A commentator has argued that more than 200,000 small boat arrivals since 2018 should be described as an invasion, drawing a comparison with the Viking Great Heathen Army.
230 migrants in one boat
Writing for Express.co.uk, Paul Baldwin said his professional resolve against using the term "invasion" has weakened with every boat landing, and that Monday's arrival of a boat carrying 230 illegal migrants was a turning point. He noted that a hydrofoil between Calais and Dover carried 50 passengers fully laden, for scale.
He acknowledged that numbers of illegal arrivals are down this year to 15,000 so far, but contrasted this with Australia, where tough action has reduced illegal immigration to zero.
Comparison with the Great Heathen Army
Since authorities started tracking small boat crossings in 2018, more than 200,000 migrants have landed, he wrote. For comparison, when the Great Heathen Army invaded from Scandinavia in 865AD, it is reckoned fewer than 5,000 Norsemen arrived.
Baldwin said he cannot see why 200,000 people with no connection to Britain and no real business being here is not some sort of invasion. He listed the main countries of origin as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Eritrea, and Sudan.
Criticism of the asylum system
He criticised the profits made by firms housing asylum seekers, lawyers benefiting from the appeals system, the rule that asylum can only be applied for on British soil, and "archaic human rights laws". He said nothing is being done because of a lack of nerve.
He suggested turning boats around and dropping migrants back in France, and pointed to Spain, where 79,000 would-be migrants from Morocco were sent back within hours by Spanish and Moroccan militaries using water cannons, baton rounds and rubber bullets.
Baldwin concluded that on this point, Remainers who advocate closer alignment with the EU may be right.
