French police stand watching as boat load of migrants set off for UK
As the sun begins to set, the officers then saunter off just as another group wearing fluorescent life jackets and carrying bags start making their way to the water's edge. French President Emmanuel Macron had promised a tougher approach to cracking down on small boat crossings to the UK following a three-day state visit to the country earlier this month. But police patrolling the French coast do not appear to be upholding the same sentiment.
Earlier this month officers again appeared to make zero effort to stop one boat packed with migrants as they were instead seen handing out lifejackets to those on board before it motored off. Nearly 24,000 small boat migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year - sparking further condemnation towards Prime Minister Keir Starmer after he vowed to tackle smuggling gangs in the Labour's General Election manifesto. Last week it was revealed that officials are now planning to use AI to check migrants' ages after shocking figures showed four out of 10 who claimed to be children were lying.
The Home Office last week announced testing on new technology will begin later this year with the hope it could be fully integrated into the asylum system in 2026. There have long been fears that some of those who cross the Channel in small boats - who often don't carry official documents such as passports - are wrongly claiming to be children. Unaccompanied minors are more likely to be granted asylum than adults, with some suspected to be faking their ages in a bid to boost their chances of staying in the UK.
A staggering 1,305 of those caught lying about their age were from Afghanistan, in a bid to get special protection in the UK. Child refugees cannot be deported and have the right to the same healthcare, education and sustenance as British children.
It comes as the number of people per small boat has reached record levels this year, with insiders warning it is 'a matter of time' before one sinks from overcrowding. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is worried about women and children being 'crushed at sea' and told the Daily Mail: 'If you storm a boat, trampling over the bodies of tiny children, you are complicit in putting other people in danger.'
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