Child refugee who made Channel crossing in dinghy questions Sir Keir Starmer on Labour’s asylum plans
Sir Keir Starmer has told an 11-year-old refugee from Iran who made the hazardous Channel crossing in a dinghy there should be safe routes for asylum seekers to come to the UK.
The Labour leader was quizzed over his party’s migration plans by Arvin, who said his family had “no choice” but to make the perilous journey from Calais by small boat.
He said his family had been forced to leave their home in Iran for their safety.
Small boat crossings dominate Sunak-Macron summit – Politics latest
More than 3,000 people have already made the dangerous sea journey this year. File pic
Arvin asked Sir Keir, if he became prime minister, whether he would work with the French to “provide a safe route to the UK for genuine refugees like me”.
Speaking on the Sky News children’s current affairs show FYI, to be broadcast this weekend, the opposition politician agreed there should be secure passages to stop both desperate people putting themselves in danger and the criminal smuggling gangs making money from their “misery”.
His comments come as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks in Paris with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron aimed at bolstering efforts to tackle the small boats crisis.
The UK will help fund a detention centre in France, along with extra patrols, to reduce the number of crossings, it was announced on Friday.
More than 3,000 people have already made the dangerous sea journey this year, with almost 46,000 arriving by unofficial routes in 2022.
Earlier in the week, the Tory government unveiled controversial plans to curb Channel crossings which would see refugees arriving by boats detained, removed and banned for life from claiming asylum in the UK.
In response, Sir Keir accused the Conservative administration of offering “the same old gimmicks and empty promises”.
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While the government has schemes in place for a limited number of Afghans, Ukrainians and people from Hong Kong, critics point out there is no legal route for asylum seekers from many other dangerous parts of the world.
Arvin asked Sir Keir if a future Labour government would seek to establish further safe passage for refugees.
He said: “Hi, I’m Arvin. I’m from Iran and I’m a refugee in the UK.
“We ended up in Calais in France and then we had no choice but to cross the English Channel in a dinghy towards England like so many families before us.
“Mr Starmer, the government says that they want to work with the French authorities to stop people reaching the UK on a boat like my family did.
“But what about working with the French to provide a safe route to the UK for genuine refugees like me. Would you do that?”
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Responding, the Labour leader said: “In this country, we’ve always been very welcoming of refugees for many, many years with different conflicts and things going on in the world.
“We should have safe passages, in answer to the question, for people to get here.
“Going across the Channel in a boat is not a safe route and behind that there are criminal gangs who are running those routes.
“And so they are making money out of the misery of people who are in a desperate, desperate situation.
“So we need safe routes so we don’t have unsafe routes like the Channel crossings and we don’t allow those gangs to exploit people, put them in that awfully dangerous situation.”
:: Watch FYI on Sky News at 10.30am, 2.30pm and 4.30pm on Saturday and 10.30am and 2.30pm on Sunday.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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