Connect with us

Published

on

The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years is now likely to have passed 100,000.

Government figures show that since 2018, when records began, 99,960 people have made the perilous journey from France to the UK as of Tuesday.

With more than 40 people believed to have landed on UK shores on small boats earlier today, it is likely the 100,000 threshold has now been crossed.

The figures show a huge year-on-year surge, with just 299 small boat arrivals in 2018 compared with 28,526 in 2021 and 45,755 in 2022.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the small boat crossings one of his five key priorities for his government.

But his plans for bringing down illegal immigration have been mired in difficulty and delay.

This week 15 people were moved on to the Bibby Stockholm barge after legal challenges prevented 20 others from being transferred to the vessel.

The accommodation, off the coast of Dorset, is ultimately intended to house 500 single men – though that is less than 1% of the people waiting for their claims to be heard.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard the Ramsgate Lifeboat following a small boat incident in the Channel. Picture date: Thursday August 10, 2023.
Image:
People, believed to be migrants, were brought to Dover following a small boat incident in the Channel on Thursday

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from the Dover Lifeboat following a small boat incident in the Channel. Picture date: Thursday August 10, 2023.
Image:
More than 40 people are thought to have arrived in the UK on Thursday having tried to cross the Channel in a small boat

As well as barges, the government wants to use tents and military bases as cheaper forms of accommodation than hotels, which the Home Office says are costing taxpayers £6m a day.

But Labour argues the new sites are being used in addition to hotels, not instead of, and ministers should focus on cutting the asylum case backlog and targeting people-smuggling gangs.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What’s it like onboard the Bibby Stockholm?

The government ultimately wants to deport people who arrive by small boat to Rwanda, but the £140mn scheme has been stalled since last June due to a series of legal challenges, meaning no one has been sent to the east African nation yet.

Deputy Tory chairman Lee Anderson, who was embroiled in a row this week after saying migrants who did not like barges should “f*** off back to France”, admitted the government was failing on immigration.

People boarding the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge at Portland Port in Dorset, which will house up to 500 Asylum seekers. Picture date: Tuesday August 8, 2023.
Image:
The Bibby Stockholm is being used as an accommodation vessel for asylum seekers


However, cabinet ministers have defended the immigration strategy amid a series of Home Office announcements this week, such as a crackdown on immigration lawyers helping migrants “exploit” the system, and a new partnership with Turkey to disrupt people-smuggling gangs.

Central to the prime minister’s “stop the boats” pledge is the controversial Illegal Immigration Bill, which was passed last month after the government saw off multiple challenges in the Lords.

This will ban anyone who enters the UK through unauthorised means from claiming asylum, allowing the government to deport them.

Flashy, headline-grabbing policies are not stopping the boats



Mhari Aurora

Politics and business correspondent

@MhariAurora

A grim yet inevitable milestone that the prime minister will have been dreading – the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats looks likely to have finally reached 100,000.

The timing of these figures will not have been lost on Rishi Sunak – it is “small boats week” after all.

Having already seen Tory party deputy chairman Lee Anderson this week undermine the government’s efforts to stop the boats – admitting his party’s immigration policy has failed – this week has certainly not gone to plan for the government.

But it’s numbers like these that underpin Mr Anderson’s frustrations.

With crossings having increased at an astonishing rate under 13 years of a Conservative government, despite their best efforts, the Tories will find it incredibly difficult to spin that this rise in crossings is on Labour.

What’s more is that these figures are in direct conflict with government rhetoric: talking tough and announcing policies to curb Channel crossings.

But the facts speak for themselves. Flashy policies like relocating people to Rwanda evidently aren’t working.

Rishi Sunak has asked voters to judge him on his record and delivery on his five pledges, but this particular pledge looks set to continue to cause him considerable political pain.

Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force. Questions remain about whether the bill will comply with international law, and where people will be sent if their home countries are not safe and returns agreements are not in place.

Ministers have hinted at leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a treaty that underpins the country’s duty to help migrants, to better protect the UK’s borders.

