There is a big divide in our society about people who cross the Channel by small boat to gain entry to the U.K. Some presume these people are asylum seekers or economic migrants from poor countries that we should help. Others are angry that the U.K. spends its resources on picking them up from the Channel and the placing them in accommodation with free board allowing them plenty of time to try to establish eventual legal entry. They point out these people cannot be asylum seekers as they are coming from France, which is a safe country. The migrants themselves are often frustrated that they are detained and not allowed to work whilst legal processes grind on.
Opponents say why cannot we return them, having made clear they are breaking the law by seeking passage without permission. They have often given substantial sums to criminal gangs to help them reach our shores, and have risked themselves and their families in unsuitable and overloaded boats. They have sought to cross on of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in very vulnerable vessels. They must have calculated the U.K. will rush to their assistance because they and the people smugglers have chosen to put them at risk.
Supporters of the arrivals say we have a duty to rescue people from their own deliberate mistakes, and should show sympathy for people who are so keen to join us.
I would hope most could come to agree that people putting themselves at risk like this is undesirable, and devoting so much sea patrol and rescue resource to this dangerous criminal Business unsatisfactory. The Home Secretary has promised new clearer law in the U.K. and a more united effort to crack the smuggling gangs and put them out of business. It should be an aim which unites most of us. I believe the Home Secretary wishes to do this, but has found the current law unhelpful for the task and is looking to amend it. She has also initiated an enquiry into the recent actions of Border Force in going into French waters to pick people up, when the French should have taken them back to safety in France.
June 26, 2021
Sorry to be harsh, but the answer is, Nothing.
The clue is in the word âillegalâ.
June 26, 2021
Absolutely. Wait until they claim their extended families. None of which can be proven. You can even hear the lawyers salivating.
June 26, 2021
Completely agreed, the âillegalsâ and our acknowledgement of their status makes a mockery of every other legal migrant & refugee that makes the effort via recognised systems
What should we offer â a same day return journey to France
June 26, 2021
I thought about the question you asked yesterday.
Why they embrace the left wing veggie/climate loon thing has always puzzled me too.
Just wondered if âŠif they supported the right wing ( which they definitely do not) then they would have to abandon the agenda. Have to stop virtue signalling and signing up to expensive globalist nonsense.
The Right would hold them to account âŠso they had to destroy it.
So really we know their intentions.
They just keep us sweet with liesâŠâ In the tens of thousandsâ.
June 26, 2021
Douglas Adams: âWe live in strange times”
June 26, 2021
Bravo…
June 27, 2021
GLen Cullen: “Completely agreed, the âillegalsâ and our acknowledgement of their status makes a mockery of every other legal migrant & refugee that makes the effort via recognised systems”
It makes a mockery of any British citizen who has ever queued in passport control at any airport or seaport of the United Kingdom.
With the volume of ‘migration’ these days, it is not ‘our being hospitable’, its an invasion.
June 26, 2021
It is obvious policy of Priti Useless to get as many illegal immigrants into the UK as possible with the assistance of the Border Farce. No doubt some UN agreement by May to get as many freeloaders from the 3rd world into the Country to be joined by their extended families at English taxpayers expense in the future. As a tax payer when do I get my free 4* Hotel, free board, health, dentistry and pocket money? There is no real effort or political will by the legacy party’s to change this or take robust action to deal with it. They need to be stopped at sea and towed back to France or given a free ride back to France on the channel tunnel immediately on arrival. Fingerprints and notice of 10 year imprisonment if they try again. Will this happen……….NO. Will I be further taxed to pay for these left wing parties supporting illegal aliens…..yes. Will I ever vote Tory again. Answers on a post card!
Reply The Home Secretary is trying to stop illegal migration
June 26, 2021
She donât try hard enough M8!
June 26, 2021
Reply to reply
You can’t ! But you can dissuade them by arresting them and locking them up ! When they SEE that such actions are punishable and will not result in them getting FREE STUFF they will go elsewhere.
June 27, 2021
Mark B – you can’t arrest and lock up (some) people who have done something illegal, what next in the British legal system?
July 4, 2021
If they do not supply information about themselves and do not ptove how they got the money to arrive from France they are being none cooperative in not assisting the interrogators. This, when they have not committed a crime should be grounds for not allowing them into the country. Human rights application should be available only when full personal history is given. Anyone who can travel through a long distance is well capable of providing historical evidence of their previous and present situation.
Will 20 million refugees be enough so those that welcome them into the UK stop doing so? When is too many enough.
I welcome replies.
June 26, 2021
Reply to reply: I do accept that she would, ideally, like to reduce the number of illegal migrants coming here, but she is NOT willing to take the necessary action. She needs to (i) declare that the UK will not grant ANYONE asylum, as they are all bogus (as have logically explained in my separate post); (ii) immediately return ALL asylum-seekers whence they came; and (iii) change the law – and in particular resile from the ECHR – in order to do so. But she refuses to do any of these things. She wills the end but not the means.
June 26, 2021
Timaction- is this a left wing – right wing issue? Most left wing people I know are the most anti-immigrants/refugees/queue jumpers floating up to the UK shores in boats! Where do all the boats go that they arrive in? Do we send them back to France for another run? Donât border force patrol the border and you know actually turn people around to France where they were already safe?
What do all the UK âpartiesâ propose to do on this matter? Are they all blocking the Conservative Party from returning refugees? We should know, but we donât know, the normal news channels wonât ask perhaps GB News will actually ask all the parties, Greens, SNP what they would do. Then they should ask Priti what is stopping her doing what she needs to do to stop this vile trade.
June 26, 2021
Yes,right. Like your party has been promising to reduce immigration to the tens of thousands and balance the budget by 2015. After 11 years no one believes your woke party anymore. I cant think of any achievements or delivery on any promise made. That’s why I and millions like have given up on the former Conservative Party.
June 26, 2021
My beef is that the Conservatives haven’t been Conservative enough
– certainly not as Conservative as the general population. The government seems to listen to the minorities and not the voters. The squeaky wheel always gets the oil. The loopy left can’t believe their luck. They now have a form of socialism, and didn’t have to fight an election to get it.
The UK is seen as a soft touch. Perhaps our leadership should adopt the mantra – guts, guts, guts. The people will happily follow strong leadership. Wishy washy wets need not apply.
June 26, 2021
Cheshire Girl: “Sorry to be harsh, but the answer is, Nothing. The clue is in the word âillegalâ.”
That’s not harsh.
To the question, ‘What should we offer to illegal migrants”.
Deportation.
June 27, 2021
John, I think, intends you to confuse illegal immigrants with asylum claimants or refugees, which many of you gladly do.
If the latter are found not to have valid claims then they become illegal and liable for deportation, but not until then and this country has duties towards them under UN Resolutions.
June 27, 2021
Meanwhile the French government and the EU adopt the Belarus tactic of exporting illegal immigrants as a way to punish those who don’t agree with them.
June 28, 2021
The only confusion is suffered by those who erroneously believe that someone who attempts to reach England from France, a safe country, is possibly a legitimate asylum seeker instead of the economic migrant that they obviously are.
July 4, 2021
Do the EU member states not have the same duty (and if so why do we not return incorrect arrivals and tell them to apply whilst in a safe country ) according to UN convention?
July 5, 2021
well said M8,, more pollies should do the same,
July 5, 2021
Treat them as criminals
Don’t give them the chance to step foot on British soil
Take them back straight through the tunnel
They could be back to where they came from FRANCE
In 3/4 hrs
June 26, 2021
The current law (and the judges) are indeed âunhelpfulâ to the task to say the least but we and surely Patel too has known this for many years. You should only take a job if you will be given the tools to be able to do it. To save lives and stop the flow the Gov. merely needs to make it clear they will not be allowed to stay unless they have applied in the right way before getting on a boat. But Gov. have no appetite to do this for so the large numbers will continue and get larger.
How on earth does Hancock and Boris think that he can remain in office. The sooner he resigns the better for him & for the party. No point in clinging on & dragging it out whatsoever.
June 26, 2021
A statement without a solution. Where do they go if no one will take them?
June 26, 2021
A blood sample/DNA would prove their origin. Back to their own Country or no foreign aid for them! No ID= immediate imprisonment of 5 years. Who are they, what threat do they pose to our Country? Easy really if their was a political will. After 7 million immigrants in 11 years under the former conservative Party it is deliberate policy, not a desire to reduce mass immigration from all sources, whilst cutting the police by 20,000 and the armed forces by a bigger amount! The Tory’s don’t do National interest, just their own. PPE contracts anyone? How we doing with that national debt? Not in my name.
