France should be forced to take back migrants turned back at sea, say MPs, after more than 700 successfully crossed the Channel in five days.
At least 50 suspected illegal migrants made the Channel crossing by small boats on Wednesday, taking the total to almost 4,000 in 2021 alone.
The news comes after 132 migrants reached UK shores in six boats on Tuesday, this followed after more than 560 reached the UK over the weekend, including 336 in 19 boats on Friday, a record for a single day in 2021.
The latest arrivals took the total for the year so far to at least 3,859, around double the rate compared with the same period last year.
Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said: “Urgent action must be taken to stop these crossings,
“That means tackling the criminal gangs at source, doing more to stop the small boats leaving France in the first place, turning them round in the Channel, and swiftly returning people who have entered the country through an illegal route of entry.
“We know it is very serious criminal activity. It is organised crime. I would expect the French to want to work with us to bring this to an end particularly with the increase in the last few weeks of younger women and girls coming in alone through routes that are associated with sex trafficking.”
Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is proposing to change the law to make it easier to remove illegal migrants and prevent asylum claims from people who have entered the UK unlawfully.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Criminal gangs are putting profits before people’s lives through these dangerous and unnecessary crossings.
“More than 3,500 people have been prevented from making the dangerous crossing so far this year and we are cracking down on the despicable criminal gangs behind people smuggling. Inaction is not an option whilst people are dying.
“The Government is bringing legislation forward through our New Plan for Immigration which will break the business model of these heinous people-smuggling networks and save lives.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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