Stephen Kinnock responds as more than 10,000 people arrive in small boats this year
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Stephen Kinnock MP, Labour's Shadow Immigration Minister,
responding to the reports that more than 10,000 people have now
crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, said: "This is
the first time that more than 10,000 people have crossed the
Channel in small boats before the end of May, with over a third
more people making the crossing this year than last. Far from
stopping the boats, Rishi Sunak is presiding over the worst year we
have seen since the start of this...Request free trial
Stephen Kinnock MP, Labour's Shadow Immigration Minister, responding to the reports that more than 10,000 people have now crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, said: "This is the first time that more than 10,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats before the end of May, with over a third more people making the crossing this year than last. Far from stopping the boats, Rishi Sunak is presiding over the worst year we have seen since the start of this crisis. "Because all the government's efforts are now focused on getting a few hundred people flown to Rwanda, they have lost sight of the thousands more who are crossing the Channel every month, and allowed the smuggling gangs responsible for that traffic to carry on acting with impunity. "If a Labour government is elected on 4th July, we will take the action required to tackle this chaos. Our new Border Security Command will put to work hundreds of new specialist investigators, officers and prosecutors, using tough new counter-terror powers to smash the smuggling gangs." Ends Notes: As of Thursday 24th May, 9,882 people had arrived in small boats over the course of 2024, 35 per cent more than up to the same point last year (7,297), and six per cent more than in 2022 (9,326). With reports that over 150 more people have made the journey on Friday 24th May, it is clear that the 10,000 milestone for arrivals has for the first time been passed before the end of May. In 2023, the 10,000 milestone was not reached until 17th June, and in 2022 – the previous record year for crossings – it was not reached until 7th June. The 10,000 arrivals this year have taken the total number of people to have crossed the Channel by small boat since 2018 to more than 124,300, almost 38 per cent of whom have arrived since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister. More than 3,300 people have also arrived in small boats since the Rwanda Act received Royal Assent on 24th April, eleven times the maximum number that the Kigali government says it will able to accept from the UK per year. This year's record figures for small boat traffic look even worse if we take into account the number of people rescued by the French authorities after getting into difficulty early in their journey. As of 23rd May, 1,832 people have been taken back to the French coast after attempting to cross the Channel, almost 80 per cent more than were rescued over the same period last year (1,027). Fourteen people are also known to have died so far this year on the French side of the Channel while attempting to make the crossing, including two seven year-old girls. Figures for the number of small boat arrivals can be found here: Figures for rescues on the French side of the Channel can be found here: https://www.premar-manche.gouv.fr/
Labour's five-point plan to reform the asylum
system: A Labour government will create a new elite Border Security Command, modelled on the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism set up by the last Labour government, to overhaul the government's approach to national security. This will see the installation of a new Border Security Command – a former police, military or intelligence chief – and reporting directly to the Home Secretary, the new Command will direct work across key intelligence and enforcement agencies with a single aim of ensuring a strong, protected border. The operation will put hundreds of new specialist investigators, intelligence agents and cross-border police officers, who will support the Border Security Command unit and work across the UK and Europe, split across multiple agencies, including the National Crime Agency, MI5, Border Force, CPS International and Immigration Enforcement. Labour will also seek to negotiate a new security agreement with Europe, including a replacement to SIS-II, to allow for the real-time sharing of intelligence on people smuggling suspects. To fund this, Labour would redirect spending from the unworkable Rwanda scheme, which the government has admitted is subject to a very high risk of fraud.
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