June 26, 2021
Back to their homeland and apply using the legal procedure. Why should breaking the law allow them entry? Why would you want known law breakers allowed entry? If they can get away with breaking one law, why not other laws they prefer to ignore? Perhaps that is why crime has rocketed; confirmed by the law of unintended consequences and writ large in the statistics…
June 26, 2021
Family history sites will tell me through a dna test exactly my makeup and where my ancestors came from.
It can’t be beyond our capabilities to ascertain where these illegals have come from even if the get rid of all forms of identification. Send them back there. This does of course require the cojones and the will to do so and ability to withstand being shouted down by the usual lefties and human rights voices.
June 26, 2021
MickN
When you join Ancestry you receive a printout, Iâm 37% Scottish, 35% Welsh, 2% Norwegian (the Vikings doing some raping and pillaging?) and the rest English, so not difficult to establish where someone is from?
Presumably Iâd be returned to Scotland!
June 26, 2021
If “no one” provides them with handouts of accommodation & money they will stop coming. Why do you think they travel though numerous “safe” countries to get to Blighty?
June 26, 2021
The benefits and freebies are the same here in the UK as in France
Apart from 2 things
1. There is a perception that you get more freebies in the UK
2. Unlike France there is no requirement for an I.D.
Provide zero benefit and send them back
June 26, 2021
Somewhere that they do not want to go to. Somewhere rather worse than France. Then they will stop coming and the problem stops.
June 26, 2021
Deterring people for trying to get to the UK illegally is also the moral thing to do, this as it will save lives. Otherwise the problem justs get larger and more and more die at sea or in the back of trucks.
June 26, 2021
We should fund a refugee holding camp in Africa where it is known illegals will be deported to.
Statehood is not an issue for these people as they have given it up. It matters not to where they are returned.
June 26, 2021
NS
We already Fund a camp in the Lebanon to the tune of ÂŁ1 Billion a year if government reports are correct.
June 27, 2021
I was not aware Alan. We therefore have somewhere to send them already
June 27, 2021
AJ, not quite from what I am able to find: According to gov.uk (14/01/2016, so DCâs government) âPrime Minister to see first hand how UK aid is helping most vulnerable Syrian refugeesâ the ÂŁ1bn was covering aid for refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.
Please give us the link if you have more recent information and a better reference.
July 4, 2021
They go back to the last UN convention country that should have given them the assistance in the first place. Somethings like this which the UN whilst arranging treaties and rules cannot enforce due to lack of conviction by the member states.
July 5, 2021
HOME ,, it would be cheaper to send them back home,IE one way ticket,, than putting them up waiting for trouble to start
June 26, 2021
I don’t expect him to hang on for too much longer but who knows what will happen these days. However, if (as reported) the video was taken off his office CCTV (or even worse, by a hidden camera) – then I’d be much more concerned about the security implications of having a senior Government Minister’s office effectively ‘bugged’.
I don’t care at all about Mr Hancock’s future career prospects but I do care about this Country’s security…
June 26, 2021
âThe Home Secretary has promised new clearer law in the U.K. and a more united effort to crack the smuggling gangs and put them out of business.â
Promises, promises, we have heard it all before, along with excuses for why no action is taken.
âAsylumâ should be removed as outdated Victorian virtue signalling now used as an excuse by those who want to have a more comfortable life in the UK without going through the official channel.
People in boats or the backs of lorries are properly defined as illegals. They should also be regarded as enemy aliens. They should be repelled by force or harshly treated in special prisons if they manage to make it to these shores. Expulsion should also be their ultimate fate.
None of this will happen of course.
June 26, 2021
Helping people in need is not virtue signalling. It is not an outdated Victorian value.
Your moral compass has clearly failed. Our country would be far better served by welcoming people like them, and deporting people like you. Problem solved.
June 26, 2021
What I canât work out is why you stayed here Andy.âïž
June 26, 2021
The more you help them the more people will come and many will die in the process. So what is moral about that exactly?
June 26, 2021
Andy : “Our country would be far better served by welcoming people like them, and deporting people like you.”
How many people would you like to welcome into our country bearing in mind that the combined population of Africa and the ME is around 1.5 billion?
And do you really think that our country’s laws, values, institutions and economy would be improved by such a large influx of illegal migrants?
June 26, 2021
Your sentiments are truly wonderful Andy but deeply flawed of course. The theory doesn’t stand up to reality (unfortunately) – it’s a bit like Communism in that respect. Your good intentions will rapidly hit the hard rocks of practical reality. Nor can you keep telling us (on the one hand) how we are now a second rate nation and (at the same time) also ask us to solve the worlds problems, because we cannot do that (and even at our peak, never could).
All we can do is try to solve our own problems, of which we certainly have our share. We really don’t need to import other peoples woes to add to them.
June 27, 2021
They are not “in need” if they can afford to pay the smuggler fees to jump the queue.
July 4, 2021
Andy, most of these people have chosen their destination well in advance, much like you choosing a holiday travel arrangement. They could have stopped off and have a good life in the pleasant climates of the EU. Of course we welcome genuine refugees but not common migrants. Would you welcome 20 million of these travellers or do you have a limit?
July 5, 2021
think your moral compass needs fixing M8
July 5, 2021
People in need?
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June 26, 2021
Illegal immigrants should get nothing. They are not fleeing war as they arrive from France. They are queue jumpers, ie. selfish and care nothing for displacing genuine refugees and they are also criminals, knowing they are breaking UK law before they even arrive. Why would any country want the selfish and the criminal?
The majority of illegal immigrants are economic migrants, and all are ‘undesirables’. Do not allow them to apply for asylum. Deport them and do not allow them to obtain legal aid. Genuine refugees could apply for asylum in France and then apply to come to the UK once their status is confirmed.
The majority are fit young men who, upon arrival, demand, yes demand, the best of housing and care, and many are willing to resort to arson in order to obtain it. Why do we tolerate this, especially when we already have so many homeless or living in squalor? Can we afford to give legal immigrants and the indigenous equality with the illegal immigrants, ie. 4* hotels and full board? Why give illegal criminals priority and better care than those already here?
June 26, 2021
Great post Shirley full of common sense and truths. We should give them nothing.
June 26, 2021
+1
June 27, 2021
4* hotels and full board – wasn’t there a recent case that the accommodation was so bad the govt. was sued? A onw off case – I don’t know.
RE smugglers – if the case were reversed and the smugglers were in the UK getting people to France then I think they would be rounded up in a day but I have never heard of a single one arrested abroad – why is that?
June 26, 2021
You have had eleven years to sort out immigration and it is still a mess.
One could be forgiven for thinking you have no intention of doing anything about it.
We have a housing crisis and the biggest debt and taxation in history and still we are burdened by illegal activities which cost us dearly.
The time for warm words is over. Action is needed. This is your Achillies heel.
June 26, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
+1. A free ride back on the Channel Tunnel immediately or a prison sentence. Obvious to all accept the legacies who are trying to hide their true policy of support for them at our expense.
June 27, 2021
Timaction – that will never happen if there are children so they will be made available.
June 26, 2021
The illegals are forcing themselves upon us, thereby avoiding the scrutiny and qualifications deemed appropriate for those who (stupidly) obey the immigration rules. They typically have no resources and thus we witness creation of rough sleeping communities in London and elsewhere, assisting our descent to third world shithole.
Like any country is entitled, we should insist on the right to select those we allow to come to live amongst us and those we reject must not obtain the right anyway because the Home Secretary cannot cope with control and enforcement. Those who choose not to submit themselves to the selection process we establish should be offered only immediate detention and prompt repatriation to their last country of stay and be denied the right to ever again set foot in the U.K..
Yet it seems the only way to prevent the Government looking (and being) weak and foolish is now for the peopleâs Blue Boris to have a Merkel moment and utter the cry of âyes we canâ as he issues a general invitation to the world to come. My previous suggestion, warmly endorsed by my Dutch fellow commenter here, of the Government giving a free Jaguar motor car to each illegal arrival could then be taken up to give the spin-off benefit of helping the motor industry. The Exchequer can borrow from the Bank to fund such scheme so the taxpayer need not be troubled.
