Suella Braverman Promises to Send Boat Migrants to Rwanda by Summer

[Ladybbird]

Migrant Thugs Attacked British Driver After He Ran Over and Killed an Eritrean at Calais When He Stopped and Tried to Save His Life

The collision happened on A16 road near northern French port on Sunday
Police say Eritrean migrant was part of group putting obstacles in the road
He was hit by car driven by British motorist who then informed authorities

Daily Mail UK, 12 October 2016


A British driver has been released without charge after a male migrant was run down and killed and his wife injured on a motorway near Calais, French prosecutors said.

The motorist - who has not yet been named - is said to have swerved to try and avoid a gang that was trying to stop traffic on the busy A16 road.

This is a common tactic used by UK-bound migrants who want to get aboard lorries and vans heading for the Channel Tunnel or ferries heading for England.


When the driver realised he had hit two people, he stopped to investigate but was immediately confronted by the mob of UK-bound migrants.





An Eritrean migrant has been killed in Calais after being hit by a car driven by a British motorist, it has emerged. Pictures show migrants on the A16 in Calais last year


The accident took place at junction 47 of the A16, which starts on the Belgian border and heads towards the Paris suburbs.

Pascal Marconville, the prosecutor in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, said:

'He stopped to try to rescue the victim but was violently attacked by several migrants and preferred to leave.'

Mr Marconville said the motorist drove to a police station at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and gave a full statement.
He tested negative for alcohol and drugs, and his testament suggested the horrifying incident was caused by an accident.
Mr Marconville said the driver was not charged, and was free to carry on with his journey by early on Monday.





The accident took place at junction 47 of the A16, which starts on the Belgian border and heads towards the Paris suburbs



The drama unfolded on Sunday evening, as the driver headed towards Calais from the east on a particularly busy night on the roads.

'An Eritrean migrant was knocked over on Sunday at around 8.30pm,' said another investigating source. 'He was rushed to hospital in Calais but later died from his injuries at around 11pm.

'The man's wife, who is in her thirties, was also treated in hospital, but her condition is not life threatening.'
The dead man's wife - who, like her husband, has not been named - has been discharged from hospital in Calais and interviewed by police.

There are more than 10,000 migrants in the Calais and Dunkirk area who want to get to Britain to claim asylum.
Many make their way to the side of the A16 day and night, and try to get on board vehicles.

There has been an increase in attacks in recent weeks, with police and local government officials warning drivers to lock their doors.





The collision happened on the A16 (pictured) near the northern French port where thousands of people from the Middle East and African are camped trying to reach the UK


The migrants, many of whom are from Africa and the Middle East, take huge risks on the motorways.
This is the 14th death of a migrant from the Calais area since the beginning of the year, and many of the fatalities have been related to traffic accidents.

It came as France's Interior Minister travelled to London to insist that Britain takes up its 'moral duty' to look after unaccompanied young migrants stranded in Calais.

An impassioned Bernard Cazeneuve spoke out as his officials prepared to bulldoze the so-called Jungle shantytown in the Channel port town.

Demolition will mean 9000 people being displaced, and the fear is that children with no parents or other adult guardians will become even more vulnerable than they are already.

'There are many hundreds [of minors] in Calais with family in Britain, and we're compiling a precise list, and the British must take on their moral responsibilities,' said Mr Cazeneuve.

Speaking on Paris radio station RTL before heading for the UK, he explained: 'Britain is the country of human rights and so it has to take on its responsibilities.
'When minors are in Calais, and they have family in Britain, and when all cameras are pointed at these minors, then the British must assume their moral duty.'
END


RELATED;


Migrant Who Died in Calais Ambush Threw Himself at Car Travelling at 40mph: Father and Son Involved in The Incident Say They Have Been Left Traumatised

• The collision happened on A16 road near northern French port on Sunday
• Nafthali Reichman and son ambushed by up to 50 migrants from Jungle
• Mr Reichman, 63, said he and Abraham, 35, had been left traumatised

Daily Mail UK, 13 October 2016


The father of a British driver who accidentally knocked down and killed a migrant in Calais believes the desperate man tried to leap on to the bonnet as they travelled at 40mph.

Nafthali Reichman said he and his son Abraham have been left traumatised after being ambushed by up to 50 migrants from the notorious Jungle camp as they headed for the nearby Channel Tunnel terminal.

The 63-year-old said the man had hurled himself on to the bonnet and smashed the windscreen in a desperate attempt to get to the UK. He also believes the Eritrean may have had a weapon.





Nafthali Reichman said he and his son Abraham (pictured) have been left traumatised after being ambushed by up to 50 migrants from the notorious Jungle camp





The 63-year-old said the man had hurled himself on to the bonnet and smashed the windscreen in a desperate attempt to get to the UK. Abraham pictured in North London


As his son slowed down, the migrant fell off the car and ended up lying on the road, Mr Reichman said.
They decided to keep driving because they were terrified by a mob of migrants that surrounded the car.

‘It was unbelievably terrifying,’ said Mr Reichman, a jeweller from Stamford Hill in North London.
‘My son is traumatised and so am I. It happened in a split second. It was dark and suddenly someone jumped on to our car.

'He was on the bonnet and smashed the front windscreen. He could have had something in his hand.
‘Once the windscreen was broken we saw a whole gang of migrants coming towards us and one of them broke the left mirror. We knew we had no chance. It was
unbelievably frightening.’

The incident unfolded on Sunday night at 8.30pm on the A16 motorway as the pair were returning from visiting Mr Reichman’s sick brother in Antwerp.
The jeweller, who works for Goldstyle, the family business in Tottenham, said the migrant ‘disappeared from view’ after falling off the car.






‘At the time we didn’t have clue what happened,’ he said.
‘There were lots of people on the road around us. I could see at least 10, but there could have been more.
‘All I know is that is someone ended up on the floor. He was on the car. But he flew to the other side. It was terrifying.
'We could barely see out of the windscreen, but we just kept driving. It was very upsetting.’

Police said migrants had been trying to slow down traffic in order to clamber on to the tops of vehicles – a common tactic used by asylum-seekers in the Calais area determined to reach Britain.

Mr Reichman and his 35-year-old son, who is also a jeweller, reported the incident to a member of staff at the Channel Tunnel.
The pair then voluntarily went to the police station at the tunnel terminal to report the incident.

French police interviewed them for three hours and his son tested negative for alcohol and drugs.
They were released without charge and travelled as foot passengers on the Eurostar back to Britain.

[Ladybbird]

The 'Great Wall of Calais': Work Begins on Controversial £2.5m UK-Funded 13ft High Barrier to Stop Migrant Thugs Sneaking onto Lorries Crossing the Channel

• The first concrete panels were moved into place by a crane on Saturday
• Project began after a legal challenge from Mayor of Calais was overruled
• The wall will run 0.6 miles along the motorway leading to the Channel port

Daily Mail UK, 17 October 2016


Work has begun on the so-called 'Great Wall of Calais' - a 13ft high concrete barrier aimed at stopping migrants jumping onto UK-bound lorries.

The £2.5million structure, which is being funded by British taxpayers, will run 0.6 miles along the motorway leading to the French port.
The first concrete panels were moved into place by a crane on Saturday, with construction expected to be completed by the end of the year.





