Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he has written to foreign diplomats in the UK about immigrants using small boats to cross the English Channel.
It comes as 537 people arrived on Saturday onboard nine boats, bringing the yearly total to 24,830.
Speaking from the main stage on Sunday at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Mr. Cleverly said his office has and will continue to “coordinate and cooperate not just across government, but with our international allies as well” when it comes to stopping the boats.
“We have collaborated closely with the governments of the countries where these inhumane people-smuggling gangs are based,” he said.
“But I recognise that we need to keep going, and so today I’ve written to all of our ambassadors, all of our high commissioners, and I’ve instructed each and every one of them to do even more work with the countries in which they represent the UK to help stop the abhorrent trafficking of human lives across the English Channel.”
The total number of illegal immigrants who came on small boats so far this year has come down compared to the same period last year but still higher than those of 2021 and 2022.
The latest journeys across the shipping lanes of the Channel come despite the death of a woman earlier this week.
Her body was found on a beach near Calais, France, on Tuesday and is being investigated by French police.
The National Crime Agency has charged Sudanese national Howmalow Mawumd-Duop, 21, with facilitating illegal immigration following the death.
An investigation by the News Agents Investigates podcast has found migrants are being offered trips across the Channel from Dunkirk for £1,500 per person, claiming they would be taken to a four-star hotel by British police once they arrive.
The people smugglers also claim Brexit has made it easier for them as they state there are “no fingerprint” checks any more, the podcast said.
The team of undercover reporters posed as family members looking to bring a cousin to the UK illegally. The reporters covertly recorded their conversations with the people smugglers.
On the safety of crossing the Channel, one of the gang said: “If the boat has a problem, the [UK] police will come to help the boat. When the boat goes into the English Channel the police are waiting and will help … They will take him to a four-star hotel.”
On the benefits of Brexit, the gang is reported to have said: “Now England is out of Europe, it is very good for us … no fingerprints.”
On how to claim asylum, they added: “After eight months, you’ll have your interview … you have to make a good case, a political case … Political is good because they cannot bring you back to your country.”
Tory Clashes on ‘Multiculturalism’
On Sunday, former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel snubbed her predecessor Suella Braverman’s comment on multiculturalism, saying voters need the government to deliver rather than make statements.In a speech to the think tank the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, the home secretary said developed nations have “no capacity to meet more than a fraction of” the demand for immigration.
She blamed “NGOs and others including the U.N. refugee agency“ for the liberal interpretation of the Refugee Convention, saying it led to asylum seekers being able to ”travel through multiple safe countries and even reside in safe countries for years while they pick and choose their preferred destination to claim asylum.”
The home secretary also took aim at what she called the “misguided dogma of multiculturalism,” saying it had “failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it” and “pursue lives aimed at undermining the stability and threatening the security of our society.”
Ms. Braverman doubled down on Friday by telling GB News there will be a “disintegration in our society” if action is not taken while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rejected that multiculturalism has failed, saying the UK is “a fantastic multicultural democracy” that has “done an incredible job of integrating people into society.”
Asked about Ms. Bravermane’s speech, Dame Priti suggested Ms. Braverman used the rhetoric to “get attention” ahead of the general election, which she “absolutely” understands.
But she also rejected that multiculturalism has failed, telling Sir Trevor Phillips they are both “the products of actual integration, multiculturalism, dynamic communities, people who love our country, want to contribute to our country, along with a hell of a lot of other people that have done exactly the same.”
“I think that is something we should be proud of in our country,” she said.
Mr. Sunak, Ms. Braverman, and Dame Priti all have Indian heritage, while Sir Trevor was born to parents in, what was at the time, British Guiana.
‘Pledges Are No Substitute for Action’
Asked if the home secretary should have “stopped some boats” before sounding off on theoretical and cultural issues, Dame Priti said while the government has promised to stop the boats, “this side of a general election, if I might politely suggest, it is about delivery and the government will be judged on delivery.”She said the public is “sick of hearing about some of these issues and the failure to deliver,” adding, “I think it is right that everyone puts a shoulder to the wheel and cracks on and does the work.”
“Home secretaries of the day should be speaking about a range of issues in their portfolio,” she said, adding that it’s a “very difficult” and “multifaceted” job.
One of the government’s flagship policies, introduced by Dame Priti and backed by Ms. Braverman—removing illegal immigrants, including asylum seekers, to Rwanda—has yet to take flight after the first plane was grounded by the European Court of Human Rights.