June 26, 2021
Good morning.
They are, as suggested in the title of this article – ILLEGAL !!!
What part of that do people not understand ? You do not reward criminal activity. If someone burgles your home, you do not offer them the rest of your contents and access to your bank account.
Then let them pay for it and look after them – Simple !
This is a Strawman argument. The problem is that the UK offers these people a better way of life than they would have in France or anywhere else. Why do you think they are going to such lengths to get here ? Remove the incentives ! Treat these people as criminals. Charge, trial, incarceration, followed by deportation. When others see this they will not bother. Australia did it and it worked. And please stop blaming the ‘gangs’. They are just fulfilling a need, and in anycase, a lot of assistance to these ILLEGALS come indirectly from the French government via its NGO’s.
A government and a HS which really wanted to tackle this would remove all the international agreements on refugees we signed up to and do the above. But it does not so will just continue.
June 26, 2021
Mark B, +1
June 26, 2021
100%. Punishment NOT reward. The political fools can’t see the wood for the trees.
June 26, 2021
Youâve forgotten the people whose sole aim it is to destroy western civilisation by overwhelming the health, benefits, housing systems with unfettered immigration.
They do actually exist, you know, and they have huge, tightly knit and exclusive âcommunitiesâ.
They break up families and support every Marxist movement/scam going. Cultish.
What they donât do is live in poor, diverse areas, send their kids to ordinary schools or vote Tory. Nor do they ever employ or take into their homes the newcomers they demand the rest of us share our lives with.
They are the roots of wokery, burrowing away for the past 50 or so years.
June 26, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
“The Home Secretary has promised…” – but will she ever, even once, deliver?
June 26, 2021
Indeed, the woke, broke Priti Useless………………………WE WILL…….oh no you won’t!
June 26, 2021
She needs to change the laws to deliver and this government do not have the political will. So she cannot deliver.
June 26, 2021
The whole world is perhaps still suffering from the decisions taken after 9/11.
âThe War on Terrorâ which saw strong leaders executed/murdered and worldwide chaos unleashed with vast numbers of the dispossessed leaving their own countries.
Our âleadersâ are so good at disruption.
They are at it again.
âTerrorâ forgotten they now tilt at viruses to the detriment of us all.
June 26, 2021
Migration Observatory – The latest official data on the nationality of people crossing the Channel in small boats is also found in the Home Secretary’s letter of 2 September 2020. This stated that around half of those making the crossing from 1 January to 30 June 2020 were Iranian, and around a quarter were Iraqi. The Guardian tells us the vast majority are from Afghanistan.
June 27, 2021
Once the US etc. are out of Afghanistan expect more from there.
June 27, 2021
In principle I agree.
Those countries urging containment rather than the overthrow and collapse of places such as Libya and Iraq have probably been vindicated, I think.
You can find out which they were.
June 26, 2021
Knowing at first hand the dangers of crossing the Channel in a well equiped yacht, I admire those that attempt it in a rubber yacht tender. They have many of the qualities that will ultimately benefit them, their families and the UK. Ill advised though it is to try it.
It also demonstrates the cynisism of the French who do little to discourage them. These people can travel the length of France and reside in camps on the coast without the french authorities lifting a finger. Were all rubber tenders only available via a maritime permit to french citizens with a legitimate need it would be hard for others to obtain them. It is reported that the french escort them when found in the attempt, until contact with Border Force can be made. Having read no reports of french maritime authorities picking them up and returning them to France, I assume it is french government policy to rid themselves of any responsibility.
When one reads all the sneering anti Brexit troll bitterness in this diary, the desire of these illegals to get to the UK counter balances it. Could we arrange a part exchange scheme.
We could put an end to it by making application at one of our embassies in any of the first safe countries mandatory. The direct sea route and any other route becoming a guaranteed reason for their return . In the case of France we should use international and UN law on refugees to legitamise their return.
June 26, 2021
I’m sure lifeguards would use such craft if they were inherently unseaworthy. Let’s not forget that the English have rowed across the Atlantic, sailed round the world and round the capes of Good Hope and the Horn in all weathers. Get a sense of proportion. Do you imagine our soldiers or sailors would refuse to do it were they ordered?
June 26, 2021
…not sure..
June 26, 2021
When I know you have done it and are speaking from such venturous experience I will listen.
June 26, 2021
My idea of fun when younger and extremely fit was to ski down unmarked, unpatrolled runs, not to invade other people’s countries in dingies.
June 27, 2021
The soldiers etc.would not need to refuse as health and safety would prevent it.
June 26, 2021
Why do the politicians make things so hard for themselves? Illegal immigration has been going on for years and years. Home Secretaties of all political parties have always it seems been afraid to meet the problem head on. Whether it be by dingy lorry or any other type of transport there should be no exceptions to the stated rule. Illegal immigrants when and wherever found will be removed from the country immediately. Those found to be exploiting illegal immigrants either by employment or providing accomodation will have all their assets impounded and they too will be removed from the country within a stated time frame. The fact these people are indirectly working for criminal elements make them undesirable.
This country cannot go on being the soft touch that it is..
It also makes harsh treatment of the illegals fairer on those that follow the legal process to apply for citizenship through our stated legal channels and departments. To my knowledge no actual costs have ever been released on the cost to the British taxpayer on dealing with illegal immigration.
June 26, 2021
Iâm going to seize one clause – âkeen to join usâ. Are they? Or are they keen to take what they can get for free? Or are there darker motives?
June 26, 2021
How can it be right to take needy people into your country when a plague is raging?
June 26, 2021
+10
Aye, the likes of Ferguson, Hancock and Johnson have all basically likened this virus with a 99% survival rate to a plague. Insisted we all must war masks, social distance, follow lockdowns and quarantine rules under the threat of fines. Even told us when we can hug someone! Meanwhile whilst forcing this on us, two of them cavorted with their ‘bits on the side’ and the other also disregarded all the restrictions, when he met foreigners for the tax funded G7 shindig.
As others have said – I’m done!
June 26, 2021
Me too!
June 26, 2021
Well there is no plague, overall all cause UK deaths from July 2020 to date are entirely in the normal range.
June 26, 2021
Absolutely!
And now they are attempting to rebrand hay fever!
1 year old son of friend coughed when his Dad was taking him into nursery school (ÂŁ85 per day).
âTeacherâ said canât come in, go and get âtestâ.
Lateral flow was negative but nursery would not accept it.
So PCR obtained with much travelling etc. (Donât know âresultâ but they probably want to ramp up cases so will amplify).
ImagineâŠshoving a huge swab up a poor little nose!!
And the possible damage!
Utterly disgusting.
This government is beyond depraved.
June 26, 2021
How dreadful that a one year old is or has to be taken to a nursery. There is much that is utterly wrong with our country.
June 26, 2021
Much to agree with in that observation.
June 27, 2021
Slightly off point but nonetheless alarming: Teacher overheard saying to a colleague ” I should of went”. Parent who heard this removed her child the next day.
June 26, 2021
I fully agree, but have a real issue with the Patel. She has had nearly 2 years and done absolutely nothing except talk. She should have called for May global asylum agreement should be retracted with immediate effect. A new law put into immediate effect, whereby all illegals that have arrived from Europe claiming asylum and are in the system, should be refused entry to stay. If they wish to challenge this, they do this from the country they exited from. They cannot use UK tax-funded Legal Aid.
If they arrive by truck, train, ferry or plane they are returned immediately and the same Legal Aid principle applies.
Those coming across the Channel by dingy should be stopped by entering British waters.
Those who are already here and given asylum, if they commit a crime, they lose their right to stay. If they had ‘lost’ their papers and refuse to say where they heralded from, I understand a blood test can be taken to assess their country of origin and send them there. If their country refuse to accept them, have them put in internment camps. If they still refuse to say, they are told they stay there indefinitely, as they have proved themselves to be ‘unfriendly’ aliens.
One final and very important point. All formal services and literature must only be in English (with the exception of Wales). Like every other country, they must pay for their own translation costs. If nothing else it will sift out those who came here to live off the British taxpayer and those who came here and wanted to fully integrate into British society.
Send the message loud and clear, Britain is no longer a soft touch. And for those who think this is awful, let them take on the full responsibility and cost of maintaining them and their whole family and that includes education, health care and criminal behaviour. That will also encompass all the people who think the NHS is a WHS.
