included in secret trials to test blood products.
HIV infections before 1982
The current scheme means any person infected with HIV before 1 January 1982 will not be compensated – something the latest report calls “illogical and unjust”.
The rule “completely misunderstands (or ignores) the central fact that blood products used [before this date] were already known to carry a risk of a dangerous virus – Hepatitis”, the report says.
The rule appears to have been made based on legal advice to the government.
One mother says her daughter was invited to claim compensation, only to be told she was likely “ineligible” because she had been infected prior to 1982.
“To reach this stage of the proceedings to be faced with the unbearable possibility of her claim being declined is yet another nightmare to be somehow endured… This unbearable and intolerable situation is cruel and unjust,” she says in the report.
Read more:
Ten victims of infected blood scandal to receive total of around £13m
Infected blood victims ‘livid’ with ‘paltry’ compensation offer
Trust between citizens and state destroyed in infected blood scandal
One person who is not named in the report said: “It feels as if we are waiting to die in limbo, unable to make any progress in our lives and fearing that as our health declines, we may not ever get the compensation we deserve.”
Analysis by Sky correspondent Laura Bundock: Victims’ painful battle continues – and in some cases time is running out
This is another deeply damning report into the infected blood scandal.
We now know the damage and suffering caused by the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS is far from over.
So many were promised long-overdue compensation. But those infected and affected by the scandal are still being harmed by delays, injustices, and a lack of transparency.
Over a year since his final inquiry report was published the chair, Sir Brian Langstaff, does not hold back in his criticism of the compensation scheme.
He finds the system sluggish, slow and difficult to navigate.
What was set up to help the infected blood community, failed to properly involve victims of the scandal. Opportunities were missed opportunities to consult, and decisions were made behind closed doors.
The end result is an unfair, unfit system leaving people undercompensated. What’s worse, very few have received any money. And in some cases, time is running out.
This additional report makes yet more recommendations. Sir Brian is clear that despite a bad start, it’s not too late to get things right. What he says is an important moment of vindication for the victims, who’d felt their voices were being ignored.
They’ve campaigned and fought for this inquiry for decades. Most assumed the battle was over once Sir Brian’s report was published last year. But despite promises and pledges from politicians, their anger and upset hasn’t gone away.
The government says it’s taking steps to speed up the process. For victims, trust in the authorities remains low.
It will take more than warm words to restore faith, as they continue through the painful struggle for justice.
Unrealistic expectations
The report also highlights the unrealistic evidence requirements for someone proving psychological harm.
The current regulations require a consultant psychiatrist to have diagnosed and treated someone, either as in-patient, or in hospital for six months.
But the report says, at the time the scandal was unfolding, “consultant psychiatric services were not the norm across every part of the country”.
“It would be wrong to set a requirement for compensation that such services be accessed when it was not a practical proposition that they could be.”
Those infected were also unlikely to have told even close friends and family about their diagnosis due to the stigma and ostracism.
Therefore, the expectation of having received medical care “would have involved revealing to an unknown clinician what that person dared not reveal, especially if there was a chance that it might leak out”.
Other exclusions
The report also highlighted other exclusions within the compensation scheme.
It says the “impacts of infection with Hepatitis is not being fully recognised in the scheme as it stands”. The scheme also fails to recognise the devastating impacts of interferon, used to treat Hep C. The vast majority of people who received interferon suffered severely, both psychologically and physically.
The compensation regulations also withdraw support for a bereaved partner if the infected person dies after 31 March this year. The argument being that they are eligible for compensation in their own right as an “affected” person.
But removing these payments immediately after death means infected persons “see themselves as worthless and [ignites] fears of leaving partners destitute”.
One man reports being denied compensation as victims of medical experimentation because – despite having evidence it took place – the hospital where he was infected was not named in the regulations.
Read more:
Infected and experimented on
The report issued a number of recommendations to speed up the process.
It says people should be able to apply for compensation, rather than wait to be asked.
The compensation authority should also progress applications from different groups at the same time, giving priority to those who are most ill and older, or who have never received any form of financial support.
It also says anyone who has evidence of being the victim of medical experiments should be compensated for it, regardless of where they were treated.
The report calls for more transparency and openness, as well as involvement from those infected and affected.
Support groups react to latest report
Kate Burt, Chief Executive of the Haemophilia Society, said the government’s “failure to listen to those at the heart of the contaminated blood scandal has shamefully been exposed by the Infected Blood Inquiry yet again”.
“Now government must take urgent action to put this right by valuing those impacted by this scandal through a fair and fast compensation settlement,” she says. “Only then can the infected blood community move on from the past and finally focus on what remains of their future.”
A lawyer advising some 1,500 victims says some of the recommendations “can and should be implemented immediately”.
Des Collins, senior partner at Collins Solicitors, says: “We also urgently need transparency of the timetable for the affected and an acceleration of the payment schedule to them.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
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UK
Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?
Published
13 hours agoon
July 9, 2025By
admin
While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?
Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?
As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.
It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.
Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrants from Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.
Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.
All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.
They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.
John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.
“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.
“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”

‘England is my dream country,’ John tells Adam Parsons
He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.
The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.
We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.
One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.
Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.
Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.

Abdullah says ‘Gaza is being destroyed – we need help’
A man from Eritrea tells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.
He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.
I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.
Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.
But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.
And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.
Read more:
Channel crossings rise 50% in first six months of 2025
French police forced to watch on as migrants attempt crossing
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1:48
Migrant Channel crossings hit new record
A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.
It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.
He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.
“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”
“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”
He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”

A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”
Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.
He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
“The British came to my country – colonising, killing, raping,” he said. “And we didn’t complain. We let it happen.
“I am not the problem. I won’t fight anyone; I want to work. And if I break the laws – if any immigrant breaks the laws – then fine, deport them.
“I know it won’t be easy – some people won’t like me, some people will. But England is my dream.”
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Game 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
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MLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
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Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
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Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
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Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike