Seaborne migrants

As the Government brings down the shutters on legitimate travellers, it appears to be losing control of the situation in the English Channel. The past few months have seen a stream of illegal migrants crossing to the UK, often on unsafe small vessels, including, in one reported instance, a kayak.

The imposition of lockdown restrictions here has not appeared to dent the country’s attractiveness as a destination for illegal immigration, although the rise in sea journeys could be partly explained by lockdown making it harder to reach the country via lorry or truck.

Since March 23, some 1,560 illegal migrants have arrived via the Channel, with a record 741 people making the crossing last month. More migrants have reached the UK this way so far in 2020 than in the whole of 2019, and these are only the ones that we know of.

What is going on? In some instances, migrants appear to have been escorted into British waters by the French Navy and left for UK immigration officials to deal with. By both moral and legal right, it ought to be the French authorities who take responsibility for processing these asylum or immigration claims. Patently, that is not happening and the Home Secretary should urgently clarify whether France is failing in its duties.

This matters, not just because illegal immigration undermines the legitimacy of legal routes into the country or that it profits vile people smuggling gangs, who make money from human misery. If the UK is seen as a soft touch, it will encourage yet more to make the dangerous journey across one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. This could be a tragedy in the making.