| With the horrendous, if inevitable, tragedy in the English Channel this week with the loss of 27 lives on Wednesday – our politicians and senior officials have a lot to answer for. The situation has been allowed to take root, while the criminal gangs have been left to develop their vile trade in human cargo. Some NGOs have not exactly helped with their totally one-sided approach. In blindly taking up the cudgels on behalf of anyone crossing the Channel illegally and uttering the word ‘asylum’, in doing so, they have not only encouraged more and more people to risk their lives by jumping into highly unsafe boats but also helped to increase the numbers heading for the northern shores of France to risk their lives in deadly sea crossings. All this as the French government – to whom we have paid some £200 million since 2015 to stop migrants crossing the Channel illegally (see our summary) stand back and watch as migrants jump into dinghies and head for the Kent coast. Add to this the puerile, political posturing, of which our government is equally guilty, and is it any wonder the British public is dismayed and concerned? Both governments should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. You may have seen that our President and co-founder, Lord Green of Deddington, wrote a full-page article for the Mail on Sunday (reproduced here), in which he said, ‘For two decades we have issued warning after warning about the scale of change facing Britain and its consequences. It is now clear we were consistently right.’ (see more on our Track Record here). As well as showing that the Channel crisis is one piece in a wider picture that includes a major weakening of the visa system, the article also makes clear how the open-borders agenda has created a divide between those in power and ordinary voters. This is a divide that – not withstanding a resounding vote to ‘take back control’ in 2016 – shows no sign of being addressed. You can also see here Lord Green’s speech in the House of Lords this week, in which he recommends four steps to avoiding further tragedy on the Channel and resolving the crisis. Our Chairman Alp Mehmet predicted earlier this year predicted we would reach 25,000 illegal crossings on the Channel by the end of the year. Now, it seems we could be closer to 30,000 by Christmas. As recent polling has shown, there is a clear majority of the British public who realise how much they were misled two years ago. The question is: ‘Will our politicians continue to pander to the increasingly (with certain notable exceptions) woke media in its unholy alliance with corporate greed for low-wage migrant workers, or will it start to listen to UK citizens?’ |
Blog of the week
Government has ‘neither the capacity nor the capabilities‘ to stop illegal entries, finds watchdog
Preventing unsafe and illegal immigration should be a vital objective of the government. The public expect the UK border to be secured. We pay hundreds of millions in taxes per year for this to happen. However, a devastating report released last year by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration revealed in starker detail than ever before just how poorly the government has performed as illegal maritime crossings in dinghies began to climb in 2018 and 2019 – beside the 10,000 or so people who arrived hidden in the back of lorries in the year prior to the pandemic. Just one of the damning conclusions of the report is that the Government missed the crucial chance to prevent the surge in illegal boat arrivals by failing to take ‘more decisive action’ early on. Read our full summary of this important report here.
Migration Watch in the news
Our Chairman Alp Mehmet has been in high demand in the national media again this week.
Telegraph: French police ‘stood by and watched’ migrants hours before deadly Channel crossing
‘Larger boats and greater overload makes turning them back even more precarious. Detaining and returning migrants crossing illegally is the only answer. The French must stop playing games and be made to see sense.’
Telegraph: Asylum claims soar to highest level in nearly 20 years amid Channel migrant crisis
‘When family and dependents are added, the total number is likely to be closer to 50,000. Asylum alone has added the population of a major town – requiring housing, NHS access, schools and leading to more congestion. That is the reality of high levels of immigration of which asylum is a part.’
You can also see an appearance on GB News here and Alp’s comments on Sky News here. You can also see a clip of Alp’s appearance on Good Morning Britain here. Alp also appeared on LBC, BBC Radio 5 Live and on Talk Radio to discuss the tragic deaths on the Channel.
Below are comments made prior to the news of the loss of life:
Talk Radio: Why is the government not getting to grip with the crisis in the Channel?
‘With the Channel, the government has consistently overpromised, and far from under-delivering, hasn’t delivered at all.’
GB News: The solution to the Channel crisis must include France and the EU
‘We are really heading towards disaster, we are looking at thousands and thousands coming next year and more even than have come this year.’
Daily Express: UK rescued 80 migrants from English Channel in one go as crossings hit record high
‘Of the 24,777 here so far this year, 24,772 are still here; tended, housed and cared for. That is why the traffickers will make sure more will be coming.’
Telegraph: Joint Anglo-French patrol boats could be solution to Channel migrant crisis
‘Our system is both in chaos and potentially leaves us exposed to serious risks.’
And see below for some comments from our Executive Director Dr Ben Greening:
Daily Express: Asylum terror fear: Killers slip through net as Border Force fails to do checks
‘We need reform to reduce the rising number of claims by those coming here illegally from safe places, and to cut down on blatant asylum abuse that can put the public at risk.’
Breitbart: Boris Govt Plan to Send Boat Migrants to Albania ‘Will Never Happen’, Says Albanian Govt
‘We have all been treated to eye-catching soundbites from anonymous sources before, only to be let down when push comes to shove time and again.’
Make your voice heard
We were told the UK would ‘take back control’. To millions of people this meant that sanity would be brought back into our immigration system and that the massive and uncontrolled inflow from abroad would be reduced by a lot. What we have seen is anything but control – as the number of illegal Channel crossings in small boats has shot up. In reality, what we have seen is a keenness by a government led by Boris Johnson to open up and uncap our work visa system, making it easier for people in 80% of the world’s countries to come here. Furthermore, there has been a total failure to manage even the most basic border control on the Channel. The public expect a secure border and it is not too much to ask. In fact, it is a prerequisite of any modern and effective state.
If you share our frustration and dismay about the distinct lack of political will to restore control and to reduce immigration, then please do write to your MP.