June 26, 2021
“The migrants themselves are often frustrated that they are detained and not allowed to work whilst legal processes grind on.”
My response is, then perhaps they should have used the legal route.
June 26, 2021
They have no work in their own country because many are unemployable and have no real skills. If they did, they would have set up business there and built themselves up.
We have an Indian community that has a strong work ethic and has built many business, much like our Chancellor. I have no problem with this as they come here LEGALLY with money, good education and a desire to do well. They are a benefit. It is these people we need.
June 26, 2021
Arriving by dinghy to claim asylum is a legal route.
Reply Not from a safe country
June 26, 2021
I suppose there is a case to be considered. Is France a safe country?
June 26, 2021
Absolutely right Mark. It’s got nothing to do with nationality or being racist. We want decent law abiding citizens who can add to this country and not just take.
June 26, 2021
I can never understand how people who have ‘lost’ their papers are ever allowed into the country. I would have the state hold them in detention until they can be removed. You make it so there is a disadvantage to not having any proof of identity, instead we advantage those who lose their papers.
June 26, 2021
+1 No identity, no proof of a non-criminal background, no proof of having relatives here. Why on earth are they allowed to stay, and not only stay but get 4* treatment!
June 26, 2021
It’s funny how they always ‘lose’ their papers but never their mobiles! But you can easily tell where they came from, anyway. DNA tests, for instance, are very reliable, but even easier is just to get them to tell. Put them in prison, kept permanently in their cell, on porridge and water and with no outside communication, and they will soon want to go to another country!
Alternatively, just do a deal with some African country whereby they agree to take any undocumented asylum-seeker in return for a hefty wedge of foreign aid, directly into their leader’s bank account.
June 26, 2021
There should be no exception for Wales.
June 26, 2021
Apologies, if I was unclear. I meant English and a Welsh translation, not the myriad of languages from outside the UK. That said, if the Welsh Assembly want this, perhaps they should pay for this out of their own funds and not expect the English to pay for it. Afterall, aren’t we banned. đ
June 26, 2021
Absolutely nothing.
Without the draw of easy access to what is being currently offered, these poor people would not pay their life-savings to criminal gangs to make the dangerous journey from their own country to the UK.
As I’ve said before, encouraging illegal migrants to get here is as good as condoning the evil practice of people-trafficking.
June 26, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
Should Scotland ever achieve its Independence the problems associated with illegal immigration will necessitate the construction of a hard border, as the leader in Westminster has stated very clearly on many occasions that they need immigrants to come to work there. All fine but, the opportunities presented down south in employment, wages and better weather and therefore it is very easy to drop into good old England. Scotland did accept a high number of immigrants a few years ago and friends across the border are saying despite assistance in housing and benefits to help them to integrate a lot have just left and moved down south to be supported by friends and families.
It is a difficult problem but never the less one that has to be addressed. Maybe the leader of the SNP in the house could provide figures and information regarding the settlement, costs and numbers remaining in his country? I am sure directly or indirectly it is the non Scottish tax payers paying the lions share.
June 26, 2021
When I see something actually happen I will believe the government is serious. Until then in your wordsâ we donât believe youâ . Trebling the Border Force funding would be start. How many future terrorists are slipping in with the migrants.
And in other news obviously Hancock. What a weak pathetic PM, Johnson is proving to be. I cannot print the words I really want to use but his behaviour, especially after telling the rest of us off, is shameful, it stinks and he should have been fizzed out the door. Not for the affair but again double standards re Covid rules,
June 26, 2021
We don’t make judgements on people’s private lives, says government ministers. Yet they have made judgements about people’s private lives over the past year. For much of the year they have been telling people they can’t even go on an innocent date, yet government ministers are allowed to have affairs.
So we send a signal to the unsavoury regimes of the world that the UK government is vulnerable to honey traps. How much compromising material do they already have I wonder?
June 26, 2021
How can a man who has no morals, who is PM, sack a Minister for having no morals.
June 26, 2021
Whatever happened to the principle of looking after your own first?
The majority of the illegal immigrants are young men. Working more than likely in the black economy sending money home and paying off their traffickers. Doesn’t matter that perception is that the new breed of British young men will not work for low wages the very existence of a well organised illegal immigration labour pool ensures that there will never be progress in wages and conditions as it is uncontrolled.
June 26, 2021
A line has to be drawn – it would clearly be absurd to take all Africans who would like to move to the U.K. – 100million, or more. (I say African because thatâs from where most of the channel crossers come. People arriving at Heathrow and overstaying visas is a similar but separate problem).
So it is absolutely essential that we devise effective control on the number of entries into the country. When we have those mechanisms we can decide on how many, and who, should be allowed in.
Mechanisms to create effective border control should include:
– an explicit legal principle that illegal entry into the U.K. invalidates all claims for refugee or asylum status (if that breaches some soggy Human Rights treaty – then breach it).
– a rigid principle that all illegal entrants will be housed in camps that are either in Africa or on the Falkland Islands (There is lots of room, the local economy could do with the boost, and the Armed Forces are great at logistics), until they are returned to their country of origin, or any other, perhaps less crowded, country willing to take them.
– an explicit principle that for every illegal caught entering the U.K., aid to Africa (preferably their country of origin) will be reduced by ÂŁ1million.
June 26, 2021
Iâm one who thinks entry to the country should be done legally.
In Istanbul, and in a tiny village elsewhere (canât remember where) there is a travel agents advertising the passage to England and the village handing out leaflets, advertising passage to England. And Iâve no doubt there are othersâŠ.
It appears to be a very organised operation encouraging travel to England. I think a lot of English people think itâs poor people using their life savings in a desperate attempt – this may be true for some, but for most; theyâve possibly never considered the journey till they were shown it was possible.
Letâs face it, make the journey, and once youâve landed, you can demand whatever you want and it will be given to you- free home etc pocket moneyâŠ
Itâs the people traffickers who are to blame. They have to be stopped or eventually, weâll sink our island under the sheer weight of people!
June 26, 2021
No ! It is the ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ! They are the ones creating the demand. The demand is created by a UK Government signing up to all manner of international treaties on migration without so much as a thought to the consequences of doing so.
June 26, 2021
Correct Mark. If there were no illegals taking up the chance to come here there would be no need for traffickers.
June 26, 2021
More illegal immigrants have crossed the channel in the past 2 years than where at Calais â the UK have created a pull from the whole of EuropeâŠ.we are the top attraction for freebies
June 26, 2021
There are many legal and practical obstacles in the way of stopping and returning illegals to the safe countries they have left. I believe part of the trouble is people conflate the present situation with that of people fleeing Nazi Germany. Making the UK less attractive to illegals is necessary, but will not be enough.
June 26, 2021
Yes there are practical obstacles notably that EU countries are simply refusing to take people back. Ms Patelâs proposed changes will not stop supply and demand for illegal entry and the rather effective service provided by people smugglers. There seems no appetite for Australian style offshore processing of asylum claims so it seems weâll have to get used to it.
June 26, 2021
Perhaps Andy and MiC et al could be asked to spend some time lecturing in the French coastal migrant camps, telling the occupants that Britain is a ghastly, weak, insignificant little place and they would be far better off wallowing in the generous, refined, utterly law-abiding, economically sound and brilliantly-organised European Union?
June 26, 2021
Why don’t the EU have people doing it already?
June 26, 2021
I’d be prepared to arrange a whip-round to pay for their tickets – one way of course and not internet when they get there.
June 26, 2021
Positive humourus response, like it.
June 26, 2021
Great comment SM.
June 27, 2021
I don’t want illegal immigrants here any more than you do.
However, until these people have been found to have no claim the UK as a UN signatory has DUTIES towards such claimants.
If their claims are valid then they are not illegal, so not the subject of John’s piece anyway.
June 26, 2021
On one hand we have the Border Force welcoming illegal entry in to the UK by economic migrants from a safe country [France] and on the other the Home Office rejecting a visa extension to a Canadian health worker who has been on the frontline of the NHS dealing with the Covid pandemic.
June 26, 2021
Quote, What should we offer illegal migrants? endquote.
A free return trip to France.
June 26, 2021
Congratulations, Old Albion, you win post of the day đ
June 26, 2021
And immediate, preferably before their reaching the British shore.
June 26, 2021
Anybody without a valid visa should be refused entry
June 27, 2021
Try this Thought Experiment.
