Watch: ‘This is for Rishi Sunak’, migrant says, as dinghy moves down freshwater canals unobstructed by French police
30 July 2024, 06:06
Migrant says ‘this is for Rishi Sunak’ as dinghy leaves France across Channel
This is the moment a migrant shouted 'this is for a Rishi Sunak' as a dinghy made its way down freshwater canals towards the English Channel.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The migrant made the declaration as the boat picked up more people near Calais before heading towards the UK.
Dozens of migrants entered the water at Gravelines and pulled themselves onto an already packed boat.
It comes as the latest figures show there had been a record number of crossings for the first seven months of a calendar year.
According to the Home Office, 255 migrants made the journey on Sunday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 16,457.
The previous record for arrivals in the seven months from January to July was 16,420 in 2022, with 14,732 making the journey in the same period last year.
Men, women and young children, some wearing life jackets, could be seen appearing from sand dunes and walking across the beach.
Some youngsters were carried on shoulders, but families turned back from the sea as others walked out into the water to be picked up by the inflatable boat.
Police patrolled the beach and appeared to approach families before they turned away.
In the Commons, Reform UK's Ashfield MP Lee Anderson accused France of being "complicit" in migrant Channel crossings in light of the latest activity, asking Yvette Cooper: "Does the Home Secretary agree with me it's time now to stop paying the French any more money until they stop being complicit in this evil trade?"
Ms Cooper said the crossings were "extremely dangerous" as she mentioned the latest death, adding: "Criminal gangs are deliberately cramming boats to maximise their profits, and they have been getting away with it for far too long.
"That is why we need a new border security command in place, but it is also why we need to work not simply with the French police but also with police forces and organisations right across Europe, and beyond, in order to pursue the gangs and to prevent the boats reaching the French coast in the first place", she said.
Last year, 29,437 migrants made the journey to the UK, down 36% on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
Monthly data comes from the most recent Home Office quarterly update on irregular migration to the UK, which presents the "final and authoritative statistics on small boat arrivals".
