Latest news with #ChannelMigrants
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
France could take back Channel migrants under new deal
Sir Keir Starmer is in talks with France to return Channel migrants in a 'one in, one out' deal. Ministers are understood to hope that they can announce an agreement in principle when Emmanuel Macron, the French president, makes his state visit to the UK next month for the Anglo-French summit. Under the scheme, Britain would send back Channel migrants to France within weeks of their arrival in return for the UK taking asylum seekers from France. Home Office sources indicated that a returns scheme was a 'work in progress'. France has resisted such moves since the Dublin returns agreement was scrapped under Brexit and argued that any new agreement would have to be EU-wide. However, France opened the door to taking back Channel migrants for the first time after Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, said that it would 'send a clear message' to others planning to make the journey. France has also agreed to start intercepting migrant 'taxi boats' at sea for the first time after previously refusing to do so for fear of breaching maritime safety laws. The policy change driven through by Mr Retailleau is expected to be confirmed at the summit, which is taking place from July 8-10. The moves come after small boat crossings hit record levels with more than 18,000 migrants having reached the UK so far this year, up 43 per cent on the same point last year and the highest number since the first arrivals in 2018. The French have been open to a pilot, one-for-one scheme, which, if successful, could be extended EU-wide. The EU has previously rejected returns agreements that are only bilateral between two countries. A deal would be limited to the UK taking asylum seekers in France with family connections in Britain in exchange for a corresponding number of Channel migrants being returned to France. No 10 has, however, also been studying more ambitious returns schemes. Senior figures from the European Stability Initiative (ESI) have been invited to Downing Street twice in the past eight months to present their ideas. In their presentations, ESI proposed almost every Channel migrant would be returned to France within three to four weeks with very occasional exceptions for people with the strongest family connections to the UK. In return, the UK would agree to take in a capped number of asylum seekers from the EU of, for example, 20,000 a year under a time-limited scheme. They argued that without a near-100 per cent return rate, there would be no deterrent to crossings, predicting that as soon as it became clear there was no prospect of success, the incentive for migrants to make the dangerous, expensive journeys would evaporate. The ESI team argued that their scheme could be extended to a wider group of countries than just France. It also offered them a model for striking their own 'returns' deals with countries that were the source of illegal migrants. The EU has already backed the creation of return 'hubs' - temporary detention centres in non-EU countries where deported migrants would wait before being sent back. Sir Keir confirmed last month that the UK was also in talks with a 'number of countries' about return hubs for failed asylum seekers, which he described as a 'really important innovation'. Home Office sources said it was uncertain whether a deal would be formally announced at the Anglo-French summit. However, they will face pressure not to limit the number of migrants they can send back to France. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, warned that the scheme would fail unless all illegal migrants were denied asylum in the UK and removed from Britain. 'We pay the French half a billion pounds to wave the boats off from Calais, and in return we get a merry-go-round where the same number still come here,' he said. 'The French are failing to stop the boats at sea, failing to return them like the Belgians do, and now instead of demanding real enforcement, Labour are trying a 'one in, one out' gimmick. 'If Labour were serious, they would not have scrapped the returns deterrent the National Crime Agency said we needed – instead, they've surrendered our immigration system. Pathetic.'
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Darren Jones refuses to apologise for suggesting most Channel migrants are women and children... after 'clarifying' that he was only talking about passengers on TWO boats
A Cabinet minister today refused to apologise for suggesting most Channel migrants are women and children. Treasury Chief Secretary Darren Jones insisted there is no need for him to say sorry despite anger at his comments on the BBC 's Question Time last week. In interviews this morning, Mr Jones acknowledged that he could have been 'more specific'. He said he had only been referring to passengers on two boats he had seen during a visit to Border Security Command. Pressed on Times Radio whether he needed to apologise, Mr Jones said: 'No, because I'd started the sentence by saying, on a visit to the border security command, this is what I was being told. 'Now, look, could I have been more specific and said the two specific boats I was being shown on that day on the visit? 'Evidently, probably, yes, I should have been a little bit more specific in my language there, but I was very clear that that's what I was talking about.' He suggested his words had been 'misrepresented' as a claim that small boats arrivals were predominantly women, children and babies, 'which isn't the case'. Analysis of Home Office data indicates that adult males made up 73 per cent of small boat arrivals from January 2018 to March 2025, where details of age and sex were recorded. During a debate on the BBC programme on Thursday, Mr Jones said: 'When you're there on the site seeing these dinghies put together by these organised criminal gangs which are clearly not safe. 'And when you see that the majority of people in these boats are children, babies and women…' he said. When Reform's Zia Yusuf intervened to say that was wrong and 'more than 90 per cent' were adult males, Mr Jones said: 'I'm saying that's not true.' He later added: 'When there are babies and children put into that position by human trafficking gangs who are coming across on the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt seawater. 'I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say 'go back where you came from'.' Mr Jones moved to 'clarify' his remarks on Friday evening as a backlash grew He also said that the immigration system was 'left out of control' by the Conservatives. Amid a backlash on Friday, Mr Jones took to the X social media to 'clarify' his remarks. 'Of course the overall majority of people arriving illegally on small boats are men – but not 'north of 90 per cent' as Reform claimed. 'On BBC Question Time, I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and babies who had suffered horrific burns. 'I'm happy to clarify this given how this is now being misrepresented.' Asked about Mr Jones's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said on Friday: 'The Government is absolutely focused on tackling these vile smuggling gangs that risk lives in the Channel.' Asked if the Prime Minister had confidence in Mr Jones, the spokesman said: 'Yes.'
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Watch: Minister jeered for claiming most Channel migrants are children and women
A Cabinet minister was jeered by a BBC Question Time audience after claiming that most Channel migrants are 'children, babies and women'. Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'The majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women', adding that he felt it was a 'controversial' thing to say. But statistics for the year to March 31 last year from the Migration Observatory showed 75 per cent of those arriving in Britain in small boats were adult men. Separate Home Office data showed that 83.6 per cent of arrivals over the year to this March were men, with 12.5 per cent women and the rest of undetermined gender at the time of the release. When he was jeered, Mr Jones rebutted: 'You're told not to challenge the audience on Question Time – but I'm going to. 'Let me tell you, when you're there on the site seeing these dinghies put together by these organised criminal gangs, which are clearly not safe, and when you see that the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women.' Zia Yusuf, the head of Reform UK's 'Doge' cost-saving unit, interrupted Mr Jones to say: 'No, they're not. No, they're not.' The audience applauded when he added: 'North of 90 per cent of them are adult men.' Mr Jones said: 'I'm saying that this is controversial for a reason. Let me tell you the story. 'When there are babies and children, put into that position by human-trafficking gangs, who are coming across in the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt sea water, I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say, 'go back to where you came from'. 'It's right that we take a humanitarian response for those people who are put in those positions, and as the Government's policy states, dealing with the criminal gangs who are exploiting vulnerable children to use that route, and then tackling the people who should not be using it, and making sure that they're not staying in this country. 'You can do both of those things without politicising it.' 'The focus is tackling these vile gangs' Downing Street failed to provide any evidence to back up Mr Jones' comments. No 10 said Sir Keir Starmer had confidence in the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Asked to provide evidence, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The Government is absolutely focused on tackling these vile smuggling gangs that risk lives in the Channel.' Asked again, he said: 'The focus of the Government is tackling these vile gangs that deal in human misery. That is why our joint work with the French is vital to tackle these gangs.' When it was suggested to him that Mr Jones was effectively gaslighting the nation with his remark, the spokesman said: 'Again, our focus is on tackling the gangs.' Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Mr Jones 'is completely out of touch with reality', adding: 'Since 2018, 73 per cent of small boat arrivals have been single adult men. Yet Labour MPs like Jones still push the fairytale that these boats are full of women and babies. It's a dangerous distortion of the truth.' The UN's International Organisation for Migration estimates that a record 82 migrants, including 14 children, died in attempts to cross the Channel last year. But officials believe this is an underestimate, with dozens more reported missing over recent months. At least 12 have died so far this year. Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in more than 260 boats, a record high for the first six months of any year since boats started arriving in 2018. Last month, Sir Keir Starmer came under fire after using a speech to declare that the UK risks becoming an 'island of strangers' unless it introduces stricter immigration controls. Several of his own backbenchers, including veteran MP Diane Abbott, expressed outrage at the remarks, for which the Prime Minister appeared to express regret this week. Downing Street set out an immigration white paper last month, which Sir Keir said would see his Government 'take back control of our borders' and bring net migration down. It was seen as a move to combat the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform, which had sweeping gains at local elections last month.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Rachel Reeves admits she has no clue where Channel migrants will go instead of hotels
RACHEL Reeves yesterday admitted she has no clue where Channel migrants will go instead of hotels. The Chancellor has vowed to scrap their 'costly' use within four years as part of her spending review — but could not say what would replace them. 3 3 3 Pressed on where arrivals would be housed, she passed the buck to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ms Reeves told Times Radio: 'Well, I'm not going to be providing accommodation. "That's for the Home Office to do. 'But the wasteful spending on the most expensive form of accommodation is a terrible use of taxpayers' money.' hotels to house asylum seekers. The move allows Labour to claim it is 'ending' their use while still spending billions. The Guido Fawkes blog said hotels in Bristol and Cardiff would be reclassified as 'normal' migrant accommodation. Home Office sources strongly denied it.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Kemi Badenoch says ECHR is letting migrants 'mug' Britain and is blocking action on grooming gangs as Tory leader says UK will 'likely' have to quit