Work has begun on the so-called 'Great Wall of Calais' - a 13ft high concrete barrier aimed at stopping migrants jumping onto UK-bound lorries





The £2.5million structure, which is being funded by British taxpayers, will run 0.6 miles along the motorway leading to the French port





The barrier stretches nearly a mile along the main motorway to the port (seen on the map above) between the Jungle and the port


A legal challenge to stop construction of the wall mounted by the Calais mayor was overruled by the local administration.
Natacha Bouchart initially favoured a wall but then said there was no need for one because the French government had promised to close down the Jungle camp.

The Road Haulage Association, which represents UK truck drivers, also came out against the project.
Spokeswoman Kate Gibbs said:

'Money would be much better spent on boosting security along the approach road.

'This is being called the Great Wall of Calais but what good will it do?
'We are telling our drivers not to stop within 150 miles of Calais so they are not targeted by migrants.'

But immigration minister Robert Goodwill said in September the wall would halt the flow of migrants and keep drivers safe.

The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'.

In July official figures showed that one migrant is caught trying to sneak into the UK every six minutes – with 84,088 detentions at UK borders last year






The first concrete panels were moved into place by a crane on Saturday, with construction expected to be completed by the end of the year





A legal challenge to stop construction of the wall mounted by the Calais mayor was overruled by the local administration





The Home Office said the measure would stop stowaways using projectiles in attempts to 'disrupt, delay or even attack vehicles approaching the port'


The start of construction work comes as unaccompanied migrant children from the Jungle began arriving in Britain.
The Calais prefecture confirmed that two dozen unaccompanied minors were already bound for a new life in Britain, where they had family members.

'Five Syrian minors and one Afghan minor have just been transferred to the United Kingdom,' a spokesman said.

The children have been living in squalid conditions in the camp, which houses up to 10,000 migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

[Ladybbird]

Royal Navy Sent 'to Prevent Migrant Crossings' in English Channel From France to UK

Multiple Migrants Trying to Reach The UK in Small Boats

BBC 5 Jan 2019


A Royal Navy patrol ship has been sent to the English Channel to deter migrant crossings, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.


Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said HMS Mersey would "help prevent migrants from making the dangerous journey".

The UK Border Force and French authorities are already patrolling the water - now, following a Home Office request, the navy has been sent in.

About 240 people have reached the UK in small boats since November.

Mr Williamson said HMS Mersey had been diverted from "routine operations" to the Strait of Dover.

HMS Mersey is normally used to carry out fishing patrols in UK waters and the Atlantic, ensuring boats and trawlers stick to internationally-agreed quotas.

Border Force currently has two coastal patrol vessels in the Channel, as well as two cutters, HMC Vigilant and HMC Searcher, which can rescue several boatloads of people at once.

The navy's involvement was requested by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who said it would be an interim measure until two more Border Force cutters, HMC Protector and Seeker, are redeployed from the Mediterranean to UK waters.

Mr Javid said: "My focus continues to be on protecting the UK border and preventing loss of life in the Channel. For these reasons, the government has decided to deploy a navy vessel, HMS Mersey, to support our existing efforts."

The home secretary sparked controversy on Wednesday by questioning whether those making the risky crossing in small boats were "genuine" refugees.

Mr Javid also defended his decision to escalate the UK's response, saying that the number of attempted crossings had increased rapidly since October.

At least 239 people are known to have reached the UK in small boats since November, including 12 who were found off the Kent coast last week.
Where migrants have been discovered by authorities

On Tuesday, French police said they stopped 14 migrants attempting to cross the Channel from Boulogne - the latest in a growing number of people intercepted by the French authorities in the past month.

The UK government has agreed a joint action plan with France, which includes the return of HMC Protector and Seeker from patrols between Europe and northern Africa.

[Ladybbird]

The Kingpins Who Operate The Channel Trafficking Rackets and The UK Lawyers Who Coach Asylum Seekers to Help Them Avoid Deportation


SUE REID provides detailed account of the Most Deadly Human Trade yet

• One smuggler is a Kurdish sailor raised on Iran's Caspian Sea known for boating
• His boss, also an Iranian from Caspian Sea, claims to live in the North of England
• A record-breaking 416 migrants made it across the Channel on Wednesday

Daily Mail UK, 5 SEP 2020.




The migrant informants revealed that he was the pilot of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) which set off from France on a calm winter’s day last year, with 34 migrants, including women and children, bound for the Kent coast (pictured). When we scrutinised that photo, our information from the migrants was correct. A man can clearly be seen at the helm (circled) in a black jacket with the same distinctive insignia and white mark on its sleeve, as well a heavy watch on his left wrist





We have also discovered the identity of the smuggler’s boss — let us call him ‘Mr Big’ — who is in charge of the north French coast smuggling operation




The suspected people smuggler we¿ve nicknamed ¿Black Jacket¿ on a migrant boat last year




Wearing a black bomber jacket bearing the distinctive insignia of the Chicago Bulls basketball team and with a chunky watch on his left wrist, this is the man at the centre of a people-smuggling gang making millions fleecing migrants for boat rides to Britain

He poses proudly for his picture outside the magnificent town hall in the French port of Calais.

Wearing a black bomber jacket bearing the distinctive insignia of the Chicago Bulls basketball team and with a chunky watch on his left wrist, this is the man at the centre of a people-smuggling gang making millions fleecing migrants for boat rides to Britain.

A fine sailor, he is a Kurd who was brought up on Iran’s Caspian Sea, which is renowned for its fishing and boating and where watercraft is taught from childhood.

The Mail has spent weeks investigating this smuggler after being given his name and shown his social media accounts and a photo of him by Iranian and Iraqi migrants waiting in Calais to cross the Channel earlier this year.

The migrant informants revealed that he was the pilot of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) which set off from France on a calm winter’s day last year, with 34 migrants, including women and children, bound for the Kent coast.

Its arrival on February 18 caused a huge controversy because it contained the highest number of migrants in one craft that had ever made the illegal crossing at that time.

A photo of the overburdened vessel in the Channel was released by the French charity Societe Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer, the equivalent of our Royal National Lifeboat Institution, before the migrants were brought safely to Dover by Britain’s Border Force.

The migrant informants revealed that he was the pilot of a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) which set off from France on a calm winter’s day last year, with 34 migrants, including women and children, bound for the Kent coast (pictured). When we scrutinised that photo, our information from the migrants was correct. A man can clearly be seen at the helm (circled) in a black jacket with the same distinctive insignia and white mark on its sleeve, as well a heavy watch on his left wrist

It provided a second independent confirmation that he is an important cog in the cross-Channel people-smuggling trade.

The smuggler — whom we shall call Black Jacket — is believed to have been questioned by Border Force officers, along with the other 33 in the boat, when he arrived in Dover last year. But his current whereabouts are unknown, although he is not thought to have been arrested.

During our investigation, we found a lengthy silent video posted by Black Jacket on Instagram, showing an empty beach 30 minutes’ drive from Calais in the seaside village of Ambleteuse.

The migrants we have spoken to over many months say Ambleteuse has been overlooked by the French and British authorities seeking the launching beaches.

Crucially, the video was uploaded a month before the vessel carrying the 34 migrants arrived in Dover, and may have been the starting point for that illicit journey.

The video appears to be part of a reconnaissance by the boat driver. It may even have been posted as a way of guiding migrants for the crossings.

