'Refugees fleeing to UK are desperate - deaths show stopping boats is urgent'
Our thoughts now should be with the six migrants who died horribly trying to cross the English Channel. And with their families.
Britain is a compassionate country. Those who would minimise this tragedy, by saying the migrants climbed aboard flimsy dinghies willingly, shame our nation. Afghans who are fleeing the Taliban are so desperate that they do not know where else to turn.
What happened today makes the task of stopping the boats all the more urgent. Populist gimmicks, such as sending asylum seekers to Rwanda or on to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, if either ever get off the ground, are not the way to do it.
And Tory talk of turning boats back to France should be dismissed for the dangerous nonsense it is because these vessels are little more robust than children’s paddling pools. The key is to take away the incentive to cross the Channel in the first place.
That means ending rules which say asylum claims can only be made on British soil. UN refugee camps abroad could provide safer routes instead.
Woman who fled dangerous Iran watched 16 people drown in dinghy disaster
It means redoubling efforts to negotiate similar returns deals with EU countries we have with Albania. And it means reducing the backlog of 173,000 asylum claims by bringing in more case workers – the best way to cut the £6million a day spent on hotels.
Germany has twice as many asylum seekers as Britain yet processes them in less than half the time. Only workable solutions matter when lives are at stake.
The Border Force brings migrants to Dover (Invicta Kent Media/REX/Shutterstock)Sarah’s lifeline
Sarah Harding was 39 when her life was cut short by breast cancer. But the Girls Aloud singer’s lasting legacy could be screening for women in their 30s. It is currently only routinely available to those over 50.
Money raised in Sarah’s name is helping fund a pilot scheme using low-level mammograms and DNA analysis to look for early risk factors. If successful, the project could be rolled out nationally.
Sarah’s dying wish was to find the lifeline for thousands of young women she never had. And family and friends can be proud knowing she did not die in vain.
Lionesses roar
The Lionesses are more than 10,000 miles away but they are always close to our hearts. Congratulations on a tricky 2-1 win against Colombia. And good luck for the semi-finals and putting Australia down under.
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