Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
The number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats hit a record high on Saturday – with more than 900 people arriving in the UK in 17 boats. This makes it the highest daily total so far this year, according to the Home Office. The number of migrants crossing the Channel this year has now reached 26,612 people in 503 boats. Four people, including a two-year-old boy, died on the same day after trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK, according to French authorities.
The Home Office has previously said that it was working to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine border security. The previous highest daily total of arrivals this year was 882 people on 18 June. There were no recorded crossings in the first three days of October. On Friday, 395 migrants arrived in the UK after making the journey. Although the total number of arrivals so far this year is higher than the same point in 2020, it’s still far lower than at the same point last year – when 33,586 people had made the crossing.
The UK Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the deaths were “appalling”. She condemned “criminal smuggler gangs” for organising dangerous boat crossings. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said he was “absolutely determined” to tackle the smuggling gangs who facilitate the crossings. However, he would not commit to a specific timeframe for doing so.
French interior minister Bruno Retailleau called the deaths a “terrible tragedy” and accused people smugglers of having “the blood of these people on their hands”. The French authorities believe the four people died after being trampled in two separate boats that had engine failures while trying to cross the Channel.
If you have any story ideas, you can send them to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or contact BBC Kent on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.