Meanwhile, we have also discovered the identity of the smuggler’s boss — let us call him ‘Mr Big’ — who is in charge of the north French coast smuggling operation.

We have also discovered the identity of the smuggler’s boss — let us call him ‘Mr Big’ — who is in charge of the north French coast smuggling operation

Like Black Jacket, it is posted on his personal social media site. In an astonishing piece of chutzpah, he is also pictured posing outside Calais town hall, wearing shorts and sporting a smile and a confident pose.

On his social media sites, Mr Big, also an Iranian Kurd from the Caspian Sea region, claims to live in the North of England. He has posted pictures of a boy, aged ten or 11, in a British primary school uniform. It is not known whether this child is a relative.

Mr Big is also pictured in Germany and at the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, less than half a mile from a migrants’ centre where hundreds of men — many Iranian and Iraqi boat arrivals — wait to hear if their asylum claims have been successful.

He is known to have spent much of his time in the Calais area in 2018 and 2019. ‘He was always here,’ an Iranian migrant told us. ‘He was next step down from chief of the entire operation run by Iranian Kurds out of Berlin, Paris, Brussels and England.

‘They bring migrants to Calais in batches. Once one group has left in a boat, the next arrives to wait.

‘The gangs are dangerous, with knives and guns. We don’t cross them — we do as they tell us.’

Even this week, with most of the world’s international travel channels floundering, the trafficking gangs continued to flourish. Indeed, the Home Office says 34 people smugglers have been convicted in British courts recently for facilitating illegal migration into the UK, by boat or plane, or in cars and lorries.

On Wednesday alone, a record-breaking 416 migrants made it across the Channel in 30 boats, eight of which evaded detection by both the French and British authorities. On the Kent shore, some of the men, women and children in these eight craft attempted to run from the beach to avoid Border Force officials and risk deportation.

Meanwhile, the scale of this escalating emergency was further revealed in new reports from the French Navy’s own operations, which show the enormous number of migrant boats being stopped as they leave from Calais and nearby beaches each day.

And in one near-miss incident on Thursday at 7.15am, P&O’s Pride of Kent ferry, sailing back to Dover, alerted the French authorities to seven migrants in difficulties in a small boat. They were rescued and returned to Calais.

The day before had seen an even bigger rescue operation. Eight boats, including a kayak, canoe, inflatable, a pleasure boat and a sailing dinghy only suitable for children under 15, had set off from the French coast.

The French rescued 53 migrants from the unsuitable craft and brought them back into Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne ports throughout the day.

Yet this was only the tip of the iceberg. Former Royal Marine Dan O’Mahoney, the new Clandestine Channel Threat Commander appointed by Home Secretary Priti Patel to combat the crossings, this week told a House of Commons committee that a total of 200 boats were stopped by the French on Wednesday alone.

But what of the migrants when they arrive here, to the land of milk and honey they’ve been promised by the traffickers?

The truth is that eight in ten are refused asylum, according to Home Office chiefs this week. Under what are called Dublin regulations ratified by the EU, they should be returned to the country in Europe where they originally set foot and claimed asylum.

Yet only 185 of the thousands who have arrived by sea since October 2018 have been removed.

And we have learned that, after being deported, some simply return to Calais and try again on another boat for a second, or even a third, time.

Meanwhile, on this side of the Channel, the political fall-out is getting louder as the public demands tighter border controls and more deportations.

The Government blames the trafficking gangs, for very few migrants arrive in boats without the help of a people smuggler.

Most pay thousands of pounds for a seat on the illegal craft — money found by their relatives back home and transferred to the smugglers’ bank accounts.

Yet many of them soon discover this money doesn’t guarantee a permanent stay in Britain.

On Thursday, 11 Syrian migrants — believed to have been smuggled on boats from France — were returned to Madrid.

Their Home Office deportation flight was finally sanctioned after a judge dismissed ‘a large number of legal challenges’ from their lawyers at a hearing, conducted by Zoom, that went on until 2am, a few hours before the flight was due to leave.

Once in Madrid, the migrants, aged 18 to 45, said they had been ‘abandoned’ outside the Spanish capital’s airport and were left to sit in temperatures of 32c. They complained to The Guardian newspaper that they had no identity documents and were getting no help from the Spaniards.

Nine days ago, the Home Office was forced to abandon another deportation flight returning 23 migrants to Spain after human rights’ lawyers mounted myriad last-minute legal claims. They were considered by a judge from their home because there was insufficient time to organise an emergency live hearing in a courtroom.

The suspected people smuggler we’ve nicknamed ‘Black Jacket’ on a migrant boat last year

Three legal firms with an army of immigration lawyers successfully argued that some of the migrants were victims of trafficking and, therefore, could not be deported. This is a loophole that can delay failed asylum-seekers’ deportation for months and even years.

Under laws agreed with the EU, the potential trafficking victims must be placed in safe houses, often run by the Salvation Army on a multi-million-pound annual contract from the Government.

They are given enhanced weekly allowances, £20 above the £37 rate of an ordinary asylum-seeker, while being offered medical help, mental health support and access to free education services.

Toufique Hossain, director of immigration at Duncan Lewis, one of the three law firms mounting the anti-deportation challenge for some of the 23 on that cancelled flight, said: ‘If there are potential grounds for someone to be a victim of trafficking, the UK has to investigate it.’

Meanwhile, the Mail understands that failed asylum-seekers have been told by lawyers using the trafficking loophole to stay here, although they admit they struggle to collect concrete evidence to support their claims.

Two Iraqi boat arrivals now live in a safe house in the East of England. The duo told the Mail: ‘We had our asylum cases rejected twice. We turned to our lawyers for help. We were expecting deportation. They said we should say we had been trafficked on the way to your country. It would delay us being thrown out. We filled in the forms with their help and an interpreter was provided.’

One of the men, aged 29, added: ‘I am having trouble getting evidence that I was trafficked. I have sent messages to friends I made on my journey hoping they will come up with ideas to help. Yet I can stay in a safe house with food and a bed.

‘I am told it may take until the end of 2021 for a decision on whether I stay or leave.’

The smuggling gangs, of course, tell the migrants nothing of the reality of life in Britain as they send them off on boats and wait for the ‘ticket’ fee of thousands of pounds a seat to drop into their bank accounts.

As Britain’s anti-Channel boat supremo Mr O’Mahoney told the Commons committee this week: ‘We hear a lot of stories about migrants literally forced on to boats, who have no idea where they are when they get to the UK.’

No doubt some of these unfortunates will have been duped by the likes of Black Jacket and Mr Big, who have little to lose but a lot to gain as they — along with other traffickers on the French coast — continue to go about their evil work.

[Ladybbird]

Deadliest Day of Migrant Crisis -More Than 27 Migrants Die in Channel

Channel migrants: PM calls on France to take back people who make crossing

Smuggler shot migrant in the kneecaps when he refused to board boat

Ministers told to stop ‘playing politics’ over Channel deaths

BBC News 26 NOV 202










Volunteers tell of pulling dead bodies out of the water and reveal brutal tactics used by human traffickers on the night 27 died in Channel



Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on France to agree to "take back" people who cross the Channel to the UK.

The PM said he had written to French President Emmanuel Macron setting out five steps to "move further and faster" to avoid a repeat of Wednesday's tragedy where 27 people died.

UK government officials are due to attend talks in Calais later.

