Migrant Crisis: ’Push them back to France, do not rescue them’

The Home Office has come under fire over delays in publishing a watchdog’s report into migrant crossings as the number to reach the UK so far this year hit 15,000. Former Brexit MEP Ben Habib: “Push them back to France, do not rescue them.“ The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal said he was “increasingly frustrated” that the department had been sitting on his findings for months as he suggested concerns from officials about the “tone” of some of his remarks could be partly behind this. The Home Office later said the report would be published this week. Since the start of 2022, 15,107 people have reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies, according to provisional Government figures. The milestone – almost double the number recorded this time last year (7,735) – was reached as it emerged the Foreign Office had advised against the Government sending migrants to Rwanda over human rights concerns.