49,000 migrants invade Spanish enclave in 24 hours

Daft idea for Reform to divert RN vessels then to intercepting small plastic dinghies and weaken UK naval defence then!

Well it's a bid for the upcoming Clacton election, and likely connected to today's news that Tice is also being investigated.

Ooo look at the squirrel.

So obvious.

It's no different from what they have been claiming they can do for ages.

And cannot.

Only Putin is to blame for Putin's aggression.

This might be true, or it might not, who knows 🤷‍♀️

www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/07/31/8046738/

That is really intriguing, petra. I wish we had confirmation from our security forces.

Oreo

If we had a better stronger Navy the Russians wouldn’t be playing these games with us.
The UK only has itself to blame.

So the UK should beef up its' armed forces to repell the Russians?

That'll work.

Successive governments sought to save on defence with the result we now need to invest
Short term savings in public services always cause poor services needing investment

Successive governments sought to save on defence with the result we now need to invest

There wasnt a whole heap of public will about investing, either.
Which certainly did not help.

Wyllow3

That is really intriguing, petra. I wish we had confirmation from our security forces.

I’ve a sneaky feeling that’s not the sort of info our security services broadcast.

Iam64

Successive governments sought to save on defence with the result we now need to invest
Short term savings in public services always cause poor services needing investment

Sad to say that successive governments from Suez onwards have been cut down on defence.
It was always in the grand plan drawn up by the US.
In our defence we weren’t the only suckers, Europe believed it would forever more be protected.

petra

Iam64

Successive governments sought to save on defence with the result we now need to invest
Short term savings in public services always cause poor services needing investment

Sad to say that successive governments from Suez onwards have been cut down on defence.
It was always in the grand plan drawn up by the US.
In our defence we weren’t the only suckers, Europe believed it would forever more be protected.

Hmm...

Europe did believe, based on the experience of two European initiated World Wars, that the US was a reliable ally.

I'm not utterly convinced that the US had a 'grand plan'. It smacks somewhat of conspiracy theory. I tend to believe more in the cock up theory of history...

greyfur

Oreo

If we had a better stronger Navy the Russians wouldn’t be playing these games with us.
The UK only has itself to blame.

So the UK should beef up its' armed forces to repell the Russians?

That'll work.

We certainly do need to beef up our Navy and other armed forces and spend much more on defence…the whole of Europe does and they know it.

True. Ridiculous situation though it is.

The tally includes at least 862 children who have been registered as unaccompanied minors, as Unicef Spain warned that dozens more could still be wandering the city’s streets unprotected

This dispels the " fit young men " myth. Do children "invade"

Poor things.

I'm relieved to hear that children made up as little as 1% of the total number of migrants. I hope those still in Ceuta are receiving good support.
I think I read last week that minors cannot be returned to Morocco without investigating their circumstances? Rightly so.

greyfur

*The tally includes at least 862 children who have been registered as unaccompanied minors, as Unicef Spain warned that dozens more could still be wandering the city’s streets unprotected*

This dispels the " fit young men " myth. Do children "invade"

Poor things.

Do we actually know that they are not fit young men aged between 16 and 18, rather than younger children? It’s quite hard to believe that younger children would swim, unaccompanied, in such numbers.

Media reports today- Hundreds of people have gathered in the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq, near the border with Spain’s Ceuta, flashing photos of their missing loved ones to passersby in the hope of tracking them down.

Yesterday interior ministers from across the EU joined an emergency videoconference to grapple with the lingering tensions- the focus on the Moroccan side of the border with Ceuta was on the harrowing death toll.

At least 88 people have died in Ceuta, according to local officials, and another 11 in Morocco, while dozens of others remain missing.

In recent days, NGOs across Spain have voiced concerns that some of those who crossed into Ceuta and who were eligible for international protection were being returned before being allowed to exercise their right to request asylum.

On Tuesday the Spanish government estimated that 2,000 people who had made the crossing were still in Ceuta . The tally includes at least 862 children who have been registered as unaccompanied minors, as Unicef Spain warned that dozens more could still be wandering the city’s streets unprotected.

“Many small children crossed over; we don’t know how many have disappeared,” Susana Hidalgo, a migration expert for the organisation, told the broadcaster TVE. The result was a “tremendously difficult” situation in Ceuta. “There are many families on the other side of the border looking for their sons and daughters,” she said, while in Ceuta “there are 10- and 12-year-old children asking for phones so they can call their mothers and tell them they’re OK.”

I hope the missing 2,00 can all be accounted for eventually and they are alive and well.

2,00= 2,000

Casdon

greyfur

The tally includes at least 862 children who have been registered as unaccompanied minors, as Unicef Spain warned that dozens more could still be wandering the city’s streets unprotected

This dispels the " fit young men " myth. Do children "invade"

Poor things.

Do we actually know that they are not fit young men aged between 16 and 18, rather than younger children? It’s quite hard to believe that younger children would swim, unaccompanied, in such numbers.

I wondered that too.
I have a GS who trains with an international sports academy three times a week. His stamina would probably only permit him to swim a mile or so in a pool, so an average 12 year old in dangerous seas wouldn't get very far.
What is the actual distance?

MartavTaurus

I'm relieved to hear that children made up as little as 1% of the total number of migrants. I hope those still in Ceuta are receiving good support.
I think I read last week that minors cannot be returned to Morocco without investigating their circumstances? Rightly so.

I hardly saw any young kids, or woman in the footage I saw.
Mainly very young men lying, or walking around.

What is the actual distance?

Ceuta from nearby Moroccan towns like Fnideq or Belyounech is much shorter, spanning only 1 to 5 kilometers

According to The Guardian and Al Jazeera, they would have had to swim 5km.
At 10 or 12 years old?

Anything between a 1- 5km swim/scull/swim journey it appears either aided or unaided. However are you suggesting Susana Hidalgo is lying about the 10 to 12 years olds asking for phones to call home?

Unicef has recorded 862 registered unaccompanied minors so far also- a credible organisation.

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

That was really uncalled for greyfur, there is never a need to be so rude to other posters, whether you disagree with them or not. MartavTaurus was making a serious point.