However, France has cancelled a meeting between Home Secretary Priti Patel and her French counterpart.

She had been due to hold talks with French interior minister Gérald Darmanin in Calais on Sunday.

In a statement, the French interior ministry said: "We consider Boris Johnson's public letter unacceptable and in opposition with discussions between counterparts.

"As a consequence, Priti Patel is not invited any more to the meeting on Sunday which will still take place between France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the EU commission."

Wednesday's incident marked the biggest loss of life by drowning in the English Channel on record and included 17 men, seven women - one of whom was pregnant - and three children.

In his letter to Mr Macron, the prime minister outlined five steps he wanted to see taken:

"An agreement with France to take back migrants who cross the Channel through this dangerous route would have an immediate and significant impact," Mr Johnson said.

However, the BBC's Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson said his suggestions would "be hard for France to swallow".

On Thursday, Ms Patel told the Commons there was "no quick fix" to tackle the issue but said she had spoken to her French counterpart to offer to put more officers on the ground and had continued to push for joint patrols of the Channel.

She said it was important to address "long-term pull factors" and stop criminal gangs who treat people as "cargo".

But Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont dismissed the idea of joint patrols as "crazy" and said it would not change anything along the vast shoreline.

Mr Darmanin said regional prosecutors had launched an investigation into aggravated manslaughter after Wednesday's loss of life.

He said two survivors were in a critical condition in a French hospital, where they are being treated for severe hypothermia. One is Iraqi and the other Somali, he told RTL radio.

It comes after more people continued to attempt the crossing. A group wearing life jackets were seen huddled together onboard a lifeboat near Dover on Thursday.

Mr Macron has called an emergency meeting of European ministers to discuss how to stop the crossings.

He said France was going to ask for "extra help" from the British, adding that despite authorities telling migrants they were able to stay in France, they wanted to reach the UK.

The UK signed an agreement in July to pay France €62.7m (£54m) during 2021-22 to help secure the borders, but the number of people making the crossing has continued to rise.

Since the start of the year, 1,552 smugglers have been arrested in northern France and 44 smuggler networks dismantled, Mr Macron said.

Despite this, he said 47,000 attempted Channel crossings to the UK took place this year and 7,800 people were rescued.








Charles Devos, volunteer for the French National Sea Rescue organisation SNSM, was one of the first to reach the scene of Wednesday's tragedy after getting a mayday call from the coastguard.

He told French radio station Delta FM he and his crew picked up six bodies that were drifting in the water.

"We passed next to an inflatable boat that was completely deflated. What little air remained was keeping it afloat. I don't know if there were children, but we picked up [the body of] a pregnant woman and a young man who was around 18 or 20," he said.

"It's hard to say, but I was expecting this, we know it would end in tragedy, and today sadly that's the case."









Asylum claims made in the UK have risen to the highest level in nearly 20 years, with 37,562 applications in the year to September.

The Dover Strait is the busiest shipping lane in the world and has claimed many lives of people trying to cross in inflatable dinghies.

Record numbers of migrants are making the crossing from France to the UK and it is thought at least 10 other people had died in the past few weeks while attempting to cross.

This year more than 25,700 migrants have arrived in the UK by boat, more than three times the 8,469 that did so in 2020.

While the number coming across the Channel by boat has soared, that is only part of the picture regarding migrants - as this year has seen far fewer using other strategies to enter the country undetected.

[Ladybbird]

Dover UK Migrant Centre: Man Found Dead Near Scene of Fire Attack

Another 1000 Migrants Arrived at Dover Yesterday

A man has been found dead after incendiary devices were thrown at a Home Office migrant centre in Dover.

BBC News 31 Oct 2022











A group of migrants at the centre following the incident

Two or three devices - described as petrol bombs by a witness - were thrown by the suspect, who was found dead at a nearby petrol station shortly later.

Another device found in the man's car was later made safe by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit.


Two people who had been inside the centre suffered minor injuries in the attack.

Kent Police, which is leading the investigation, is not currently treating the incident as terrorism.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the attack as "distressing".

A photographer with Reuters news agency who witnessed the incident reported a man had thrown petrol bombs with fireworks attached before taking his own life.

Dover MP Nathalie Elphicke also said she understood the suspect had killed himself.

Police had been called at 11.22 GMT on Sunday to The Viaduct, Dover, where the devices thrown by the suspect had started a fire.

Speaking to LBC radio, Ms Elphicke said the motivation of the perpetrator was so far unknown, but the centre is "a well-known facility" where small boats arrive before people are taken 20 miles away to the Manston asylum processing centre in Kent.

The Dover site remained open but around 700 suspected migrants were moved to Manston - about 15 miles (24 km) away - for their safety during the initial stages of the police investigation.

Migrants were at the immigration centre following the incident in Dover

Posting to Twitter earlier, Ms Braverman said: "I am receiving regular updates on the situation.

"My thoughts are with those affected, the tireless Home Office staff and police responding. We must now support those officers as they carry out their investigation."

Conservative Dover MPMs Elphickesaid she was "absolutely shocked and appalled" by the incident and that "tensions have been rising" over the numbers of migrants arriving in the town.

"I have expressed my concerns over security of the centre in Dover," she said. "I don't think this is the appropriate place for a migrant-receiving centre. Dover is an extremely busy and open port."

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick - who visited the Manston facility on Sunday - said he was being updated on the incident by Kent Police.

[Ladybbird]

Inside Kent's Overcrowded Migrant Centre Manston

UK Migrant Centre Like a Zoo, Says Asylum Seeker

Conditions at an overcrowded migrant centre in Kent were akin to living in a prison or a zoo, a recent resident has told the BBC.

BBC 2 NOV 2022.







Ahmed - not his real name - said people at the Manston processing centre were treated like "animals" with 130 people forced to share a single large tent.

More than 4,000 migrants have reportedly been held at the camp - meant to host 1,600 - in recent days.




But Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has insisted numbers are coming down.

Ahmed - who left the centre on Monday after 24 days there - described being forced to sleep on the floor, and being prevented from going to the toilet, taking a shower or going outside for exercise.

He told the BBC that he fled his home country in search of freedom and to avoid persecution, saying that he had been living in fear for his life.

But after arriving in the UK and at the centre, Ahmed said people were prevented from calling their families to let them know they had made the crossing to the UK safely.

"For the 24 days I'm in there, I can't call to my family to say to them I'm dead, I'm living - they don't know anything about me," he said.

"All people in there, they have a family. They should know what is happening to us."

Manston, a former military base in Kent, opened as a processing centre in February for the growing number of migrants reaching the UK in small boats. Migrants are meant to be held there for short periods of time while undergoing security and identity checks.

They are then supposed to be moved into the Home Office's asylum accommodation system, which often means a hotel due to a shortage of available accommodation.

But Manston became even more crowded at the weekend when 700 migrants were sent there from another centre in Dover, which was firebombed.

Several hundred asylum seekers were relocated from the Manston centre on Tuesday, according to one of the MPs in Kent, Conservative Sir Roger Gale.


More will leave throughout the week he said, tweeting: "This must never be allowed to happen again."


Mr Jenrick tweeted on Tuesday that the numbers of migrants held at the centre had "fallen substantially".

