At least 461 migrants crossed the English Channel yesterday. Two thousand in the last week alone.
So far this year, the number has surged past 17,000. We are, once again, on track for a record-breaking year of illegal arrivals.
How many times have we heard the government say the same things such as: “We’ll cut the asylum backlog.”
Yet, there is a record backlog. Again.
And how many times have they promised to go after the gangs?
Again and again, it’s all talk. The reality is very different.
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Late last night, the government issued a statement so obvious, it bordered on satire: “The situation in the Channel is deteriorating.”
As if we hadn’t noticed. It sounded more like a line from the shipping forecast than a statement of national urgency.
Meanwhile, Labour offers even less. Baroness Casey’s review this week exposed something the public has long suspected that the Channel migrant crisis is also a law and order issue.
It feeds directly into the ongoing scandal of grooming and rape gangs.
Yet, Labour’s leadership still refuses to acknowledge the scale of the problem, let alone provide a credible solution.
Darren Jones, the Shadow Chancellor’s deputy, claimed last week that the “majority of people in these boats are children, babies, and women.” That is simply false. Over 90 per cent are adult men.
For a minister, a Minister of the Crown, to spread misinformation like that is disgraceful.
Let’s be clear: The overwhelming majority of those crossing are young men, many of whom are now confirmed to be involved in a significant proportion of live police investigations into grooming gangs.
This is no longer just a border issue, it is a matter of national security and public safety.
Sir Keir Starmer may know what needs to be done, but he lacks the will to do it. He continues to posture while offering no real deterrent.
What this country needs is a tough, credible plan something with the strength of the Rwanda policy.
That means pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention if necessary.
And it means deporting those who arrive illegally either to safe third countries or back home.
Until we regain control of our borders and show that illegal entry will not be tolerated, the boats will keep coming.
The backlog will keep growing. The gangs will keep profiting. And the public will keep losing faith. Enough is enough.
