Stand off drowning migrants and report – or face prosecution, sailors warned

And now there are "several" drownings in the channel I've just heard. It is thoroughly heartbreaking and I don't want to hear that it is to be expected when nobody cares either side. Why have we become a country of asylum haters? Oh wait a minute....
I could weep.

Clause 38 increases the minimum sentence from 14 years to life imprisonment and criminalises helping an asylum seeker to arrive in the UK, even if not for gain. At the moment it is only a criminal offence to help an asylum seeker to arrive in the UK if this is done for gain (i.e., if done by a people smuggler).
www.lawscot.org.uk › ...PDF
Second Reading Briefing Nationality and Borders Bill - Law Society of ...

I suppose this is a grey area.

And they're off...

And the French police at Wimeraux stand watching desperate migrants risk their lives in boarding overflowing dodgy inflatables- wonder why the EU don’t put a stop to it...oh wait!

Standing off and reporting is probably good advice if the people are on a boat that isn't sinking. There would probably be too many of them to take aboard a yacht anyway.

However, once the people are in the water its a different matter. Of course, once the migrants know this they'll all be jumping overboard from their boats anyway.

When you consider what a small percentage they compose of the British population, it would be better to have a proper system of filtering them and bringing them in legally if they're entitled.

Whitewavemark2

So you are stood on your yacht watching a child drowning, and you don’t make any attempt to save the child begging for help?

Takes a special sort of person doesn’t it?

Believe me, I've read comments on Facebook from individuals who when this question was posed basically said that children drowning was 'not our problem' but the parents' problem for risking their lives in these boats. Some commenters were even more forthright and said they couldn't care less.

As you say, it takes a special sort of person... and they walk among us.

I cannot believe any human being would stand by and watch a person in difficulties in water. Sailor or not.

Prove me wrong, then, Ug

What a despicable thing to say about ANYONE MaizieD.
I hope you have the decency to ask for your comment to be removed.

If you don’t I suggest it says far more about your mindset.
Nasty.
And goady.

But you knew that when you pressed ‘send’ didn’t you?
And did it anyway.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

So you are stood on your yacht watching a child drowning, and you don’t make any attempt to save the child begging for help?

Takes a special sort of person doesn’t it?

I can't believe for one minute that any British sailor would leave people to drown.

I can't imagine anyone, not even Nigel Farage (well, maybe Nigel Farage), standing by and watching someone drown.

There are international conventions about duties to save people in danger at sea. The UK would become a pariah state, if it just ignored drowning people.