"Unless we receive an unexpectedly high number of migrants in small boats in the coming days, numbers will fall significantly this week," he said. "It's imperative that the site returns a sustainable operating model and we are doing everything we can to ensure that happens swiftly."

But the British Red Cross said "the serious problems at Manston are indicative of the wider issues facing the asylum system".

A huge number of migrants have arrived in the UK this year. So far this year, there have been almost 40,000 arrivals in Kent - with nearly 1,000 crossing the Channel on Saturday alone.




Chart showing number of people arriving in small boats....

[Ladybbird]

Don't Blame Us For UK Border Problems, Says Albanian PM

Albania's PM has accused the UK of scapegoating his citizens to excuse its "failed policies" on borders and migration.

At the moment, the vast majority of those being sent back to Albania are convicted criminals who've served prison sentences

BBC 3 NOV 2022.






Almost 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year



Edi Rama told the BBC Home Secretary Suella Braverman's remarks this week that the UK was being invaded would fuel xenophobia.

"This kind of language is not a policy, is not a programme," he added.

Albanians are now the biggest group of those crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Ms Braverman - who said on Monday southern England was facing an "invasion" of migrants - has also accused "many" Albanians of "abusing our modern slavery laws".

Last week, MPs were told 12,000 Albanians had arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, compared to 50 in 2020.

Of these 10,000 were men - representing 1% of Albania's adult male population.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Mr Rama said Ms Braverman's "invasion" comment was "crazy" and he had found it "impossible to not react".

He added: "It's not about one person. It's about the climate that has been created, and it's about finding scapegoats and blaming others".

"It's not about Albanians or aliens or gangsters, but it's about failed policies on borders and on crime."

"This kind of language is not a policy, is not a programme, is not a vision. [It] is nothing but fuelling xenophobia and targeting, singling out a community".

"I admire everything that Britain represents. But I really am disgusted about this kind of politics that at the end is doomed to fail."

It comes after Mr Rama tweeted earlier that the UK was "discriminating" against Albanians to distract from "policy failures".

Asked about those comments, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said he wanted a "productive relationship" with Mr Rama.

"But it's also true that Albania is a demonstrably safe country, and the vast majority of people coming from Albania are young males," he told ITV.

"It is a good example of economic migrants, of the kind that we as a country should be trying our best to deter," he added.
'Horrible word'

Last week, Mr Jenrick said the government was looking at setting up a "bespoke route" for Albanians to have their immigration cases heard more quickly so they could be returned to Albania if their claims were unsuccessful.

But speaking on Sky News, Mr Jenrick said the UK must prioritise people in "genuine danger".

"I want to have a constructive and productive relationship with our Albanian friends," Mr Jenrick said. "But it is correct that a quarter of people who've come in small boats have come from Albania this year, and the NCA, our National Crime Organisation, has said that a very significant proportion of serious organised crime is emanating from those individuals."

On Monday, Ms Braverman agreed with suggestions by Conservative MP Lee Anderson that "Albanian criminals" were leaving a safe country to come to the UK.

He said if accommodation in the UK was not good enough for them, they could "get on a dinghy and go straight back to France".

Writing on Twitter, Mr Rama accused the home secretary of engaging in a "rhetoric of crime that ends up punishing the innocent".

United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk has also criticised Ms Braverman's "invasion" comments - saying it was "a horrible word" and politicians had to make sure their language did not "add fuel to the fire on issues that are about human beings".


Analysis by Dominic Casciani, Home and Legal Correspondent

At the moment, the vast majority of those being sent back to Albania are convicted criminals who've served prison sentences - people who would expect to be deported under long-standing arrangements.


These are not the same people who have crossed the English Channel in recent months and sought asylum or filed human trafficking claims.

While the Home Office regards Albania as a safe country, if someone makes a plausible asylum claim it has to be considered.

That means these individuals would not be sent back until they have gone through the system and lost their case - a process that could take years.

The Home Office has an enormous in-tray of 101,000 unresolved asylum cases. The backlog has grown because case workers are taking more and more time to decide cases. This has been worsening for four years - and it's not clear what the four home secretaries over that period have done to fix it.

Hence the reason immigration policy experts and Albania's prime minister say the crisis in Kent is one of the government's own making.

Albania is considered a "safe country" by the UK and is listed as a "designated state" under UK law, meaning there is generally "no serious risk of persecution" for people living there.

However, it is thought some Albanian migrants make asylum claims on the grounds that they have been trafficked to the UK.

Currently Albanians are the nationality most commonly referred for trafficking support in the UK.

Harjap Bhangal, an immigration lawyer, told BBC Newsnight that Albanians were being "targeted" by gangs, resulting in the high numbers travelling to the UK.

"Gangs are targeting Albanians and they're saying, 'Well, hold on, you want a better life. If you want to claim asylum in the UK, we can get you that'," Mr Bhangal said.

Some 7,627 Albanians claimed asylum in the UK in the year up to June, more than double the number the previous year.

Albanians are less likely to be granted asylum than other nationalities, with the current rate at 53% compared with 76% for other nationalities.

But the latest figures will not include most of those who have arrived this year, as very few of these individuals will have had their asylum applications considered yet.

In 2022 - in the months to June - 440 people were returned to Albania from immigration detention centres. Almost all were single adult men.

Albanians also represented the highest number of foreign offenders sent back in the year to March 2022.

[Ladybbird]

Channel Crossings: Albanian Migrants Recruited to The UK by Gangs

The BBC has heard evidence that Albanian drug gangs are using the migrant camps of northern France as a recruitment ground, offering to pay the passage of those prepared to work in the UK drugs industry on arrival.

Posing as an Albanian migrant, we contacted two people-smugglers advertising for clients on the video-sharing platform TikTok.

BBC News 4 NOV 2022.




Albanians account for almost a third of the 39,000 people who have arrived in small boats so far this year, according to UK government figures.

Senior police and immigration officials on both sides of the Channel are worried by the growing role of Albanian middlemen in facilitating crossings.




Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has accused the UK of scapegoating his fellow citizens to excuse its "failed policies" on borders and migration.

The BBC has seen how towns near the Albanian capital Tirana have been left almost empty, and how many young Albanians were being lured to the French coast.

In the French town of Dunkirk this summer, eyewitnesses say Albanians occupied part of the main migrant camp there.

And small hotels around the station - like Hotel Bretagne and Le Lion d'Or - are now established staging posts for Albanian migrants: their doors permanently closed, no staff in sight, a 24-hour phone number pinned to the glass.

These are some of the places Albanian middlemen wait for clients - acting as a critical link with the small boat crossings dominated by Iraqi-Kurdish networks.

"In France, there are people who wait for you," one Albanian man told me, after reaching the UK by small boat this summer. "Everybody in the world knows where to go, if you want to get to England."

Everybody in the world knows where to go, if you want to get to England.
---Albanian migrant Speaking to the BBC


From the street outside Dunkirk station, we spot Kevi at the window of his second-floor room at Le Lion d'Or, as he smokes a cigarette. A new arrival from Albania, 20 years old, and full of nervous energy for the trip ahead.

After just a couple of days here, he has already found someone to organise his crossing and is waiting for the call to leave.

"The weather's no good," he says. "We have to wait maybe two more days."

For Albanian nationals like Kevi, getting to northern France is easy; they have the right to enter the EU as tourists for up to three months without a visa.

