Channel deaths: Braverman urged to quit after migrants die in crossing tragedy
Home secretary ‘has vilified the very people she now feigns sympathy with’, says PCS
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Your support makes all the difference.A union has called for home secretary Suella Braverman to resign following the deaths of four migrants in the Channel as their boat sank.
Women and children are reportedly among survivors fighting for their lives in hospital after the dinghy capsized in the English Channel in freezing weather in the early hours. A search-and-rescue mission was launched and 43 other people on board were rescued.
Paul O’Connor, of the PCS union, said: “Suella Braverman says her heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved. Those words ring utterly hollow when she has spent her time as home secretary vilifying and demonising the very people she now feigns sympathy with. She should resign in disgrace.”
Ms Braverman told the Commons there would be new legislation to end criminal gangs, but shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said responses by ministers to people-smuggling and trafficking gangs had been too weak, calling for further action.
Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet in Kent, said: “Some of the survivors are still fighting for their lives [in hospital], and I understand that some of them are women and children.”
Read below for how our live coverage unfolded:
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English channel rescue: Four migrants dead and 43 saved in dinghy crossing tragedy- No 10 denies Sunak has ‘blood on hands’ over Channel migrant deaths
‘It’s coming for everyone, like coronavirus’: The town sinking into poverty – and the people fighting back
Home Secretary responds to “terrible tragedy” in Commons
Opening her statement on the incident in the Channel in the Commons, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “This is an ongoing search-and-rescue incident but I can confirm at the time of making this statement tragically there have been four fatalities.
“It would be inappropriate for me to go into further detail at this time.
“There is a multi-agency response to this terrible tragedy.”
Braverman expresses sympathy
The Home Secretary told the Commons: “This morning’s tragedy, like the loss of 27 people on one November day last year, is the most sobering reminder possible of why we have to end these crossings.”
She had earlier told MPs that a full statement “will be provided to the House in due course once the facts have been fully established and the necessary investigative work completed”.
Ms Braverman also expressed her sympathies and paid tribute to those working on the search-and-rescue operation.
She said: “I know that everyone in this House and across the country will join me in expressing our profound sadness and deepest sympathies for everyone affected by this terrible event.
“I know that they will also join me in offering our profound gratitude to those working on the search-and-rescue.”
Braverman: We will extend legal migrant routes
Suella Braverman vowed the government would extend safe and legal routes once it had dealt with illegal people-smuggling gangs.
Dinghy washed up on French coast
An inflatable dinghy was washed up damaged on on the beach in Gravelines, one of the beaches used by migrants to leave by small dinghies the coast of northern France.
Biggest ever deal with France will tackle crossings, says home secretary
Suella Braverman said the “largest-ever small boats deal with France” would help to tackle future crossings.
She added: “It was evident that we had to go much further, which is why the Prime Minister announced a new package yesterday.
“It includes a new, permanent, unified small boats operational command, bringing together the military, civilian capabilities and the National Crime Agency.”
‘Lack of safe routes leaves door open for traffickers'
Jasmine O’Connor, chief executive of Anti-Slavery International, said: “Our thoughts are with the families of those who were seeking sanctuary on our shores, who deserve to be able to do so with safety and dignity.
“In a week sandwiched by Human Rights Day and International Migrants Day, we are witnessing a government systematically withholding rights of vulnerable people and dismantling the systems of support for modern slavery victims...
“We have seen rhetoric lead to real harm. If we demonise our neighbours and deny safe migration routes, we will continue to see disaster and tragedy as we are seeing today.
“Not only does this dangerous rhetoric undermine the safety of victims of trafficking, but the lack of safe routes leaves the door wide open for traffickers, meaning more people will be at risk of exploitation.”
Home secretary promises new legislation on illegal migrants
The home secretary said early next year the government would introduce new legislation “to make it unambiguously clear that if someone comes to the UK illegally they should not be able to remain here”.
“Instead they can expect to be detained and swiftly returned either to their home country or to a safe country where their claim for asylum will be considered.”
Once someone has been removed, they will have no right to re-entry settlement or citizenship, which would deter migration, she said, adding there would be an annual quota for migration.
Suella Braverman praised the rescuers who were “undertaking immensely difficult work”.
“Crossing the Channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous endeavour,” she said.
The government was working to destroy the business model of gangs who treat humans as cargo.
The tragedy was “the most sobering reminder possible of why we have to end the crossings”.
She referred to yesterday’s package, which included advanced technology, more than 700 new staff and a doubling of funding for the National Crime Agency to tackle gangs.
“It is literally vital that we end the crossings,” she said.
Watch: Lifeboat arrives at Kent port
Lifeboat arrives at Kent port as four deaths confirmed in Channel migrant rescue
At least four people have died after a small boat carrying migrants across the English Channel failed amid freezing conditions. Footage shows a lifeboat pulling into a port on the Kent coast as a multi-agency rescue mission continued in the frosty waters. More than 40 migrants have been rescued by crews on Wednesday, 14 December, after the alarm was raised at 3:40am. English and French crews were working together, with the Royal Navy and French Navy among the agencies involved. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
There were people in the water everywhere, says fisherman
Fishermen were the first to discover the stranded migrants, with one crew member saying he initially heard people screaming for help.
Skipper Raymond counted 45 people surrounding his fishing boat, he told Sky News. “It was like something out of a second world war movie, there were people in the water everywhere, screaming,” he said.
Four migrants dead after crossing English Channel in dinghy during freezing weather
More than 30 of those rescued were pulled from the water by a fishing crew
Two lifeboats arrive in Dover after search operation
Two lifeboats have arrived in Dover following a large search-and-rescue operation in the Channel.
The Ramsgate RNLI lifeboat, as well as a smaller RNLI rib, arrived at Dover at around 1.35pm.
The Dover lifeboat, which came to shore at around 11.15am, brought a body to shore in a body bag.
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