An imaginary crisis

In 1940, a few students in Spitfires and Hurricanes, old me and children armed with WWI guns, broomsticks and exe handles stood between the Third Reich invading Britain.

A simplified version, perhaps. But you get my point.

On Sunday, 26 boys and young men in inflatable boats crossed the Channel landing at Deal, Kingsdown and Folkestone.

This has been described, By Nigel, as a national emergency, and has been the leading item on BBC news items and even carried a live update beside a boat that the passengers were desperately trying to bail out. The BBC did not help out. Meanwhile an RAF transport plane flew up and down the coast for six hours at less than a thousand feet.

Calls are for those who landed and those intercepted on the high seas to be returned to France, and some can. But any arrangements for this ends on New Year’s Eve when the transition ends, and a new arrangement needs to be made. Meanwhile calls for new laws to be made here would have no effect beyond UK territorial waters.

So, taking back control has actually resulted in less control. And that is likely to diminish further as Brexit takes full effect.

“We can pass all the laws we wish but if France will not accept those migrants back it cannot happen.”

Former director general of Immigration Enforcement, David Wood explains the difficulties of changing the UK’s immigration laws, speaking on Sky News this morning.

(Lord) Peter Ricketts said this morning: “My colleague on the Lords EU Justice and Security Cttee @LordKirkhope is right. Under the Dublin system, for all its weaknesses the UK has a legal framework to request return of failed asylum seekers to state of first registration in EU. After transition period we will have none.”

Government minister Ed Argar says the prime minister wants “greater flexibility in returning people” who have come to the UK illegally.

Meanwhile, The Home Office said that “the current legal framework is often abused by activist lawyers to frustrate the Government’s attempt in this regard” (to return migrants). Yes, lawyer are wankers for expecting the Government to follow the rule of law the Government actually passed. Lawyers are already threatened, and is this kind of rhetoric doing any good at all, in particular to a tiny, but visible, problem, while the Government has spaffed hundred of millions in contracts with friends and associates to source and supply PPE that wasn’t fir for purpose. Not to mention the 65,000 additional death, those who died in care homes.

When did this country become so dysfunctional, and allowed itself to be side-tracked by racists and xenophobes?

Well, the BBC having Farrage almost every week on programs like Question Time, promoting this anti-immigration and anti-EU shite was the start. Odd to think that it was Conservative Party policy as recently as the 2015 to remain in the EU and all its institutions, and within four and a half years, MPs and grandees were expelled for having those views and voting for them.