Most arrive by bus or car, urged on by adverts on social media promising help from middlemen on the ground in Brussels, Paris, Calais or Dunkirk.

Both responded within half an hour, with options to pay in France or in England, and guidance for getting to Belgium or France, where a fixer would make contact. The message from both of them was: "It's easy."

"The middlemen approach you and you just go with the cheapest offer," Eraldo Harkicaj, an Albanian journalist, told me.

Eraldo recently posed undercover as a migrant for Albania's Piranja TV channel. He said most Albanian middlemen stayed away from the main migrant camp in Dunkirk, where Kurdish and other networks wield control.

"When we were inside the camp, we realised that the Albanians did not have any real power. Everything was run by Kurds," Eraldo told me. "The whole organisation in the camp and the transportation of people towards England was done by the Kurds."




Graphic showing the nationalities of people arriving into the UK by small boat: Albania 2,165; Afghanistan 2,066; Iran 1,723; Iraq 1,573; Syria 1,041; Eritrea 850; Sudan 460; Egypt 305; Vietnam 279; Kuwait 198

[Ladybbird]

UK Close to Deal With France Over Channel Crossings?

BBC News 8 NOV 2022


Rishi Sunak and Emmanual Macron are close to a deal over the Channel crossings.

Meanwhile in the United States is Trump about to throw his hat into the 2024 Presidential election?

[Ladybbird]

France Suspends Migrant Deal With Italy Over Boat Row

France has suspended a plan to take in 3,500 refugees currently in Italy after Rome refused to let a migrant rescue ship disembark on its shores.

BBC News 11 NOV 2022.





Tensions between the two neighbours have escalated since Italy's new government barred the Ocean Viking ship from docking with 230 migrants.



France has denounced the "unacceptable behaviour", but Italy insists it has been taking in its share of migrants.

The boat will be allowed to dock on Friday in the French port of Toulon.

The charity that runs the vessel, SOS Méditerranée, said it was both relieved by the French decision and angry that for three weeks those on board had been let down by Europe's "dramatic failure".

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin warned of "extremely severe consequences for our bilateral relations" with Italy. For a start, France would not take in 3,500 refugees it had earlier agreed with Italy to accept in protest at Rome's actions. He also said France would take measures to strengthen controls on the border with Italy.

His Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, later hit back - saying his neighbour's actions were "totally incomprehensible" as Italy had taken in some 90,000 migrants this year alone. He questioned "why Italy should willingly accept something that others are not willing to accept".

Italy's right-wing government came to power last month under Giorgia Meloni, who before she became prime minister vowed to blockade migrant boats trying to leave North Africa for Italy.

The Ocean Viking was one of four charity ships that sailed for Italy with a total of more than 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.

Those on board the other three ships were eventually allowed to disembark at Italian ports, but only after initial refusals. At one point three of those on board the Geo Barents rescue boat leapt into the water to reach land.

Ocean Viking was denied entry into port and SOS Méditerranée said its 43 requests to Italian authorities met with no response.

It sailed on towards Corsica and four people on board were airlifted to hospital on Thursday morning. SOS Méditerranée, cited by AFP, said one of the migrants on the ship was in an unstable condition and had not reacted to treatment since late October.

The French interior minister then announced the others would be allowed to leave the ship at the naval base in Toulon on an "exceptional" basis.

A third of passengers would be "relocated" to France, he said, while another third would be sent to Germany and the others shared out between EU member states.

He went on to criticise Rome's "reprehensible" attitude and stressed the migrants had been picked up in Italy's search-and-rescue zone in the Mediterranean.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that the ship should be able to immediately disembark at the nearest place of safety.

In a statement, it did not mention Italy or France by name, but said there was a "clear and unequivocal" legal obligation to rescue distressed persons at sea.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen reacted angrily to France's decision to allow the Ocean Viking to disembark in Toulon, accusing President Emmanuel Macron of a dramatic show of lenience towards "massive and anarchic immigration".

[Ladybbird]

Migration Plan to End Hotel Britain

UK Strikes Revised Deal With France on Channel Migrants

BBC News 14 NOV 2022.









The UK will pay France £8m more a year under a revised deal to try to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats.



The money will pay for increased surveillance of French beaches, while UK police officers will also be able to observe patrols within France.

French officers patrolling the coast to try to stop people setting off will rise from 200 to 300 over five months.

PM Rishi Sunak said he was "confident" the crossings could be brought down.

However, he warned there was no "single thing" that could "fix" the situation, promising "even greater cooperation" with France in the months ahead.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the deal a "small step in the right direction," but said more need to be done to tackle people smuggling.

The government is coming under increasing pressure to reduce journeys across the Channel, which have risen to record levels this year.

More than 40,000 people have crossed in small boats so far this year, including 1,800 this weekend alone, according to official figures.

Under the new agreement, signed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in Paris, the UK will pay France £63m this year, up from £55m last year


It will cover:

investment in drones, night vision equipment, and CCTV in French ports to try and prevent crossings
funding for detection dogs at ports to identify people trying to enter the UK in lorries
investment in reception and removal centres in France


UK observers will be embedded in French control rooms, and French observers embedded in UK control rooms, to help inform each other's deployments.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK wanted to "significantly" reduce the number of crossings - but declined to set a target for reductions.






Analysis by Dominic Casciani, home and legal correspondent


Today's announcement may shift some officers closer to frontline decision-making - but it's not clear how the deal helps the UK to solve three pressing issues.

Firstly, those new British teams (on top of those deployed since 2018) will only be observers.

They have no operational powers, so even if more boats and smugglers are intercepted, they can't tell the French what to do with individual migrants who we know may try more than once to cross.

Secondly, some critics say the UK needs to look for a bigger continental-wide deal. But it chose not to be part of the EU's irregular migrant management policies, as part of Brexit.

The final big challenge is on the UK side of the English Channel. The Home Office's day-to-day battle to find somewhere to accommodate those who survive the sea is directly linked to the department's huge backlogs and the delays in dealing with those who arrived before them.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the deal, but said there was "much more that needs to be done". "We need the National Crime Agency working upstream to tackle the people smuggling in the first place," he told reporters.

He also criticised the "desperate state" of asylum application processing in the UK, adding most people would be "shocked" by official figures showing that only 4% of asylum claims by migrants who crossed the Channel last year have been processed.

Franck Dhersin, mayor of Teteghem near the coastal town of Dunkirk, said the increase in crossings this year had come despite "a lot of police" watching the coast.

"We are talking about 175km of beaches and dunes, where it is very easy to hide," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, called the new deal "more of the same," adding it "falls far short of what is needed".

"The only thing that will tackle this issue is making sure that the boats are stopped in France before they get in the water," she added.





Graphic showing the number of Channel crossings

[Ladybbird]

Nurses Are Paying Price of Migrant Crisis: Nurses' Hotel Accommodation to be Used by Asylum Seekers

Overseas Nurses studying for UK qualifications so they can work in NHS are being turfed out of hotels for asylum seekers to move in

Foreign nurses studying for UK qualifications were given a month to move out
Move from Home Office threatens to deepen the staffing crisis at trust affected
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had been forced to recruit from abroad but plans could see them forced out of hotels

Comes as Suella Braverman signed £63million deal to tackle migrant crisis

BBC 15 NOV 2022.





Nurses living in two hotels are being forced to move out to make way for asylum seekers, according to a hospital trust.



