Would More Border Force Boats Encourage More People To Attempt Channel Crossing?

29 December 2018, 12:43 | Updated: 29 December 2018, 13:29

As Home Secretary Sajid Javid calls the rise in migrants attempting to cross the English Channel a "major incident", Matt Stadlen questions whether additional Border Force vessels would only encourage more to follow.

Speaking on his LBC show, Matt Stadlen said: "I think it's worth spelling out first that the Border Force has just one of its five cutters and two coastal patrol vessels currently policing the channel and picking up migrants.

"Do you think that that sounds remotely enough?

"The Home Secretary also commissioned detailed options from Border Force about the provision of additional vessels in the channel and that is including another border force cutter and whether, and this is the key question, whether this is likely to encourage more people to try and make the crossing rather than act as a deterrent."

He said: "I said that this is counter-intuitive stuff, but is there some reason to it?

"If we fill the channel with boats, so migrants know that they will be rescued and very possibly brought back to this country where according to a conversation I just had with the Home Office before coming on air they would very likely go through an asylum process they might be put up in accommodation.

"Would this somehow encourage people rather than deter them and thereby risk more lives, not to mention bully us as a country into accepting people coming here illegally?"