Over 100,000 people now likely to have crossed Channel in small boats since records began

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2023

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Politics

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments

Published

7 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing .5 billion in repayments

Nearly 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.

Roughly 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims.

“If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states.

Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments — *FTX court filing. Source:* *Bloomberglaw.com*

The KYC deadline has been extended to June 1, 2025, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified.

According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 could account for roughly $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion — bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion.

The next round of FTX creditor repayments is set for May 30, 2025, with over $11 billion expected to be repaid to creditors with claims of over $50,000.

Under FTX’s recovery plan, 98% of creditors are expected to receive at least 118% of their original claim value in cash.

How FTX users can complete KYC

Many FTX users have reported problems with the KYC process.

However, users who were unable to submit their KYC documentation can resubmit their application and restart the verification process, according to an April 5 X post from Sunil, FTX creditor and Customer Ad-Hoc Committee member.

Impacted users should email FTX support (support@ftx.com) to receive a ticket number, then log in to the support portal, create an account, and re-upload the necessary KYC documents.

FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, processed the first round of repayments in February, distributing $1.2 billion to creditors.

The crypto industry is still recovering from the collapse of FTX and more than 130 subsidiaries launched a series of insolvencies that led to the industry’s longest-ever crypto winter, which saw Bitcoin’s (BTC) price bottom out at around $16,000.

While not a “market-moving catalyst” in itself, the beginning of the FTX repayments is a positive sign for the maturation of the crypto industry, which may see a “significant portion” reinvested into cryptocurrencies, Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer pledges to protect UK companies from Trump tariff ‘storm’

Published

9 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer pledges to protect UK companies from Trump tariff 'storm'

Sir Keir Starmer has said his government stands ready to use industrial policy to “shelter British business from the storm” after Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff kicked in.

The UK was among a number of countries hit with the lowest import duty rate following the president’s announcement on 2 April – which he called ‘Liberation Day’, while other nations, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and China face much higher US levies.

But a global trade war will hurt the UK’s open economy.

The prime minister said “these new times demand a new mentality”, after the 10% tax on British imports into America came into force on Saturday. A 25% US levy on all foreign car imports was introduced on Thursday.

It comes as Jaguar Land Rover announced it would “pause” shipments to the US for a month, as firms grapple with the new taxes.

On Saturday, the car manufacturer said it was working to “address the new trading terms” and was looking to “develop our mid to longer-term plans”.

Referring to the tariffs, Sir Keir said “the immediate priority is to keep calm and fight for the best deal”.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said that in the coming days “we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness”, adding: “We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm.”

It is believed a number of announcements could be made soon as ministers look to encourage growth.

NI contribution rate for employers goes up

From Sunday, the rate of employer NICs (national insurance contributions) increased from 13.8% to 15%.

At the same time, firms will also pay more because the government lowered the salary threshold at which companies start paying NICs from £9,100 to £5,000.

Also, the FTSE 100 of leading UK companies had its worst day of trading since the start of the pandemic on Friday, with banks among some of the firms to suffer the sharpest losses.

Sir Keir said: “This week, the government will do everything necessary to protect Britain’s national interest. Because when global economic sands are shifting, our laser focus on delivering for Britain will not. And these new times demand a new mentality.”

UK spared highest tariff rates

Some of the highest rates have been applied to “worst offender” countries including some in Southeast Asia. Imports from Cambodia will be subject to a 49% tariff, while those from Vietnam will face a 46% rate. Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff.

Imports from France will have a 20% tariff, the rate which has been set for European Union nations. These will come into effect on 9 April.

Sir Keir has been speaking to foreign leaders on the phone over the weekend, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to discuss the tariff changes.

A Downing Street spokesperson said of the conversation between Sir Keir and Mr Macron: “They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments.

“The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.”

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Trump’s warning

Mr Trump has warned Americans the tariffs “won’t be easy”, but urged them to “hang tough”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before.

“Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast!

“THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”

Politics

Billionaire investor would ‘not be surprised’ if Trump postpones tariffs

Published

12 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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<div>Billionaire investor would 'not be surprised' if Trump postpones tariffs</div>

Crypto-friendly billionaire investor Bill Ackman is considering the possibility that US President Donald Trump may pause the implementation of his controversial proposed tariffs on April 7.

“One would have to imagine that President Donald Trump’s phone has been ringing off the hook. The practical reality is that there is insufficient time for him to make deals before the tariffs are scheduled to take effect,” Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an April 5 X post.

Trump may postpone tariffs to make more deals, says Ackman

“I would, therefore, not be surprised to wake up Monday with an announcement from the President that he was postponing the implementation of the tariffs to give him time to make deals,” Ackman added.

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries, which took effect on April 5. Harsher reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with which the US has the largest trade deficits are scheduled to kick in on April 9.

Ackman — who famously said “crypto is here to stay” after the FTX collapse in November 2022 — said Trump captured the attention of the world and US trading partners, backing the tariffs as necessary after what he called an “unfair tariff regime” that hurt US workers and economy “over many decades.”

Following Trump’s announcement on April 2, the US stock market shed more value during the April 4 trading session than the entire crypto market is currently worth. The fact that crypto held up better than the US stock market caught the attention of both crypto industry supporters and skeptics.

United States, Donald Trump — *Source:* *Cameron Winklevoss*

Prominent crypto voices such as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss also recently showed their support for Trump’s tariffs.

Ackman said a pause would be a logical move by Trump — not just to allow time for closing potential deals but also to give companies of all sizes “time to prepare for changes.” He added: