Starmer prepares to send 100 small-boat arrivals back
Critics say the cross-Channel ‘one in, one out’ treaty won’t stop people from making the dangerous journey and Sir Keir Starmer isn’t getting a grip on the issue.
More than 100 asylum-seekers have been detained for deportation from Britain to France as Sir Keir Starmer steps up his plan to tackle the small-boats crisis after a fresh surge in crossings and mounting pressure within Labour.
The Prime Minister will formally implement his “one in, one out” deal within weeks after renewed criticism from ministers and senior Labour figures, who have accused him of failing to get a grip on the issue.
On Monday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Sir Keir’s deal with France as unworkable. On Tuesday (local time) he will formally announce his own plan for tackling the issue, which he says will lead to the “mass deportation” of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
The government’s intensified efforts to stem the flow of boats crossing the Channel will include adverts targeting asylum-seekers in camps in France, warning them they will be wasting their money if they pay traffickers. “Get on a small boat and you will be deported,” the adverts will say.
However, critics have claimed that the treaty with France will not be enough to deter people from making the dangerous crossings after hundreds of people, including a large number of women and children, set off in small boats over the bank holiday weekend.
Six boats packed with people launched from French beaches on Monday after 212 people made the crossing in four boats on Sunday. It represented a renewed surge after 10 days of bad weather caused a lull.
One Iranian man said he had decided to make the crossing after applying to come to the UK under the one in, one out scheme but receiving no response. He subsequently boarded a small boat bound for Britain from the beach in Gravelines, France.
Ali, who did not give his surname, said: “Nobody called, nobody contacted me. The first day, the day (the form) was uploaded, I applied. I don’t think they will really take people. I think it is just a government thing.”
Two other asylum-seekers in a camp near Dunkirk said they had tried to apply for the scheme but were unsuccessful so planned to cross illegally.
Under Mr Farage’s scheme all small-boat migrants would be arrested on arrival in the UK, detained then deported to countries including Afghanistan and Eritrea. “The one in, one out scheme doesn’t work. They (asylum-seekers) know that they have a 98 per cent chance of staying (in) the UK,” the Reform leader said.
“The government made us a big promise. There is thus far zero delivery. The numbers involved are so minimal as to make no difference. It isn’t going to work, it isn’t going to happen. The French aren’t there to help us.”
A government source said: “Detentions of those arriving from France have been taking place over the last 24 hours, so these small-boat migrants may end up finding themselves being bussed to a detention centre before the day is out.”
The government carried out fresh arrests of small-boat migrants over the weekend, taking the total number detained to more than 100. They will be held in immigration detention centres pending their removal to France under the new scheme, which will enable those with legitimate claims to come to the UK.
There is little evidence of the plans having a deterrent effect so far. On Monday morning, local time, on Gravelines beach, a popular departure point, more than 150 migrants attempted to board small boats, with more than 100 getting through.
In chaotic scenes, people were thrown overboard, pushed around and splashed by smugglers trying to corral them into the right boats, while four police officers stood by, watching but not attempting to intervene.
Three boats departed from another nearby beach, before motoring over to Gravelines to pick up more passengers.
A further three boats are believed to have departed from other spots along the coast, and were accompanied by rescue vessels as they headed to the midway point of the Channel. From there, Border Force vessels brought people to shore.
The Times
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