LONDON
\nUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak blames the \u201ccriminal gangs\u201d facilitating small boat Channel crossings for the \u201chorrific\u201d weekend deaths of at least six migrants, his spokesman said Monday. Six Afghan men died and dozens more required rescuing after a small vessel bound for the southeast English coast from France sank in the Channel in the early hours of Saturday.
\n\u201cThe blame for the tragedy we\u2019ve seen in the Channel in recent days lies squarely in the hands of criminal gangs who are exploiting people\u2019s lives for profit,\u201d Sunak\u2019s spokesman told reporters. \u201cThis is a horrific tragedy and his thoughts first and foremost are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a stark reminder of how dangerous these crossings are and how vitally important it is to disrupt these criminal gangs, and it is right the government acts urgently and takes all possible steps to close down this route.\u201d
\nSunak\u2019s government has faced strong criticism from migrants\u2019 rights groups for its policies toward the small boats, after recently barring arrivals from claiming asylum and pursuing plans to deport them immediately to Rwanda.
\nBoth plans are on-hold pending a court challenge to sending the migrants to east Africa.
\nThey have also been criticized for planning to house up to 500 migrants in a barge off the coast of southwest England, and others at similar sites in future.
\nThe first few dozen migrants were placed on the \u201cBibby Stockholm\u201d last week, but in an embarrassing setback had to be removed within days after Legionella bacteria was found in the water on board.
\nHowever, Sunak\u2019s spokesman insisted the government\u2019s policies aimed at deterring small boats was working, pointing to fewer arrivals so far this year compared to at the same stage in 2022.
\nHe said a deal struck between Britain and France in March, which sees London send Paris hundreds of millions of euros annually to step up patrols and other deterrent measures, was effective.
\n\u201cObviously we think there\u2019s more to do on both sides but it\u2019s true that since we improved and enhanced our relationship with France we have seen more people who would wish to make those crossings being intercepted and that\u2019s a positive step,\u201d the spokesman added.
\nMore than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to southeast England since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed last Friday.
\nThe route across one of the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes has repeatedly proved perilous, with numerous previous capsizes and scores of migrants drowning in the waters over the last decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak blames the \u201ccriminal gangs\u201d facilitating small boat Channel crossings for the \u201chorrific\u201d weekend deaths of at least six migrants, his spokesman said Monday. Six Afghan men died and dozens more required rescuing after a small vessel bound for the southeast English coast from France sank in the Channel in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-349270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n