Small Boats week

Last week, the Government declared it to be "Small Boats Week", with focus on how the battle is being won.

It ended with a boat sinking and six Afgahns males drowning and last I heard two more missing. One of thos rescued helped the RAF during operations there, he now faces deportation to Rwanda under the Home Secretary's plans.

The Home Secretary tweeted that she was sending thoughts and prayers to the men's families.

Nice touch.

Let's be frank here, currently there is no legal and safe way for anyone wanting to travel here, and there is no way of claiming asylum before travel, so, the only way for people to come here is by illegal and unsafe methods, whch now that lorries and trucks can't be used because of x-ray and inspections, small bats is the only way.

The Home Secretary could process applications in France and elsewhere, but chooses not to. And because the UK did not renegotiate the Dublin agreement, cannot return those who are not granted asylum back to their point of departure in the EU.

Numbers crossing the Channel are half what they were a decade ago, when there was no crisis, the change is that the Home Office has stopped processing claims for asylum, letting the numbers in hostels, camps and hotels, and now on proson barges build up and up, so spending money on that rather than fix the issue, it seems the Home Secretary would rather use refugess in culture wars, happy to let them risk their lives in crossing the Channel, and then punish them if they arrive for doing so. Even those Afgahns who we said we could live here and then failed to live up to our promises.

How many more people are going to drown before this Government lives up to its obligations under United Nation convention which the UK happily signed up to?

I live on the land, within sight of France, where these poor people are trying to get to. On calm days it is like living in a DMZ with helicopters and spotter planes flying, all costing money when, depending on figures, between 75 and 90% of migrants are granted asylum or leave to stay. Tis is a Government who would rather spend more on housing 300 migrants on a prison barge whch costs more than it would to send the 300 migrants on a luxury cruise around the world.

Cruelty is the point.

The Home Office was told on Monday that the barge had a legionella infection, yet people were being put on the barge until Wednesday and others evacuated only on Friday.

Cruelty is the point,