All posts tagged: English Channel migrant crossings

Blow to Labour as migrant deal with France branded ‘bad value for money’ | UK | News

Blow to Labour as migrant deal with France branded ‘bad value for money’ | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

A top Belgian official has slammed the UK’s new deal with France to stop migrants crossing the English Channel as “bad value for money”. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement with France on Thursday to pay £662 million to support beach patrols as part of efforts to drive down the number of arrivals. It will see the UK hand over £501 million to cover enforcement activity and five police units on French beaches, with an extra £160 million only paid if the new tactics succeed. Carl Decaluwe, governor of West Flanders, warned that the millions of pounds of taxpayer cash could achieve very little, however. He told The Telegraph: “You get nothing; nothing… If you see the results – year after year – new records!” Mr Decaluwe, a former member of Belgium’s centre-right Christian Democratic and Flemish Party, added that he was calling for the France-Belgium border to be closed, which would be a major breach of the Schengen zone, which allows passport-free travel between its 29 member states. “I asked some weeks …

Migrants learn script for fake back story to guarantee UK asylum | UK | News

Migrants learn script for fake back story to guarantee UK asylum | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Migrants attempt to cross the English Channel in a dinghy (Image: Getty) Migrants are learning a scripted fake backstory to guarantee asylum in the UK, audio recordings have revealed. An Iraqi migrant, posing as a stateless Bidoon from Kuwait, detailed claims of imprisonment, torture and forced confessions during a covertly recorded Home Office interview. He answered pre-learned questions on Kuwait’s currency, flag, dialling code and governorates with ease. The tape, shared widely among English Channel-crossing hopefuls, exposes how people-smuggling gangs coach migrants to beat Britain’s asylum system. The recording was distributed via encrypted Telegram groups to Iraqi and Kurdish migrants waiting in northern France. It serves as a practical “how-to” guide, showing exactly how to deliver a convincing tale of persecution as a Bidoon — Arabic for “without nationality” — the stateless Arab minority denied citizenship in Kuwait since 1961. READ MORE: Hotel migrant assaulted girl, 14, after ‘offering friends whisky and cocaine’ READ MORE: Nigel Farage warns of financial catastrophe over migrant chaos The tactic, known as “nationality shopping”, lets migrants claim origins from …

The eyewatering cost of returning each dinghy migrant to France | UK | News

The eyewatering cost of returning each dinghy migrant to France | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s deal allows the UK to return migrants who arrive illegally across the English Channel to France in exchange for admitting an equivalent number of refugees directly from France who have not attempted the crossing. The average cost of returning a migrant is £48,800, meaning one recent flight could have cost taxpayers up to £1.52 million, according to reports. A recent plane departure from Stansted to Paris, as part of the nation’s one-in-one-out deal with France, carried 32 male migrants, 73 guards and two paramedics. According to analysis by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, the cost of enforced removals has increased from around £15,000 per person in the last decade, reports The Sun. It includes case work, the cost of chartering planes and financial support for migrants once out of the UK. The UK must also cover the cost of transporting migrants to and from France under the one-in-one-out deal. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The one-in-one-out scheme is a failure. “No wonder more illegal immigrants have crossed …

Men behind huge migrant-smuggling network launched ‘TripAdvisor for smugglers’ | UK | News

Men behind huge migrant-smuggling network launched ‘TripAdvisor for smugglers’ | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Dilshad Shamo, 43, and Ali Khdir, 42 were arrested for smuggling migrants into Western Europe (Image: NCA) Two men who smuggled migrants through a car wash in Caerphilly have been sentenced to 19 years in prison. Iraqi-born Dilshad Shamo, 41 and Ali Khdir, 40, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday after entering guilty pleas during their trial. The illegal activity was labelled as a “Tripadvisor for people smugglers” by the National Crime Agency. It was reported that the pair got around 100 migrants into Europe every week across a two-year period, while operating a vehicle cleaning business. READ MORE: Huge international gang smuggling migrants to UK caught – made £2.6m READ MORE: Massive petition to restrict benefits for migrants is most popular open in UK Both the men from Iraqi Kurdistan had been residing and working lawfully in the UK, while moving people from Iraq, Iran, and Syria through Belarus, Moldova and Bosnia into countries including Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Germany and France. According to the NCA, the duo worked with “a larger …

Ukrainians jailed for premium yacht people smuggling across Channel | UK | News

Ukrainians jailed for premium yacht people smuggling across Channel | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Two Ukrainian men who operated a (Image: PA) Two Ukrainian men who operated a “premium bespoke taxi service” to smuggle migrants into the UK via their yacht have been sentenced to prison. Vladyslav Cherniavskyi, 38, received a six-year sentence and Oleksandr Yavtushenko, 43, was given five years after previously admitting to three counts of aiding illegal immigration at Portsmouth Crown Court. The pair were apprehended following the interception of their yacht, Uforia, four-and-a-half miles off the Chichester, West Sussex coast on 20 July 2025. The operation involved the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and French law enforcement. The boat, bought by Cherniavskyi for 20,000 US dollars (£15,000) in April 2024 and captained by Yavtushenko, was subsequently escorted to Gosport Marina, Hampshire. Five migrants – four Albanian males and one Vietnamese female – were handed over to immigration authorities, as reported by the NCA. Prosecutor Robin Leach stated that the duo had conducted at least eight crossings, adding: “Both defendants ferried migrants across the English Channel from northern France to the English coast, in particular …

Small boat migrants face 14 years in jail if they break ‘tough’ rules | UK | News

Small boat migrants face 14 years in jail if they break ‘tough’ rules | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

The government has announced new measures targeting migrants arriving on small boats, with those caught supplying items such as engines or putting others at risk during Channel crossings now facing prosecution. However, questions remain about the effectiveness of these laws in deterring the determined individuals making the irresponsible journey. Starting today, authorities will begin seizing phones at the Manston processing centre in an effort to track down those organising the dangerous voyages. While the facility boasts technology to extract key evidence from devices, there are fears that dinghy migrants may simply dispose of their phones in the sea before reaching British shores, rendering the measure futile. Record numbers continue despite unfavourable conditions An astonishing 41,000 people arrived via the Channel last year, and while bad weather has temporarily halted crossings in 2026, it remains to be seen whether the new laws will have a significant impact on the staggering numbers. Under the fresh regulations, officers can demand illegal migrants remove outer garments and search inside their mouths for concealed SIM cards. Lengthy jail terms promised, …