Four people died when a small boat packed with migrants capsized in freezing temperatures in the Channel overnight, Britain said on Wednesday.
Dozens of others were plucked from the waters of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in a large-scale rescue operation involving UK and French emergency services.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is trying to tighten rules to prevent record numbers of migrants from attempting the crossing, called the capsize a “tragic loss of human life”.
Interior minister Suella Braverman said the fatalities — and the loss of 27 lives in November last year — were “the most sobering reminder” of the need to cut off the route.
“Crossing the Channel in unseaworthy vessels is lethally dangerous,” the immigration hardliner told parliament, promising closer cooperation with the French authorities.
“It is for this reason above all that we are trying to destroy the business model of the people smugglers.”
The Public and Commercial…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