A person with no right to be in the UK, and who does not want to be here either, but who wants to be in France sets off in a boat for France.
Do you think that the French should be compelled to send him back here?
Because you demand the converse, don’t you?
Reply Yes, if a UK person tries to enter France illegally I have no problem with them sending them back to the UK which is a safe country.
June 26, 2021
An official acceptance of illegal immigrants opens up a dangerous precedent. If we can break or disregard one law, then surely, we can ignore any others that we consider irksome.
Also, we need to have control over who comes to live in our country, both in terms of numbers and types of people and illegal immigration on both counts is completely beyond any control.h
June 26, 2021
Interesting to see this red-rag-to-a-bull question being asked today. Something must be going on. Could it be anything to do with a government minister, perhaps?
June 26, 2021
They need to be told that if you enter our country by illegal means this will never be your home. End of.
June 26, 2021
They are NOT breaking the law by seeking passage without permission. before Brexit we had a system of co-operation by which we returned them. Now we have nothing. We are on our own
June 26, 2021
Garland. It seems to me we have an excellent system with the French. They bring them and we take them after paying the French to stop them. Typical of a weak British government.
June 26, 2021
@Garland – What rubbish — The alleged system we had did not result in a single return of illegals.
We were always on our own.
June 26, 2021
How many were returned or accepted by the EU when we were members?
June 27, 2021
Yes they are – they are breaking our immigration laws by intending to land and enter our country without permission. If they believe they have a case for asylum then they can apply at the British embassy in Paris and avoid a dangerous sea crossing.
June 26, 2021
Identity cards (non forgeable) for everyone and really draconian fines for anyone (for everyone, not just for businesses) employing people without an identity card would solve the problem of illegal immigration.
Refugees are another matter, of course.
I have to say I am much more concerned by the level of legal immigration – which Mr. Redwood’s goverment encourages and allows despite constantly saying they will ‘get the numbers down’. This green and pleasant land will be a housing estate in 50 years time – completely reliant on food imports as we will have built on our productive land.
I’ve asked you before, Mr. Redwood, but you never seem able to provide any sort of answer – why has your government, since 2010, allowed such high levels of immigration?
85% of the demand for ‘new housing’ comes from the constant increase in population.
June 27, 2021
Well, Mr Redwood?
June 26, 2021
– the chance to work their passage back home on a steam boat;
– the opportunity to work to pay off their bills while they remain here, then the cost of their transport back home;
– a map showing their way home, and a pair of shoes;
– the nearest airport where they can buy a flight home.
June 26, 2021
Yes to all of those.
June 26, 2021
Good, but Old Albion still has it đ
June 26, 2021
As others have said, nothing, absolutely nothing , of course nothing of note will happen for our political class are too frit to do anything that might upset the bleeding hearts and human rights lawyers.
I have commented here before that I believe the asylum system is unworkable , the numbers who could claim asylum are vast, in the order 70 million. The depth of the bleeding heart’s virtue signalling is way beyond the ability of our nation to cope with this unwanted invasion.
Those who value the asylum system should be the most motivated to ensure it works other wise there will be a lot more like me around who want to see it scrapped. They should be offended by the human rights circus it has become, where illegals are allowed to play the system, but they aren’t. They should be outraged that illegals are allowed to disappear ( when ‘no questions asked’ covid vaccinations were offered in London the police had to be called out for crowd control) but they aren’t. One of the biggest draws for illegals is the idea that once they get here they get to stay what ever the decision made. To get a minimum handle on the problem you have to deal with that.
June 26, 2021
A choice: repatriation or permanent internment at basic standard. A committment that they will never be granted citizenship of our country; no benefits, no legal aid. Treatment that is demonstrably different to that given to the legal migrant who applied through proper channels before arrival and to the genuine refugee.
June 26, 2021
When the law and the establishment actively encourages and engages in illegal activity because of unclear and exploited rules, you know you’ve got a serious security problem. We ALL have a duty to obey the law of the land, including those landing on our shores without invitation.
France is conveniently ignoring international law, exporting their illegal migrant problem to us and we’re the saps accepting 100% of the responsibility for their actions…….and paying them billions for the privilege. Win/win for France.
June 26, 2021
Having now read 27 comments and agreeing with the points made, I can only add by simply saying they are illegals who have used criminal gangs to try and enter the UK by any means possible, when there is already an established and legal method in place to apply for entry into the UK. so why should I have any sympathy with their position or cause.
The more that come here by this method, and are allowed to stay, even for a few days, the more the pull factor for even greater numbers.
Thus the answer is simple, they should be returned from where they came within 24 hours of arrival, we should certainly not be acting as a taxi service for criminal activity, and at the same time funding France to help them in their endeavours..
If they refuse to divulge from where they came, and have destroyed all papers and records, then we should have a default destination to where they are returned, dependent upon their DNA.
France is a neighbour, not a friend, we have paid them ÂŁMillions over the years to try and help them curtail this criminal people smuggling activity, but it would seem with little success.
In effect the taxpayer is now funding criminal activity, with the government complicit in helping that activity continue.
Time to get tough on crime and the causes of crime, oh where have I heard this before.
Lessons have not been learn’t have they, because it still continues, day after day after day.
The governments response and excuses are simply pathetic.
June 26, 2021
Comment too harsh for moderation John ?
June 26, 2021
This isn’t a 50:50 debate.
The vast majority is against Gov’t actions in the Channel.
This and CV19 social distancing sadism and mask sadism and vaccine roll out squandering (Hand-cock, G7, FIFA, Ferguson)
One rule for them and one rule for us.
How is your party getting away with it ?
June 26, 2021
Well, in June 2019, the CUP MPs gave us Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt to choose from. Then in July given the choice 92,000 CUP members preferred Mr Johnson to Mr Hunt (66% vs 34%) (characterised in some comments as Populism vs. Professionalism), then the GE gave a 80 majority to the PM.
Now please do not tell me that nobody on this blog ever voted to support these particular choices of the recent past.
So maybe the question should be: How are you feeling now? Proud of your choices?
And isnât it good that the PM is so attached to his Health Secretary?
June 26, 2021
I am very proud with my choice. Unfortunately he did not get in.
June 26, 2021
On the subject of legal immigration a remarkable – & as far as Iâm concerned very welcome – statistic has been published this week. It is now clear that up to 6m EU citizens have applied for permanent residency in the U.K. 6m EU citizens have taken the view that, âdespite Brexitâ, there are great opportunities in the U.K. the U.K. has efficiently and generously facilitated their decision (the reverse for the much smaller number of U.K. citizens in the EU is reportedly not happening in the same spirit).
Yet another plank of project fear has crashed – there was supposed to be a mass exodus. Under the Conservatives The U.K. has confirmed herself as amongst the most welcoming and cosmopolitan societies on Earth. We will all benefit.
June 26, 2021
There has been a mass exodus. Forcing people to apply to live in their homes is amongst the cruellest and nastiest things any government has ever done.
Imagine someone demand you apply to live in your house just because you are old.
You have massively upended peopleâs lives – causing huge amounts of distress to large numbers of people. It is sickening that you are âproudâ of perhaps what is the most shameful part of your Brexit mess. In years to come this will be known as Windrush 2.
Reply What nonsense. Why do so many EU citizens want to stay living here if it is so dreadful? AnD why has the UK generously facilitated all who wish to stay?
June 26, 2021
Sir John – why do you keep publishing this infantile tirade?
June 26, 2021
I think Sir JR publishes Andy’s posts so that we can all laugh at his stupidity. Andy is one of those despicable lefties who loves every country but his own. If asking people to apply to live in this country is “amongst the cruellest and nastiest things any government has ever done” then does he condemn every single EU country that is making UK citizens living over there apply for residency? I know people who live abroad and can assure you that Britain is far more welcoming and hospitable to EU citizens than they are to ours.
Andy and his ilk never accept that it is the EU who have caused all the problems by not agreeing to treat the UK with the generosity that, after all we have done for them, we so richly deserve. Instead they negotiated with hostility, hatred and anti-British racism. The EU have chosen to be our enemies, not – as I would have wished – our friends. And there is a word for those, like Andy, who side with their nation’s enemies …
June 26, 2021
‘Forcing people to apply to live in their homes’
Obviously with your vast intimate knowledge of the EU you are ignoring the fact that the EU is doing exactly the same, with the same end date.