York Hospital hires rooms at two city centre hotels for overseas nurses to use while they take their exams.

The Home Office has booked out the hotels to house asylum seekers and the hospital said it was struggling to find alternative accommodation for nurses.

The government has been approached for a comment.

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Trust pays for accommodation for overseas nurses while they take the exams necessary to allow them to work in the UK.

There are currently 82 foreign nurses in one York hotel, with 17 more set to arrive in December, a hospital board meeting was told.
'Very vulnerable'

Polly McMeekin, director of workforce at the hospital, said the trust had initially been given four weeks to vacate two hotels because the Home Office wanted to use them for "the next couple of years".

She said the trust objected and it was then given until December to vacate the rooms.

"York has a dearth of accommodation," added Ms McMeekin. "[This] leaves us with no other accommodation - we've explored the military, we've explored universities."

The move would leave the hospital in a "very vulnerable" position, she said.

"This is a vulnerability in our international recruitment pipeline, which is obviously a significant element of the trust priority plan."

The recruitment of nurses from abroad is a key part of the hospital's workforce plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

There were around 130 nursing vacancies across the trust in September. Hospital leaders hope this will be reduced to about 50 by December.

[Ladybbird]

UK Net Migration Hits All-Time Record at 504,000

UK net migration hit 504,000 in the year to June - the highest figure ever recorded, The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.

BBC News 25 NOV





The rise is driven by people arriving legally from outside the EU and the resumption of post-pandemic travel.

Reception of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees and people from Hong Kong are other factors.

The government has promised to cut net migration - the difference between the numbers entering and leaving the UK.




Today's figures will intensify debates over the role of overseas workers into the UK economy and wider labour market - weeks after Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she wanted to resurrect a repeatedly missed government target to reduce net migration to below 100,000.

That aim, set by former prime minister David Cameron and supported by Theresa May, was dropped by Boris Johnson who said he would reduce the level while ensuring businesses had access to the skills they needed.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the record numbers were "understandable" given the circumstances in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong, and the "generosity of the British people".

"But the public rightly expect us to control our borders and we remain committed to reducing migration over time," she said.

Ms Braverman said the current level of migration was putting pressure on accommodation and housing supply, as well as health, education and other public services.

Graphic showing EU, non-EU and British migration over time - non-EU migration rises over 500,000 in the year ending June 2022, British migration is broadly flat, while EU net migration dips into the negative more recently

[Ladybbird]

France FINALLY Ramps up Channel Migrant Patrolling

France says it is increasing the number of rescue boats in the English Channel to deal with the growing number of migrants trying to reach the UK -The UK are paying them £MILLIONS to do so...

BBC News 9 DEC 2022.




Two additional vessels are being deployed in what the French Coastguard describes as an "unprecedented" move.

It follows criticism of the French response to the incident in November 2021 in which 27 people drowned trying to cross to the UK in a dinghy.

More than 40,000 people have made such crossings this year - a record number.



The French Coastguard says the Lapérouse survey vessel has just arrived in the port of Calais, while the Kermorvan patrol ship will be there in the next few days.

It says that their deployment will strengthen the coastguard's rescue capabilities in the Channel-North Sea sector.




Last month, the UK agreed to increase payments to France by £8m ($10m) more a year to £63m to try to stop channel crossings in small boats.

The money will pay for increased surveillance of French beaches, while UK police officers will also be able to observe patrols within France




It is thought French officers patrolling the coast will rise in number from about 250 to 350 over five months.

The higher numbers of migrants making the crossing this year of the Channel (known as La Manche in France) has been partly blamed on a big rise in the number of Albanian nationals making the journey.

So far this year 12,000 Albanians have arrived in the UK using small boats, compared with just 50 in 2020.

[Ladybbird]

Four People Dead And Another 40 Rescued in English Channel as Migrant Boat Sinks

Britain has seen yet another migrant tragedy in its waters today as a boat carrying between 40 and 50 people got into trouble in icy cold waters - four have tragcially died while 43 have been rescued in the early hours off the coast of Kent

BBC News 15 DEC 2022.













English Channel: Number of people rescued from inflatable boat

Four migrants have died and more than 40 were rescued after a boat sank in the middle of the English Channel - sparking a desperate rescue mission.


Rescuers pulled people from the icy water this morning, including a number being airlifted after the boat sank five miles off the coast of Dungeness in Kent.

The boat, which was carrying up to 50 people, got into difficulty in icy waters during sub-zero temperatures in the early hours of this morning - with the coastguard and navy ships racing to the scene.


Temperatures last night were said to be -4C as rescue boats and ambulances were called at about 3am before launching crews off the coast.

Images from Dover today showed those who had been rescued, including small children.

Opening Prime Minister's Questions, Rishi Sunak expressed his “sorrow” at the “capsizing of a small boat” in the English Channel, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life”.

[Ladybbird]

Will Asylum Seekers be Sent to Rwanda After High Court Ruling?

Home Secretary Braverman says she wants to deliver Rwanda deportations at scale as soon as possible

BBC News 20 DEC 2022.


The government's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was supposed to deter people from trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK on small boats.

40,000 have done so this year.


But the first flight to the east African country in June was grounded after legal challenges.

Today, though, senior judges ruled the policy was lawful and Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was “committed” to making it work...


The home secretary has reaffirmed her commitment to sending people seeking refuge in the UK on a one-way ticket to Rwanda after the high court ruled on Monday that the policy was lawful. In a judgment that could have significant ramifications for Rishi Sunak’s government, an application from asylum seekers, aid groups and a border officials’ union to stop the Conservative government from acting on a deportation agreement with the central African country has been dismissed.

[Ladybbird]

Knowsley: Three Arrested After Protest at Merseyside Asylum Seeker Hotel

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder following clashes outside a hotel providing refuge for asylum seekers on Merseyside.

BBC 11 FEB 2023




A burnt out police van





Crowds of people around on a street looking towards a fire in the distance

Videos posted on social media showed crowds gathered near the Suites Hotel in Knowsley and a police van on fire.

Merseyside Police said officers had been dealing with what they described as an "initially peaceful protest".


The force said missiles had been thrown but there were no reports of injuries.

The Suites Hotel is located in the Ribblers Lane area of Knowsley and the protest is believed to have been sparked by a video on social media which was filmed near the hotel.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul White said the incident was "completely unacceptable" and put "those present, our officers and the wider community in danger".

"For officers and police vehicles to be damaged in the course of their duty protecting the public is disgraceful," he said.

The three people who were arrested have been taken to police stations for questioning.

Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Serena Kennedy said there would be "an increased police presence" over the weekend.


At The Scene

The husk of a police van lies burnt to the metal outside the gates of the Suites Hotel.


From a window, a man staying at the hotel peers down at the debris below. Bottles, paving stones, rocks and sticks litter the roads, the aftermath of the violence.

Police allow me through to see what happened but only when they've taken three young men they've just arrested into the back of a waiting police van which then drives off.

On the road, a piece of paper flutters by. "This is our city" it says, hinting at the issues which may be involved in this protest.

Police are continuing to review evidence of the incident, and are asking the public to contact them directly with any evidence, rather than posting it on social media.

Officers initially arrived at about 18:30 GMT, with additional officers later sent to the area.

A number of road closures have been in place on the East Lancs Road and police urged motorists to avoid the area.