Kemi Badenoch today claimed Britain is 'being mugged' by Channel migrants as she said she is 'likely' to support quitting the European Convention on Human Rights. In a major speech, the Tory leader bemoaned the effect of the treaty in a number of areas - including tackling illegal migration, deporting sex offenders, and protecting military veterans. Mrs Badenoch set out her party's plans to establish a commission to investigate how to exit the ECHR, while the probe will also look at other international treaties. She blasted the ECHR, which is enforced by Strasbourg-based judges, as being a 'sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense'. 'The ECHR is now being used in ways never intended by its original authors,' Mrs Badenoch said. 'It should be a shield to protect, instead, it's become a sword, a sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense.' The Tory leader highlighted how human rights legislation had been used by members of grooming gangs to prevent their deportation from Britain. Mrs Badenoch said she believed the UK 'will likely need to leave' the ECHR, but warned she 'won't commit to leaving without a clear plan to do so'. In an attack on the impact of the ECHR on Britain's efforts to tackle the Channel migrant crisis, the Tory leader said: 'Britain is being mugged. 'Our asylum system is completely broken and will require a fundamental rebuild so that the British government, not people traffickers, control it. 'That means a total end to asylum claims in this country by illegal immigrants, and removing immediately all those who arrive illegally and try to claim asylum. 'We need a new, sustainable system to admit strictly controlled numbers of those in genuine and actual need, with Parliament having the final say, not just on the rules, but the exact numbers coming in.' Mrs Badenoch explained her commission, being headed by shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson, would examine the 'unintended consequences' of quitting the ECHR. In her address in Westminster, she said: 'Because it is clear that the ECHR is a major issue, I'm not asking Lord Wolfson if we should leave, that's a political not a legal question. 'I'm asking him to set out how we would leave and to consider what the unintended consequences might be, not least, in Northern Ireland, if we decide to go down this route, we must do so knowingly.' Earlier, senior Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the Tories were 'increasingly of the view' that the UK needs to remove itself from the oversight of Strasbourg judges. Mr Philp suggested the commission being established by his party was about 'getting the detail right'. 'We are increasingly of the view that we do need to leave,' he told Times Radio. 'But what we're not going to do is just shoot from the hip and make that commitment without proper thought.' The shadow home secretary added: 'My view is that, in principle, yes, we need to leave. But we also need to get the detail right.' Tory sources said the commission will also examine the case for leaving the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and rewriting the Equality Act and Climate Change Act. The new stance puts the Conservatives on course to include a pledge to quit the ECHR in their next manifesto, creating clear blue water with Labour. Sir Keir Starmer's controversial Attorney General, Lord Hermer, has said Labour will 'never' quit the ECHR. He was forced to apologise last week for likening those in favour of the move to Nazis. Mrs Badenoch said the Strasbourg court is unreformable and accused it of showing 'ever greater willingness to invent new rights and directly overrule popular mandates'. She insisted that she has never had 'any particular obsession with international law or with our treaty arrangements', but that work on a radical new Tory policy platform has convinced her that it will be impossible to deliver while in the ECHR. 'The more we build our policy programme, the clearer it seems that to achieve our objectives we will need to leave the ECHR in its current form,' she said. 'I have thought long and hard about this, and I am increasingly of the view that we will need to leave, because I am yet to see a clear and coherent route to change within our current legal structures. 'Some say reform is the answer, but I say we have tried that before (and) the Strasbourg court has shown no interest in fundamental change. 'It has rebuffed those European states calling for a new approach and, in its recent decisions – above all on climate change – it has shown ever greater willingness to invent new rights and directly overrule popular mandates.' Mrs Badenoch has set the commission five 'common sense' tests for assessing whether human rights laws are getting in the way of vital reforms. The deportation test will assess whether Parliament, rather than the international courts, is able to determine who comes to the UK and is allowed to stay here. Mrs Badenoch said Britain should have the ability to remove foreign criminals and illegal migrants 'even if they have family here or claim they would be at risk if sent home'. A second 'veterans test' would examine whether the current legal framework allows ministers to 'stop our veterans being endlessly pursued by vexatious legal attacks' using human rights laws. A 'fairness test' will look at whether the authorities can 'put British citizens first in social housing and in receiving scarce public services'. A 'justice test' will look at the impact of human rights laws on the ability of the police to deal with issues like the disruptive protests staged by eco-activists. And a 'prosperity test' will examine whether treaties would prevent the Government from ditching costly climate change measures and cutting red tape holding back economic development. Mrs Badenoch argued the tests are 'not extreme demands', adding: 'They are basic tests of whether we are still a sovereign nation able to make our own laws and govern ourselves. 'If the commission makes clear that these tests cannot be passed under the current system then the system must change. 'If international treaties, including the European Convention, block us and there is no realistic prospect of changing them then we leave. No hesitation. No apology.' Although Britain left the EU in 2020 it remains a signatory to the ECHR and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR was incorporated into law in Labour's 1998 Human Rights Act, allowing people to bring cases in the British courts. The commission will look at the issues involved in leaving, such as how to avoid destabilising the Good Friday Agreement, which includes a commitment to the ECHR. Mrs Badenoch will set out whether she plans to leave the ECHR at the Tory conference in October, when the investigation will report back. Elsewhere, the head of the Council of Europe warned that rising migration may result in changes to how the ECHR operates. Alain Berset, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, told The Times: 'We are witnessing a world where things are changing rapidly. 'It is accelerating. We see this, and it means that it is normal that we must also adapt to this. We need adaptation. 'We need discussion about the rules that we want to have, and there is no taboo.'