June 26, 2021
If there was a mass exodus then there must have been many, many more here than had originally been assumed as they are still many more than was assumed (6 million v 3.9 million).
When you and your ilk are claiming that large numbers of immigrants from the EU do not create housing problems and that they generate more than they take were the calculation based on the lower or larger numbers?
I suspect the calculations were more than a little wrong and skewed in the favour of EU immigrants.
June 26, 2021
It’s just so funny watching your helpless rage as people realise Brexit is no big deal. There has been no mass exodus. In fact there are about 50% more EU citizens here than before the Brexit vote and many have come since. Keep it up. We need a laugh.
June 26, 2021
I would gladly accept anyone from the EU or the RoTW than the likes of Andy, MiC, Newmania, Margaret Howarth and other EU Lickspittles. At least I know that the new arrivals would be proud to call this their home.
June 26, 2021
Enough is enough no more illegals into this country, who knows exactly how many are already here illegally, government figures showed that there were about 3 million Europeans here but it turns out there’s over 5 million here,just stop the ferry service in the channel and if collected taken straight back without stepping foot on British ground
June 26, 2021
With the advances the Taliban are making, expect new waves of Afghans making their way to Europe and on to the UK. How can we in all honesty return them to Afghanistan given how we have contributed to trashing their country? “We can sort out the world’s problems”, said Tony Blair.
What a stupid and conceited man.
June 26, 2021
The Taliban have been requiring those that have taken up arms on the losing side to surrender their weapons and return to their villages. Do you have a problem with than?
June 26, 2021
It is very interesting that none of these immigrants appear to want to remain in the EU: clearly we are seen as a soft touch and that is something that must be put right. If the current law is getting in the way of this then the Home Secretary deserves every encouragement to make the necessary changes. While awaiting repatriation, or confirmation of assylum status, illegal immigrants should be made to pay their way by working.
We also need to get far greater cooperation from the French and other neighbouring countries in tracking dow nad prosecuting the people smugglers.
Off topic, one cannot avoid comment on the Hancock issue; if he does not feel he should resign, that is a matter for his conscience. The more important insight is that into the attitude of the Prime Minister who thinks that flouting of the rules that are causing all of us so much inconvenience, by someone who is responsible for imposing them, can be ‘Closed’ by a mere apology.
June 26, 2021
well, he leads by example…
June 26, 2021
I think the Australians had the right idea which saved many lives.
Allowing illegal immigrants to stay just encourages more to come and results in more deaths. It’s a callous policy which we should be ashamed of.
It also adds to the woes that the high rate of immigration have brought to our nations and especially our cities
June 26, 2021
The majority of illegal immigrants arriving are not asylum seekers in danger. They have willingly paid the traffickers to get them into the UK, often all the way from their home towns/villages.
We should be holding them in suitable camps for processing prior to deportation and certainly not putting them up in 4 star hotels with pocket money and free trips around Anfield stadium.
To give them the freedom to roam the country when we donât know who they are and what are their true intentions towards us is just madness. We already know that many do not agree with our values and way of life.
Those who believe we should have open borders to any and all those who wish to come to the UK to take advantage of our free social and healthcare, education, and accommodation should start to understand the difference between 70 million and 2 billion.
June 26, 2021
What are the most admired characteristics and behaviours in today’s Tory party and leadership? Grandstanding, hypocrisy, virtue signalling, cowardice, immorality and deceit, and of course spending our hard earned money on illegals without limits. Why should we respect this administration?
None of these illegals should be made welcome, their sob-stories should not be believed. They should be landed back in France immediately.
Our host sadly however enjoys virtue signalling, disguised as being ‘moderate’ and ‘reasonable’ through which he believes he can claim the moral high ground; he thus says merely that the present situation is undesirable and we should not have to be attending to it. He makes many sympathetic and caring noises. He is clearly not concerned enough about how our society is changing and how to protect the values and identity he once claimed he spoke for.
He thinks the Home Secretary means to stop illegals. He is loyal to the party and believes her.
She, nicknamed Priti Useless, has done nothing so far. As for her ‘initiating and enquiry’ about our Border Farce going over to the French side to bring illegals over, that is just a classic delaying tactic and nothing will come of it. If she thinks they should not have done it she should instruct the BF not to do it again and discipline whoever authorised it. But she is as gutless as all the others in authority. I say gutless, but I’m probably wrong in that they believe and are following the global policy and agreement that there should be unrestricted immigration.
Many of the here, whose many ancestors were born here are sick of being insulted but we are censored for holding such views.
June 26, 2021
Yes, a very well deserved rebuke.
June 26, 2021
I think it is clear that the majority want illegal immigration to be stopped. I am fortunate to own my own home, but if I were living in a squalid bedsit or one of the damp and fungus filled rental houses I would be asking why criminals get 4* star hotels and full board. It seems crime does pay, and it pays very well, aided and abetted by the government. Put them in holding camps and deport at the first opportunity. If they cannot be deported then treat them like the criminals they are, until they can be deported. If they want a lifetime in prison, then so be it. It is a better deterrent than treating them to luxury and rewarding them for their criminality.
June 26, 2021
Shirley, the government tried putting them in âholding campsâ and the courts (Donât know which courts) said they werenât good enough and they all got upgraded, even though they were previously in mud left to their own devices in France or office blocks with just a few toilets between hundreds. Maybe we need to do the barracks up to suitable standards, use the refugees to do the work with trained overseers, the refugees should be taught to cook and clean for themselves to earn their board they shouldnât just get all provided for free.
New holding camps near the big farms that we are told need labour perhaps? We need to speed up processing, set targets, and take action.
Or perhaps what your party needs to do John is find out where the 20% of Brits in the UK that fully support refugees rights to come into the UK live. Is there a typical postcode region? Is it perhaps because some of these areas your government has allowed a vast majority of refugees to be settled in already? We hear there are streets in Liverpool with homes for ÂŁ1, Liverpool is a very left wing City (If this is only a right wing issue as people like Andy suggest) do these strong pro-refugee left wing Cities want to take them all and provide them with jobs? They should be told if you leave your allocated placement you will be immediately deported back to your home nation no appeals. All of these people who earn big incomes stopping people being deported and fighting for their rights do any of them have spare rooms where they could each take a refugee, lets see them put themselves at their disposal.
June 26, 2021
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1454399/supermarkets-empty-shelves-staff-shortage-crisis-food-products?utm_source=daily_express_newsletter&utm_campaign=daily_evening_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid=32c00747-53bc-4777-9bcb-89cc485ba53c
Please tell us the government is actually doing something about this looming serious problem – They knew it was going to hit!
June 26, 2021
The BBC tells us âWhen we think about climate change and which things are doing the most damage to our planet what do we think of? Cars, airplanes, burning fossil fuels? Well what about wasted food? According to lots of experts we don’t really think enough about all the food we throw away. Did you know that every day we waste 20 million slices of bread, this creates greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to over 140,000 cars every year! In the UK, households waste 6.6. million tonnes of food and 4.5 million tonnes of that is edible food – products that could have been eaten. Says WRAP. It takes 65 billion litres of water to grow the potatoes we waste at home every year.
Perhaps this is the global plan. They say the food shortages are caused by a loss of haulage drivers but Tesco were bragging on pop up videos last week that theyâve converted 100 of 1000âs of deliveries to trains. This is a slippery slope of even more control over what we can eat, what we can buy, what we are allowed to produce or dispose of. I blame the education system when they stopped teaching what used to be called âhome economicsâ and taught them how to make pre-bought base pizza and nachos.
Here is the plan. The United Nations has set a target of halving world food waste by 2030. The UK has been working for a while to reduce food waste. Household food waste has reduced from 8.1 million tonnes to 6.6 million tonnes now. The UK government has promised to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 and has offered ÂŁ1.15 million of funding for businesses to come up with ways to tackle food waste.
Then they get the bonus of blaming this on Brexit or covid.
June 26, 2021
A decent home economics lesson could show how to take stale bread and instead of throwing it away create pizza bases and nachos.
Two problems solved in one go.
June 26, 2021
Agreeing to the specific inclusion of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Trade & Cooperation Agreement was a big mistake. It back-tracked on promises made to us that the government would not do so. On top of that, the EU Commission and EU are themselves not signatories to the ECHR – advised by the ECJ not to sign, because of the restriction on their autonomy!
Almost all the illegal immigrants are economic migrants. Yes, some come from countries where their local economies are desperately unhealthy (often, I’ve no doubt, because of the presence of massive multinational companies). But they come illegally. It is essential that the UK takes a very firm line, and returns these people very promptly. While they are still in the UK, could they not be moved to somewhere like the Falkland Islands, or South Georgia – get them comfortable accommodation, reasonable food etc, and perhaps get them to do something useful while they’re there?
That might dissuade some from coming in the first place.
June 26, 2021
What about sending them to the British Antarctic Territory (they might help the scientists over there), to the British Indian Ocean Territory (they might help the âcousinsâ in Diego Garcia), to the British Virgin Islands or to Turk & Caicos Islands (there might be jobs for those with financial qualifications) or to the Pitcairn Islands (well, that would be for those not qualified to go to the previous destinations).
And all these destinations now are on the green list (no self-isolation when later coming back to the UK).
June 26, 2021
A clarification:
It is not illegal to arrive by dinghy to claim asylum. So the entire premise of your post today is wrong.
Reply Most of them are illegal, coming from a safe country and wishing to be economic migrants. Since when did you see the EU as a place people needed to flee from?
June 26, 2021
a long way from the N.African coast in a dinghy. Could be possible future Olympic contestants.
June 26, 2021
Andy, explain to us plebs why it is necessary for certain migrants to pay significant sums to cross the Channel in possibly the most dangerous ways (dinghy/container lorry) rather than pay to use a legitimate ferry/Channel Tunnel train/or plane?
June 26, 2021
A clarification.
You are wrong. It is illegal to land a boat or dinghy without permission. It is made legal by Border Farce under Priti Useless picking them up, thereby ‘inviting them in’.
June 27, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
The lack of humanity in some of the responses here is enough to make me weep
June 26, 2021
It would make me weep if I and my family were trying to emigrate to the UK using the correct methods of application and all I saw was illegals coming in and staying.
Queue jumpers.
June 26, 2021
Peter2
this is more fake news these people are desperate and even when you are preented with University reeaerched facts about Brexit you come up with none substantiated issues and no real facts or figurs to prove them wrong, How very das grow up
June 27, 2021
bill
Why are they “desperate” to leave France?
You keep telling us how wonderful the EU is.
Perhaps you might try to explain to us all.
PS
I do find it ridiculous bill that you regularly criticise people who post for not providing you with “university researched facts and figures” yet hardly ever give us any yourself.
June 26, 2021
we’ll pass you a tissue.
June 26, 2021
And the lack of common sense in yours makes my jaw drop !
June 26, 2021
I have to be honest, it wouldn’t take long putting up a house full of economic migrants before I’d get fed up with them, and want them to leave.
If I’m not prepared to do it, I shouldn’t expect anyone else to either. Plus, I don’t want to have to pay tax for someone else to do it either.
June 26, 2021
Indeed. The way they dehumanise these poor people risking their lives in dinghies is shocking. Exactly the same phenomenon we saw in 1930s Germany.
June 26, 2021
You are getting more ridiculous and hysterical with every post young andy.
June 26, 2021
Villaking, perhaps it would do more good if you wept and actively protested at the inhumanity of those running the countries that prompt so many to escape – the unbelievably corrupt administrators, dictators, religious persecutors and terrorists who are so happy to exploit and harry their own people.
June 26, 2021
Villaking
No problem with us taking our share of genuine refugees, which we are informed is already costing us ÂŁ1 billion a year to fund whilst they are in official welfare camps, and whilst there they then can and do apply through the proper channels to apply for legal entry.
June 26, 2021
Heres a Kleenex , dab your eyes. Our attitude will not change
June 26, 2021
The ostentation of your post makes me want to weep.
June 26, 2021
Sir John,
These people are not doctors, they are not scientists, they are not engineers, they are chancers with no education and nothing to lose. They do not come to work, or contribute, or integrate. You only have to look at what’s happened in Germany and especially Sweden, their other two destinations of choice. The benefits are generous but employment opportunities are almost zero if you’re not fluent in the language. No they only come to England for a free ride, and they’re getting it. As an Iraqi told me after Merkel’s huge influx, the real refugees are in the camps.
I’ve said before that the Home Secretary should seek advice from Tony Abbott. Now I would like to see Tony Abbott as Home Secretary.
June 26, 2021
I noted recently that, oddly, there did not seem to be any reports made on our national broadcaster’s website, as far as was visible on the Dover & England tabs, re illegal migrant arrivals into Dover, not since June 14/15 despite the weather having improved since a previous number of bad weather days. However, good to see reports are still out there & on June 24, a total of up to 60, reportedly mostly young men & boys had been despatched by the people smugglers during improved weather conditions that day and were, reportedly, safely landed into Dover on HMS Seeker. Reported by newsfeeds.media website. Kent and its authorities are under increasing, unreasonable and unacceptable pressure.
June 26, 2021
If we hadn’t had Empire we wouldn’t have this problem – also looking at the names in the telephone listings we can plainly see that at least half of the total population of Britain – England especially – did not originate here and so must have come here over the centuries in the same way.
For instance- when did passport control and immigration checks actually start up in this country – I myself went round the world in the early 1960’s with no passport including to Australia
June 26, 2021
âA history of the UK passportâ can be found on homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk
June 26, 2021
Blake, when were Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan part of the British Empire?
June 27, 2021
We took over Iraq in 1921 – our involvement with Iran goes back centuries – we had two or three military campaigns in Afghanistan in the 19th century
June 26, 2021
We could of course think outside the box.
Why can’t we take a few billions from the “foreign aid” budget and offer it to somewhere like Iceland for a piece of land on which we can get the army to build a centre to process applications. This could be built in a very short time as were the Nightingale hospitals.
The Royal Navy could then transfer these people there to await processing of their applications.
Sounds like a win win to me. Those with a genuine claim could then be brought to the UK and those chancers without can be returned from whence they came.
Food medicine etc and facilities would be top notch, but it would stop the fact that once they set foot on British soil they are here to stay.
June 26, 2021
There is too much illegal immigration. We are too soft.
June 26, 2021
What should we offer illegal immigrants?
We should adopt the Australian approach and not allow them to set foot on the shoreline, theyâre not fleeing persecution theyâre economic migrants coming here to enjoy the good life funded by the Taxpayer, why does the government persist in this specious tactic?
My posts are being removed with increasing regularity which shows the line adopted by Sir John who should have the courage to publish comments which he doesnât agree with. MiC and Andy and several others donât seem to have such problems
Now letâs see if this makes it past moderation. I guarantee that it WONâT
June 26, 2021
Lester
Keep posting and keep highlighting.
June 26, 2021
Lester – Fully agree and similar with me, if it does not fit the narrative it is not published. The real conspiracy theorists believe that their government cares about them, the media would never mislead or lie to them and the pharmaceutical industry that makes billions from sickness wants to cure them.
June 26, 2021
No Foreign Aid without repatriation.
Itâs ludicrous to say âwe donât know which country a person originates fromâ. I can pinpoint the origin of the majority of British people to within a few miles just by their accent.
Iâm sick to death of our weak government allowing criminals into our country. They promise to sort it out but do nothing. Next Boris will be touting his beloved amnesty policy in order to get them vaccinated.
June 26, 2021
A bunk bed in a cold dormitory, bread and water and a ticket to a holding refugee camp in Africa within two weeks.
There must be no processing of applications for asylum or residency of any kind from those who arrive without permission.
June 26, 2021
+1
June 26, 2021
What alarms many people is what are these people offering us? The same as all invaders and to this the politicians of this country are absolutely indifferent.
June 26, 2021
IAGO -These people do not offer us anything. They know the UK is a “soft touch” and once they step foot on UK soil there will be a band of lawyers, do gooders, lefties etc to assist them.
June 26, 2021
Much comment here about the French taking back migrants. Why? They are not French. France has no obligation towards them.
On the other hand, are there no human rights lawyers in France taking the French government to the ECHR, for neglecting to care for unaccompanied minors, leaving them as prey to people traffickers and abuse?
June 26, 2021
Dave Andrews
“France has no obligation towards them. ” But France DOES have an obligation to return them to the previous country they passed through to get to France. If that country is not safe….the french have to give them assylum. Much easier though for the french to simply dump what they don’t want in England, because we have a quisling government that does what the french say.