Knowsley MP Sir George Howarth has called for calm, saying: "I have referred an alleged incident posted on social media, which has triggered a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel, to Merseyside Police and Knowsley Council.

"Until the police have investigated the matter, it is too soon to jump to conclusions and the effort on the part of some to inflame the situation is emphatically wrong."

Sir George added: "Those demonstrating against refugees at this protest tonight do not represent this community."

Merseyside's police commissioner Emily Spurrell, who oversees Merseyside Police and is appointed through a public vote, said the incident was "deeply shocking" and added "there is absolutely no excuses for this".

Clare Mosley, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, told the BBC she had been part of a counter-protest in solidarity with migrants. She said she was "deeply shocked and shaken" witnessing protesters angry at migrants in the hotel, she described as "far-right", break through police lines and surround the hotel around 20:15.





There is a large police prescence in the area


The BBC is yet to establish the nature of the protest.

She claimed: "The far-right people were very organised and very violent. They got into a police riot van and they set it on fire and it blew up.

"They started fighting with all the police...

"Some of the police cars got damaged as well, a couple of the police got hurt with bricks and things.

"The problem was they couldn't get us [counter-protesters] out. We were barricaded in a car park. We were stuck there for ages, whilst the police were fighting in different areas."

She added: "My greatest concern is whether the police can keep people in this hotel safe both tonight and in the future."

KICK THEM OUT...

[Ladybbird]

Merseyside Police Confirmed That THIRTY People Were Now Arrested on Suspicion of Violent Disorder.

Police van set on fire in violent protests outside Knowsley hotel housing asylum seekers

BBC 12 FEB 2023




A police van burned during violent clashes outside a hotel in Merseyside housing asylum seekers on Friday, 10 February.


Anti-refugee demonstrators gathered outside the Suites Hotel, Knowsley, with a counter-protest by pro-migrant groups.

“During the evening, missiles have been thrown towards officers and damage caused to a police vehicle. No injuries have been reported at this time”, a police statement said.

“Those demonstrating against refugees at this protest tonight do not represent this community,” Knowsley MP Sir George Howarth said.

[Ladybbird]

At Least 60 Migrants Including Newborn Dead After Boat Falls Apart off Coast of Italy

WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES Around 30 bodies were seen floating in the rough seas off the southern coast of Italy this morning, with rescue officials saying they expect the death toll to rise through the day. The victims, who were from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, included a number of children, officials said

BBC 27 FEB 2023










At least 60 migrants have been killed after the vessel carrying them sunk off the coast of Italy.

The Italian coast guard spotted about 30 bodies after a migrant boat broke apart in rough seas off the southern coast of Italy's mainland, state radio reported this morning.


Quoting unidentified port authorities near the coastal town of Crotone, in Calabria, the toe of the Italian peninsula, RAI said the fishing boat was carrying around 250 migrants when it ran into trouble at dawn Sunday.

Local media reported that the search for survivors continues, but around 80 have been recovered so far, according to the coastguard.

The death roll rose from 27 to 60 in a matter of hours as the coastguard scoured the waves for corpses.

[Ladybbird]

UK NEW Asylum Bill: Rishi Sunaks' Plan to Detain and Remove Small Boat Migrants

Govt has unveiled new Illegal Migration Bill

BBC 8 MAR 2023




Stop The Boats.’ Spelled out in red capital letters on the Prime Minister's specially made podium


Anna Botting takes a look at the govt's controversial legislation aimed at discouraging migrants from crossing the Channel illegally that was revealed today by the home secretary.

In a statement from Downing St PM Rishi Sunak said the crackdown on small boats crossing the Channel is needed as the current system that is being exploited is "unfair on the British people".


'We’ve tried it every other way': Rishi Sunak defends illegal migration bill

The prime minister defended the government's new bill in a press conference on Tuesday, arguing the government had been left no choice but to adopt the 'tough' new laws to deter attempts at illegal entry to the UK. 'We have tried it every other way and it has not worked,'

[Ladybbird]

Asylum Seekers Going Underground For Fear of Being Deported to Rwanda

BBC 10 MAR 2023


We begin with the breaking news that 'several people' have reportedly been killed in a shooting in Hamburg.

Plus, Sky News speaks to asylum seekers who have ditched their claims and are going into hiding in the week the government ratcheted up its strategy to stop small boat crossings.

Sky News speaks to asylum seekers who have ditched their claims and are going into hiding in the week the government ratcheted up its strategy to stop small boat crossings

[Ladybbird]

Suella Braverman Promises to Send Boat Migrants to Rwanda by Summer

Suella Braverman plans to deport migrants to Rwanda by summer as country ‘ready to take thousands’

Suella Braverman visits site yet to house deported asylum seekers in Rwanda

TRT WORLD 19 MAR 2023





Braverman shakes hands with Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta in Kigali


Suella Braverman is making plans to deport migrants to Rwanda by the summer, while the government in Kigali said it was “ready to absorb the thousands that will come from the UK”.


A Home Office source said “we are certainly working towards getting the flights off before the summer”, adding that the home secretary acknowledged the schedule was dependent on pending legal battles.

In her first trip to the central African nation as home secretary, Ms Braverman on Saturday visited facilities being built to house people removed from Britain.

Speaking to reporters in the country’s capital, she said she would wait for a Court of Appeal hearing on the policy next month before deciding whether flights could depart by summer.

The government has expanded the agreement with Rwanda to incorporate all those illegally entering the UK as opposed to solely asylum seekers.

The addition to the deal is to be put in place to ensure illegal entrants would be detained and swiftly removed under the Illegal Migration Bill, regardless of the claim they bring – whether that be asylum, human rights, modern slavery or none.

No migrants have been relocated to the country so far after the deal was signed last April by Ms Braverman’s predecessor Priti Patel, and several people from countries including Iran, Iraq and Syria have launched challenges against plans to send them there.


After Saturday’s tour of potential housing facilities, Ms Braverman said: “I think that Rwanda is clearly ready.”

Migrants arriving from the UK would be housed in hostels and hotels in the short term, before moving onto long-term housing arrangements, with properties equipped with gardens, off-street parking and capacity for fibre-optic broadband.

Asked if the migration deal affected Britain’s ability to criticise the country on other issues, such as human rights, Ms Braverman said there was a “gross misperception about Rwanda in the UK“ and that it was a “forward-looking dynamic economy” and a safe country.

Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told reporters she did not “consider living in Rwanda as punishment” – adding that the African nation signed up to the agreement for “the right reasons”.

She said: “We are going to be ready to absorb the thousands that will come from the UK along the life of this partnership. We’re determined to make this a success.”

The home secretary is due to meet President Paul Kagame to discuss the deal, after meeting her Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta on Saturday.

Legal challenges are expected against the government’s bill and practical questions are mounting over where people can be sent when the only deals struck have been with Albania and Rwanda.





Braverman said her visit showed her Rwanda is ‘ready' (PA)


Ms Braverman said the Home Office believes Rwanda has the capacity needed but “we are always in constructive dialogue with many nations around the world”.

Responding to criticism, she said: “Our scheme complies with international law, it complies with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and complies with the Refugee Convention.” But she repeated a threat to take Britain out of the ECHR if necessary.

The visit came as 209 people were confirmed to have crossed the Channel in small boats on Friday, after five days of no reported crossings.