Refugee blood is on Gallic hands
THE tragedy in the Channel represents a savage indictment of criminal greed, political failure and warped ideology.
Direct responsibility for the 27 heartrending deaths lies with the people-smugglers. At an estimated charge of £3,000 per head, these gangsters could have made almost £100,000 out of Wednesday’s ill-fated voyage, undertaken in a boat that was as flimsy as a paddling pool.
Nor has the deadly incident brought any halt in their operations. Even yesterday, as the search continued for bodies, more boats made the illegal crossing to Dover.
Yet the smugglers could not act like this if the politicians and law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Channel had the will to defeat them.
At the Home Office Priti Patel’s habit of over promising and under delivering has become ever more apparent, as in her futile claim last month to be “smashing the economic model of the people smugglers”.
In the same vein, Boris Johnson sternly warned in August 2019 those contemplating the journey: “We will send you back.”
Yet this year, as the influx has already reached a record-breaking
26,000, just five illegal Channel migrants have actually been deported. All too often the Border Force has acted like a quasi-ferry service, even providing hot meals.
Negotiations for the creation of overseas processing centres for asylum applications have gone nowhere. “Fake news” said the Albanian government when asked about a potential deal with Britain.
But to be fair to ministers, they have been working in a climate that is profoundly hostile to border controls, viewing them as an oppressive barrier to greater diversity.
That attitude runs through the civil service, the charitable sector and the media. It can also be found among Left-wing lawyers who use lavish legal aid and the complex appeals process to frustrate removals.
An even bigger problem has been the Paris government. The French have too often behaved like a collaborator with the smugglers. Blood is on Gallic hands. They have allowed the camps to flourish and the dinghies to launch. This week, frail boats set sail in full view of the French police who did nothing to stop them.
Britain has pledged £54million to improve security on the French coast, yet so far this just appears to be money down the drain.
France has even refused to let British police work on its territory, in stark contrast to Poland which has welcomed our soldiers to bolster its border with Belarus.
The rot in France starts at the top in President Emmanuel Macron. With epic cynicism, he is stoking trouble around Calais for two reasons.
First, he sees himself as the keeper of the EU’s federal mission, so he wants to undermine Brexit by making life difficult for the PM.
Second, he is facing reelection in April, so he wants to stir up antagonism by holding our country responsible for the creation of the squalor around Calais. The British supposedly encourage illicit migration through generous benefits, the black economy and lack of identity checks.
This was a theme taken up by the French interior minister Gerard Darmanin who has declared: “We won’t be lectured by the British. We are neither their employees nor their auxiliaries.”
It is no wonder co-operation has been so poor.
Inevitably, the EU has made things worse. Brussels’ obsession with free movement has facilitated not only the smugglers but the transit of economic migrants. The Channel is not unique. There are such crises throughout Europe, from Spain to Greece.
By seeking to destroy nationhood and by treating democracy with contempt, the EU has robbed European civilisation of the willingness to uphold its own integrity.
It can only be hoped that this week’s disaster will lead to a reversal in this stance.