June 26, 2021
Asylum should only be for those at personal risk for supporting Western values.
750 million people want to migrate. France should scoop people up process, and return them. Humanely it should be with money to start up again. This should come from aid budgets.
June 26, 2021
On the subject of Priti Useless and her refusal to change the law, I see that the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that extremist protesters can be disruptive and anti-social and cannot be prosecuted. And what has the Home Sec’s response been? Complete silence. The government has a massive majority in the Commons. So why doesn’t it USE it?? Why doesn’t she rush through emergency legislation clarifying that protests or demonstrations that are disruptive are illegal? It would be very simple to draft a one paragraph Bill to this effect. But once again we see that Priti Useless has no gumption, no backbone and no determination to get the job done.
And as for these left-wing, political and activist judges, why doesn’t Robert Buckland – the Lord Chancellor – sack them? Of course, the law would need to be changed to allow him to do so, but why doesn’t he do so? Again we see that a government with a huge majority is refusing to take action to solve the problems of the country. This government is weak and pathetic and is refusing to do the job they were elected to do. The ultimate blame must, of course, be laid at Boris Johnson’s door. The man is utterly useless and has to go.
June 26, 2021
What should we offer illegal migrants?
A ticket back home and escort to the plane. Anything else will surely encourage more.
June 26, 2021
Following our signing of the Global Compact on Migration by one of Mrs May’s minions, are these illegal migrants actually legal now? Altogether now:
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.
1 Each little flowâr that opens,
each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colours,
God made their tiny wings.
June 26, 2021
Absolutely NOTHING and you can thank!!!! Theresa May for signing us into the UN Migration Agreement.
June 26, 2021
what should we offer?
a pre fab hut on an uninhabited island far from anywhere
nothing more, nothing less
June 26, 2021
Despite the polls showing that 76% of the UK want to see immigration reduced and the Conservative Party putting this policy in their manifestos very little, if anything, has been done to curb immigration whether it be legal or illegal.
Consequently the Conservative Party are in great danger of delegitimising themselves with the UK voters, just as Labour have done first in Scotland and then in the North of England.
Perhaps the 17,000 Conservative vote drop in the recent Chesham and Amersham by-election may be the first sign of the Conservative Party also losing its legitimacy.
June 26, 2021
We should show them the door to legal entry into this country.
June 26, 2021
“What should we offer illegal migrants?” – immediate return to ther safe country [usually France] from which they came to the UK.
June 26, 2021
We have all but eliminated would-be migrants from arriving by air or train so we are starting from the premise that everyone who attempts to cross the channel is acting illegally. We cannot pick them up at sea, bring them to the UK and then prosecute them as we would be accused of aiding and abetting.
The French will never take them back so attempting to reach agreement with them is a waste of time.
The only solution is to crack down hard : Give plenty of notice that no ships will be sent out to pick up any migrants attempting the crossing. When the notice period expired, anyone caught landing in Kent will be arrested and prosecuted with the penalty being at least a five year sentence followed by deportation. They can avoid prosecution if they admit where they come from and agree to be repatriated immediately.
As the Australians found, the trade can be stoped almost overnight if migrants to know they have no chance of remaining in the UK if they arrive illegally from a safe country.
June 27, 2021
Exactly thisâŠâŠ
June 26, 2021
O/T Rosie Carr, IC 25/06/2021 âWhere are the home grown tech stars?â
âTesla investor warns of âdeep sicknessâ in UK capital marketsâ, FT 21/06/2021
These might be of interest to some, particularly to the one who the other day was asking where the British Google is and when it might come.
June 27, 2021
There are more tech startups in the UK each year than in any other European country. There are also more “unicorns” which are private startups worth more than a billion. There are plenty of websites that specialise in startups.
June 27, 2021
jon, Indeed it is so, just 672,890 in the fiscal year 2018/2019, 665,495 in 2019/2020. However these great numbers have to be put into perspective with the around 57% that have disappeared before the five yearsâ mark (the number for the start-ups created in FY 2013/2014).
Possibly a more relevant question might be related to âWhat percentage of start-ups make it to 5, 10 years? what percentage actually turn a profit?â and this sort of down-to-earth things.
Unfortunately politicians (of all colours) are more likely to comment on the âcreation of start-upsâ aspect than on the âfailureâ one.
June 26, 2021
We’re losing the wood for the trees here. None of this is about party politics or about howling at the Tories. The bottom line is that if you admit immigrants to your country – it does not matter how, even by inaction – then you want them to contribute to society, so you do your best to integrate them.
And if you don’t admit them, you do so in an effective and humane way, which inevitably involves negotiations with the countries of origin and probably economic assistance to create jobs where the potential immigrants come from.
July 2, 2021
jon, which is why my original message started with âO/Tâ.
June 26, 2021
They need to be put in an internment camp on (say) a Hebridean Island with no prospect of leaving it except by returning whence they came. Only an unpleasant prospect will stop the nonsense.
June 26, 2021
The truth is it’s the french that send them here, and until we get a PM with the balls to stand up to french threats the problem will continue.
June 26, 2021
On the bright side……Wales got beat 4 – 0.
It’s about time we had something to cheer us up.
June 26, 2021
Tories (and country) need to give a big thank you to Matt Hancock. He wasn’t perfect. But he did a great job in getting this country jabbed asap and in a near impossible situation from the beginning of the pandemic 2020.
June 27, 2021
The vaccination program was largely down to Bingham and Zaharwi
June 27, 2021
No Ed Iâm sorry but Hancock told people they couldnât walk their own daughter down the aisle, hug their mother Or father at a funeral in church if they werenât living together, relatives werenât allowed to touch a dying loved one in hospital, there was a control that the bride and groom couldnât have their first dance and he was smooching his lady love behind a door. Which obviously showed he did not believe either the danger he was telling us we were in or he was willing to put her children and his children and elderly dependents, colleagues and staff at risk. He was lying one way or the other.
The PM should not be expected to make a snap on the day decision on dismissal no other boss would. I never understand why the union appointed MPs call for this when they wouldnât stand for it in any other workplace, he should say, the minister is suspended for two days during an investigation and will be called in to a disciplinary hearing. Not âhe has my backing and thatâs the end of itâ idiotic statement that was rushed out.
June 27, 2021
Not saying Matthew Hancock should stay or go (no strong views) or that he was perfect in his job but that he has gone and my sympathy to him over his role in Health last year when no-one around the Western world knew really how to react. That’s all.
June 27, 2021
Just do what the Australians did a few years ago
All people attempting illegal entry – 100% guaranteed shipment to offshore processing point with guarantee of no immigration permitted.
After the initial howls of outrage , the flow of migrants stopped as both the smugglers and the people paying them realised they were not going to get in.
June 27, 2021
As you can see from my post above, I agree with you but the problem is finding a country offshore that will allow us to set up an offshore processing point. Then, of course, there are the legal aid lawyers who would have a field day unless the police are empowered to take the illegals straight to the airport and a waiting plane.
Very expensive to have a plane and crew on standby 24/7.
June 27, 2021
They have come from France, so we should collect them and deliver them back there, destroying the Dinghy in front of them. Do this for a week or too and the people smugglers will be out of business. They are not asylum seekers, but breaking and entering this country and need to be treated as such, donât let them drown or come to any harm, but donât reward their criminal enterprise either. France is a safe country, and in the wonderful EU!
June 27, 2021
It’s taken a very long time to get nowhere, now there’s to be an inquiry – how long will that take?
One could be forgiven for believing that it’s all talk with no intent to act.
June 28, 2021
The report in today’s Times is very good news. an Australian-style offshore processing centre is the only way to stop the people traffickers in their tracks. It will save lives and a lot of misery for economic migrants seeking an easy route out of poverty instead of working to improve their own country.
Ms Patel will have a heroic struggle to get the policy through Parliament but it will be immensely popular with voters. Labour and the Lib Dems will oppose it at their peril.
June 28, 2021
It will be interesting to see how many Conservative MPs oppose the policy.
Alan Duncan, springs to mind…………..
July 5, 2021
What utter Tosh..these are economic migrants ..young men who will bring yet more of their kith and kin to the UK and who will either then work for peanuts to keep big tory backers in profit or turn to crime and attacking their vulnerable browbeaten hosts …no one trusts Priti Useless, in fact no-one trusts the Tories …because they lie incessantly.