Minister refuses to back removal of murals for child arrivals – as 1,000 migrants arrive in two days
More than 1,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats in just two days, with Friday seeing the highest number of crossings in a single day so far this year.
According to the latest Home Office figures, 686 migrants were found crossing the Channel on 13 boats on Friday – the highest number in a single day so far this year – and 384 migrants made the crossing on Saturday.
That means that on Friday and Saturday, 1,070 people were detected making the crossing, and the total number of people crossing so far this year stands at 12,503 on 277 boats.
Politics latest: BBC star claims ‘deeply concerning’
The figures show that fewer people have crossed the Channel in a small boat this year compared with last – but only just.
The first half of 2022 saw 12,747 people make the crossings compared with 12,503 for the same period in 2023.
The figures come after a government minister repeatedly refused to endorse an order given by the Home Office for murals of cartoon characters on the walls of an asylum centre for unaccompanied children to be painted over.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought to Dover onboard a Border Force vessel on Friday
It emerged earlier this week that immigration minister Robert Jenrick ordered the removal of the murals at the centre in Kent in April, which depicted characters such as Baloo from The Jungle Book and Mickey Mouse, because they were thought to be too welcoming, the i newspaper reported.
The paper said staff were “horrified” by the “cruel order” and were resisting carrying out the work, but the Home Office confirmed to Sky News the murals were removed on Tuesday.
On Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Victoria Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, was asked if she was comfortable with the decision, and she repeatedly deflected the question.
She told Sky News: “Well I think we’ve got to focus on the fundamentals here – if there are children arriving in the United Kingdom via small boats, then as soon as they land in the UK, they are looked after properly.”
Ms Atkins said their health and schooling needs are looked after, but added: “We also have to stop people from being enticed by criminal gangs to cross the Channel.”
Mr Jenrick reportedly ordered the removal of the murals of the cartoon characters
She said the number of crossings overall was down and that there had been a 90% decrease in the number of Albanians crossing the Channel since a returns agreement was struck.
Ms Atkins also said French authorities had stopped 33,000 people making the crossing as a result of various agreements with the UK.
She added: “It is an incredibly difficult problem, and I don’t think anyone pretends that when the prime minister set this priority [to “stop the boats”], he or anyone else was saying it was going to be easy – it is not.”
Challenged again multiple times on the children’s mural being painted over, Ms Atkins repeatedly deflected and refused to say she was comfortable with the action – and nor did she endorse it.
Her priority, she said, is how the children are looked after here in the UK.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jenrick defends migration figures
On Thursday, ministers filed an appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that ruled the government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock sharply condemned the government, telling the i: “The idea that painting over murals and removing entertainment for unaccompanied children in immigration centres will somehow stop the boats is utterly absurd.
“This is a sign of a chaotic government in crisis, whose failing approach means all they have left is tough talk and cruel and callous policies.”
Read more:
£377,000 council grant to provide asylum seekers ‘English-speaking lessons’
Rwanda deportation ruling to be appealed by government at Supreme Court
When asked about the murals earlier this week, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We do all we can to ensure children are safe, secure and supported as we urgently seek placements with a local authority.
“All children receive a welfare interview on their arrival at accommodation, which includes questions designed to identify potential indicators of trafficking or safeguarding issues.
“Our priority is to stop the boats and disrupt the people smugglers.
“The government has gone further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”
The Home Office pointed to other features at the facility, which opened in November 2022, such as larger and softer interview rooms, an outside space, prayer rooms, a larger reception area and improved security measures.
UK
Heidi Alexander named new transport secretary after Louise Haigh’s resignation over mobile phone guilty plea
The first vote on the assisted dying bill is not only hugely consequential, it’s also hugely unpredictable and even as the vote draws near it still feels like it could go either way.
MPs will debate the bill, brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, in parliament today before they get a free vote on the legislation.
There are a few reasons why the potential outcome of the vote is difficult to predict. Firstly, the last Commons vote on this issue was back in 2015. It was also a Private Members’ Bill and a free vote, that was defeated by 331 to 119 – 199 MPs didn’t vote and one abstained.
That may seem like a useful starting point to predict future results but there has been an unprecedented turnover of MPs since then.
Politics latest: Starmer blames Tories for ‘open borders’
It was less than a decade ago but over two-thirds of those MPs from 2015 are no longer in parliament. This means there’s no voting record that can help us out this time round.
Secondly, it’s a free vote so we can’t, as we usually would, look to the political parties to work out the numbers.
Every single one of the 650 MPs must make up their minds for themselves and they have all taken a slightly different approach to the process.
How MPs have told Sky News they will vote on assisted dying
Some came out straight away and declared their position publicly. Some took their time and have only decided in the last few days, putting out statements on social media platforms.
There are also those who prefer to keep it to themselves, and some who are genuinely still undecided and will be until they walk through the voting lobbies.
So, to get a sense of what could happen, at Sky News we have been monitoring declarations as well as reaching out to every MP personally.
This has given us, on the eve of the second reading, an informative but still incomplete picture.
So far we have confirmed that 181 MPs will vote for the bill, while 148 say they will vote against, and 300 are either undecided or haven’t revealed their decision.
There are also 20 MPs that won’t vote – the SNP because the changes won’t apply in Scotland, Sinn Fein who don’t sit in Westminster, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.
Of those who will vote but whose position is still unknown, about two-thirds are Labour MPs – a big chunk of those are brand new.
This is the deciding cohort, who just a few months into their roles will make a life-or-death decision that will influence generations to come – no pressure.
Ms Leadbeater has said she hopes parliament will “show itself at its best” by voting in favour of the bill.
In a statement on Thursday night, she said: “I hope this parliament will also be remembered for this major social reform that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and puts right an injustice that has been left on the statute books for far too long.
“People will be looking in on parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love.”
Read more on assisted dying:
Analysis: Bill could be wrecked by dirty tricks
Five stories that bring the assisted dying debate home
David Cameron comes out in support of bill
How MPs are making up their minds
What does the bill propose?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lord Cameron to support assisted dying bill
What could make the difference?
Most MPs tell us they have been poring over the legislation line-by-line and listening intently to their constituents.
But beyond that, there are external factors that will no doubt have influenced their thinking.
Public opinion will be high on the list, with the latest YouGov poll – one of many – showing an overwhelming majority (73%) of the public are in favour of a change in the law.
The other will be how Cabinet ministers vote, with many high profile and respected names, Ed Miliband and Hilary Benn among them, coming out in favour.
MPs will vote in the House of Commons on the bill
More controversial though are those who oppose the bill.
In particular, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood have made the news with their views.
They will both have to take a leading role in implementing the legislation if it passes.
Mr Streeting shocked Westminster when he revealed he had changed his mind after voting for the 2015 version.
He also ruffled feathers among colleagues when he appeared to breach the etiquette around free votes, by repeatedly raising concerns around extra pressures on the NHS and making the case for improving palliative care instead.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting changed his mind on the issue. Pic: PA
Mr Streeting’s position and approach have made the bill’s supporters nervous that new MPs will fall in behind him.
In contrast, other big beasts – the prime minister, the chancellor and the foreign secretary – remain silent on which way they will go, aware that their opinions could sway the result.
As it stands, after all the number crunching, it looks likely that this landmark legislation will pass the second reading.
But with so many unknowns, both sides will feel that even at this late stage, it’s still impossible to call.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway