Why record numbers of migrants are crossing the English Channel
Total making perilous journey to UK shores in small boats hit new high as on Monday
More than 430 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats to the UK yesterday - the highest number ever recorded in a single day.
The arrivals included a dinghy carrying around 50 people that landed at Dungeness in Kent after crossing the 21-mile Dover Strait, the narrowest part of the channel, says the London Evening Standard.
“Some people raised their hands in the air in apparent celebration at having completed the dangerous journey, while others had to be supported as they walked on to the beach,” says the paper. “Among the arrivals were women and children, some too young to walk.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Nearly 8,000 migrants have travelled to the UK in a total of around 345 boats so far this year, including 241 on Sunday.
The Guardian notes that yesterday’s peak came as MPs debated the Nationality and Borders Bill, “branded the ‘anti-refugee bill’ by critics” in Parliament.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told fellow lawmakers that “the British people have had enough of open borders and uncontrolled migration… Enough of dinghies arriving illegally on our shores, directed by organised crime gangs. Enough of people drowning on these dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary journeys.”
Patel’s proposed legislation “would make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally, and people could face up to four years in prison”, explains the newspaper. The bill “also includes clauses that would allow the UK to send asylum seekers to a ‘safe third country’”.
Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that the legislation was a “callous, cold-hearted, brutal response” by a government that is trying to “arrest and prosecute its way out of the problem”.
Explaining the drivers behind the record surge, the BBC’s Jon Donnison told the programme that migrant crossings are “cyclical”. “Obviously, it is a much more appealing route in the summer and the weather has been particularly good with flat seas over the last few days,” he said.
But more importantly, Donnison continued, this overseas route is now the “clear favourite” among people-smuggling gangs as it is seen as less “risky” than using lorries, containers or trains. Indeed, the number of migrants travelling on those land routes has gone down.
Finally, “while the government is pushing back”, Donnison added, “the pull of a better life for migrants - many from some of the world’s most troubled countries - is really strong”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 16, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - pointed commentary, Haiti in trouble, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the RNC's MAGA takeover
Cartoons Artists take on RNC funding, Lara Trump, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Trump's presidential run: a bad bet for Republicans?
Talking Point The GOP is taking a 'big gamble' on former president's 2024 White House bid
By The Week UK Published
-
Will new Welsh leader change UK relations?
Today's Big Question Vaughan Gething or Jeremy Miles will have to decide how closely to follow Keir Starmer when they become first minister
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Badenoch, Johnson or 'full Trump': who is the future of the Tory Party?
Today's Big Question Tory moderates are preparing to do battle with the right of the party in a post-Sunak leadership election
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Nicola Sturgeon and the Covid Inquiry: another blow to her reputation?
Talking Point Scotland's ex-leader provokes outrage with testimony to Covid Inquiry about deleted WhatsApp messages from pandemic
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
AfD and the trouble with banning political parties
Talking point As support for the far-right party surges, politicians are debating whether it poses a threat to German democracy
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Last updated
-
'Expat voters could fuel backlash against government at next election'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published