Read More:
Is the government’s new Illegal Migration Bill legal?
‘F*** off back to France’ comment ‘shows Tory failings on immigration’

But reports on Thursday suggested Mr Sunak’s cabinet is split on the matter, as the move would put the UK at odds with the majority of European nations and could also cause complications over the operation of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and post-Brexit deals with the EU.

A Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

“Our priority is to stop the boats, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.

“The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Democrats probe housing regulator over considering crypto in mortgages

Published

on

By

Democrats probe housing regulator over considering crypto in mortgages

Democrats probe housing regulator over considering crypto in mortgages

A group of Senate Democrats has probed Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte over his order to propose how to consider crypto in mortgage applications.

Continue Reading

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer set for Donald Trump trade talks as PM walks diplomatic line between EU allies and US on Gaza

Published

on

By

Sir Keir Starmer set for Donald Trump trade talks as PM walks diplomatic line between EU allies and US on Gaza

Gaza and transatlantic trade are set to dominate talks between Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer when the pair meet in Scotland on Monday.

Downing Street said the prime minister would discuss “what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently”, during the meeting at the president’s Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire.

Talks in Qatar over a ceasefire ended on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams.

Mr Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse of negotiations as he left the US for Scotland, saying the militant group “didn’t want to make a deal… they want to die”.

Sir Keir has tried to forge close personal ties with the president, frequently praising his actions on the world stage despite clear foreign policy differences between the US and UK.

The approach seemed to pay off in May when Mr Trump announced the agreement of a trade deal with the UK that would see several tariffs lowered.

The two leaders are expected to discuss this agreement when they meet, with the prime minister likely to press the president for a lowering of outstanding tariffs on imports such as steel.

Prior to the visit, the White House said the talks would allow them to “refine the historic US-UK trade deal”.

Extracting promises from the president on the Middle East may be harder though.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Should aid be dropped into Gaza?

Despite some reports that Mr Trump is growing frustrated with Israel, there is a clear difference in tone between the US and its Western allies.

As he did over the Ukraine war, Sir Keir will have to walk a diplomatic line between the UK’s European allies and the White House.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, the first member of the G7 to do so.

That move was dismissed by Mr Trump, who said it “doesn’t carry any weight”.

Read more from Sky News:
US and EU agree trade deal – with bloc facing 15% tariffs
Geldof accuses Israel of ‘lying’ about Gaza starvation

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump: ‘It doesn’t matter what Macron says’

The UK, French and German leaders spoke over the weekend and agreed to work together on the “next phase” in Gaza that would see transitional governance and security arrangements put in place, alongside the large-scale delivery of aid.

Under pressure from members of his own party and cabinet to follow France and signal formal recognition of Palestine, Sir Keir has gradually become more critical of Israel in recent months.

On Friday, the prime minister said “the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible”.

Government sources say UK recognition is a matter of “when, not if”, however, it’s thought Downing Street wants to ensure any announcement is made at a time when it can have the greatest diplomatic impact.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Baby Zainab starved to death in Gaza

Cabinet ministers will be convened in the coming days, during the summer recess, to discuss the situation in Gaza.

The UK has also been working with Jordan to air drop supplies, after Israel said it would allow foreign countries to provide aid to the territory.

President Trump’s trip to Scotland comes ahead of his second state visit to the UK in September.

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Downing Street says Ukraine will also likely be discussed in the meeting with both men reflecting on what can be done to force Russia back to the negotiating table.

After the meeting at Turnberry, the prime minister will travel with the president to Aberdeen for a private engagement.

Mr Trump is also expected to meet Scottish First Minister John Swinney while in the country.

Continue Reading

Politics

Crypto isn’t crashing the American dream; it’s renovating it

Published

on

By

Crypto isn’t crashing the American dream; it’s renovating it

Crypto isn’t crashing the American dream; it’s renovating it

The US housing regulator’s decision to recognize crypto assets in mortgage applications marks a historic shift from exclusion to integration, opening new pathways to homeownership.

Continue Reading

Trending