James Cleverley tweeted on X earlier about the lack of migrants crossing the English Channel at Christmas. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA
James On Thursday, Nigel Farage branded Cleverley an “idiot” after praising the Border Force for the first Christmas in five years without a single migrant crossing the English Channel.
The Home Secretary highlighted the figure in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday evening, but critics said bad weather caused by Storm Gerrit had stalled the crossings.
The southern coast was under attack. has been hit by strong winds in recent days and Mr Farage, the former leader of the UK and Brexit Party, wrote on X: “You may be called Clever, but you are clearly an idiot. I'm near Dover right now and the wind is blowing at 50mph. That's why there are no crossings for migrants.”
There were no small boat crossings on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day or Boxing Day this year for the first time since 2018, according to the Home Office. There were heavy showers ahead of the quieter Boxing Day. . Thursday was the 12th consecutive day without a check-in.
Ferry operator DFDS said there had been delays to cross-Channel services due to strong winds at sea.
During the last migrant crossing, on December 16, one boat carrying 55 people was heading to the UK from France.
Mr Cleverley tweeted: “For the first time since early 2018 there were no small boats arriving for Christmas. Last night our Border Force officers and their French partners worked together to stop boats from landing on the beaches. They played a critical role in reducing conversions by 35 percent.”
X users have activated a feature on the platform that allows them to add “useful and informative” context. The community feature was introduced last year to allow users to challenge misinformation.
Beneath Mr Cleverly's post was the line: “James' post is misleading. Even the government's own website confirms that there is a seasonal impact on boat crossings due to adverse weather conditions. This winter is unusually stormy!”
Last year there were 90 arrivals recorded at Christmas, none on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day. A similar picture was observed in 2021: 67 people arrived on December 25, and not a single one on December 24 or 26.
Stephen Kinnock MP, Labour's shadow immigration minister, said: “Like the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary is quickly becoming the target of ridicule, this time trying to take credit for the inclement winter weather.”
“2023 was outstanding. This is the second worst year on record for dangerous Channel crossings, and the cost of emergency hotel use for asylum seekers is £8 million a day. He needs to stop bragging and start making good on his promise to stop dangerous boat crossings.”
Last year, 45,774 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats, up from 28,500 the previous year. This year there were just under 30,000.
This is due mainly to the 90% drop in the number of Albanians following the return agreement, allowing the deportation of Channel migrants from the country back to the country to be quickly tracked.
Increased patrols on beaches in France following a £480 million deal between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also reportedly played a role. participation in reducing the number of crossings.
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