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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Watch: Braverman says illegal immigrants not welcome in UK
‘Many thousands of people are being sold a lie,’ the home secretary said.
‘Cruel and punitive approach won’t work'
Natalie Roberts, executive director at Medecins Sans Frontieres UK, said: “The Government needs to now take urgent measures to ensure tragedies like this do not happen again...
“This means recognising that a cruel and punitive approach, such as that outlined by the Prime Minister yesterday, will not stop Channel crossings and will simply cause more suffering...
“The horrific incident that occurred in the Channel today was a consequence of a lack of safe routes.”
Watch: ‘No reason’ for Albanians to seek asylum in UK
'Most Channel migrants are from crisis zones’
Laura Kyrke-Smith, International Rescue Committee UK executive director, said: “The majority of people crossing the Channel are from the world’s crisis zones.
“They put their lives at risk because they feel they have no choice.
“The UK Government has prioritised ineffective deterrence at the expense of humane, compassionate, and effective options for those who need our protection, and last night’s victims have paid for it with their lives.
“We urge the Government to urgently establish safe routes for asylum seekers, coordinating with European partners, and ensuring that protection is given based on the needs of each person, not on their mode of arrival.”
Dover MP calls for patrols on French beaches
Dover Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has called for joint patrols on the French beaches.
She said: “It is the news that I as the MP for Dover and Deal, and people across my community, fear day after day, particularly in wintry and cold conditions.
“That boat shouldn’t have been in the water in the first place, let alone in these kind of conditions at this time of year.”
Ms Elphicke added: “It is time for joint patrols on the French beaches to stop the boats getting in the water in the first place, and a joint security zone across the Channel to make sure that instances like these can’t happen and we bring small boats crossings to an end.”
More people-smugglers will be arrested, Braverman vows
The home secretary says work on to arrest people-smugglers by the National Crime Agency is “extensive and coherent” and set to increase.
Union calls for Braverman to quit
The PCS union has called for the Home Secretary to resign, calling the Channel deaths avoidable.
The union’s head of bargaining, Paul O’Connor, said: “Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives in the Channel and with their families and loved ones whose anguish at these developments will be unimaginable...
“Today’s tragedy, coming just over 12 months after 32 people tragically lost their lives in the Channel, was entirely avoidable.
“The Home Secretary, 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.”
Coastguard union calls on Braverman to ‘resign in disgrace’ after Channel deaths
Home secretary failed to adopt policy for safe and legal routes, says PCS
No 10 denies Sunak has ‘blood on hands’
Downing Street has rejected accusations that the government has “blood on its hands”, saying the allegation was not “appropriate”:
No 10 denies Sunak has ‘blood on hands’ over Channel migrant deaths
‘Not appropriate’ to point finger of blame at government, says PM’s spokesperson
Opinion: Sunak and Braverman are battling over the crisis – and only one can win
Rishi Sunak will not be able to resort to the politicians’ favourite trick of blaming someone else, such as Suella Braverman, if he fails to deliver his pledge to clear the backlog of asylum claims by the end of 2023, as the election approaches, writes Andrew Grice:
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