British taxpayers have paid for more than 1,000 free hijabs for small boat migrants so far this year, according to new figures, prompting a poll on whether the Home Office should continue funding the headwear.
The Home Office has insisted it has a legal duty to provide the hijabs, worn by Muslim women and girls. However, the Conservatives and Reform UK have criticised the practice.
Political backlash over free headwear
The Conservatives said it is “an insult to hard-working British taxpayers” to hand out the free head coverings to those “breaking into our country”, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the “madness must be stopped” after this newspaper revealed the death toll from the deadly crossings had passed 180.
That figure rose again on Monday when French authorities revealed a 10-year-old child and two women died after they were “likely crushed” in a dinghy while attempting to cross the English Channel.
Shadow Home Secretary calls for immediate halt
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called on the Government to “immediately” stop handing out hijabs to migrants crossing the Channel on dinghies. He told The Mail on Sunday: “It's an insult to hard-working British taxpayers that they're funding religious items for people who have broken into our country.
“It should not be for us to fund someone else's religious practices. Many illegal immigrants actually hate our values.
“Many come here for free accommodation and a life on benefits at our expense. Illegal immigrants crossing the channel are breaking into our country.
“They have no legitimate reason to flee France, which is clearly safe. That's why we must leave the European Convention on Human Rights so we can deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival.”
Crossing numbers and policy changes
More than 19,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, down 42% compared to the same point last year.
This week, it was confirmed that the “one in, one out” migrant deal with France has been scrapped. The Home Office said the pilot scheme is “no longer processing new cases”, after France reportedly demanded a Europe-wide deal instead.
People who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel could be detained and returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers who applied through a safe and legal route under the scheme, which was a flagship policy under Sir Keir Starmer, who left Number 10 in July.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We have made progress tackling the small boats. Crossings are down significantly. We have just recorded the fewest summer arrivals since 2020.”
