Video footage has captured the moment a man abandoned an injured child in the water before climbing onto a Channel dinghy, as the stricken youngster was rescued. The man carried the child through the waves towards a waiting taxi boat on the same day 781 people crossed the Channel.
After a wave crashed into the small child, the migrant continued pushing towards the boat, which was already packed with asylum seekers. A wave then carried the vessel into the pair, and the child started floating on top of the water. French lifeboat crews rushed through the water, lifting the terrified child onto a rescue paddleboard. But the video shows the man turning away and trying to climb onto the dinghy.
Record crossings and political backlash
The incident came as 781 people crossed the Channel, a record number for this year. It has heaped pressure on ministers as they try to convince people the borders are secure.
Some 18,565 people have crossed the Channel this year, down 42% on the equivalent point last year. New analysis has revealed the number of migrants to have crossed the Channel is greater than the number of full-time soldiers in the British Army. Some 83,279 people have arrived in small boats, overtaking the 83,000 in the Army.
Political responses and government review
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour has let an entire Army-sized population cross the Channel illegally.” He added: “More people have arrived in small boats than we have soldiers defending Britain. That is completely bonkers. Labour has lost control of our borders and seems utterly incapable of getting it back.”
Labour's Lucy Powell claimed that Border Force cannot intercept every single migrant crossing. The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, launched an "urgent review" as officials confirmed at least 21 asylum seekers arrived in Samphire Hoe on Tuesday. Others are feared to be on the run, with the Home Office carrying out a “thorough investigation”. At least five migrants were detected at The Warren, a rocky stretch of coast near Folkestone, on Monday, in the first unauthorised landings in a year.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman, said: “This is an abject surrender of our borders by Lucy Powell and Labour. Every migrant boat can and should be intercepted, but this government is too gutless to deploy the Royal Navy and protect the British public from this invasion of undocumented fighting-age men.”
Ms Powell echoed that language on Thursday but suggested not all crossings could be prevented. Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the situation was embarrassing for the Government, she responded: “(You) can’t stop everything all of the time.” She added: “Of course, it’s a concern. That’s why the Home Secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see. This is not acceptable.”
A Government spokesperson said: “Our progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable - with crossings down by 42% and the lowest recorded over the summer months since 2020. But this week's events show that while the peaks we are seeing are far below those of previous years, we need to push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade.”
