Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has attributed the record surge in migrant crossings of the English Channel, exceeding 10,000, to favorable weather conditions. She emphasized that smuggling gangs are taking advantage of calm days to operate. Cooper highlighted the risks posed to border security and lives due to these activities and mentioned the government's success in persuading France to alter its intervention policies regarding these crossings. New measures allowing French police to intervene are anticipated to take effect in the coming months.
The boats are high and this is undermining border security, it's putting lives at risk. It's why it's so essential to take action on the criminal gangs that are underpinning this vile trade in people.
The impact on our border security of the weather is so significant... They have been taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days.
We've now persuaded the French government to change their rules, to change their laws effectively, so that the French police can intervene with those boats and prevent people getting on them.
The smuggling gangs are launching boats further up the coast, knowing that the French police could not and would not intervene.
Collection
[
|
...
]