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Priti Patel threatens the French with the Navy

(80 Posts)
biba70 Sat 08-Aug-20 12:09:23

re increased number of immigrants crossing the Channel.

Sense?

lemongrove Sat 08-Aug-20 12:20:54

She doesn’t threaten the French biba but the government are considering using the Navy to stem the illegal migrants crossing the Channel.We already pay France to stop them crossing from Calais, but they are asking for more money to do this, which we will probably give.
Since illegal migrants seem to dislike living in France this is a big problem for the UK.They dislike it so much they are prepared to risk themselves and their children by crossing in
Small inflatables!

Whitewavemark2 Sat 08-Aug-20 12:24:23

Using the navy against immigrants breaks international law.

But don’t let that stop this corrupt government

vegansrock Sat 08-Aug-20 12:29:02

Why should the French stop them? As EU members at least they had some moral obligation to support another member state but the arrogant UK wants to go it alone so be it. We’ll have to pay them a lot more to hang onto migrants they don’t want any more than we do. They want to come to the U.K. as they know they’ve a 99% chance of not getting sent back and nothing being done about them. No ID cards unlike in France where they are a lot stricter.

GillT57 Sat 08-Aug-20 12:37:10

Quote from MOD source

" It is completely inappropriate and disproportionate. We don't resort to deploying armed force to deal with political failings.
It is beyond absurd to think that we should be deploying multimillion pound ships and elite soldiers to deal with desperate people barely staying afloat on rubber dinghies in the Channel"

Maybe Ms Patel will call on her pals Mossad.

growstuff Sat 08-Aug-20 12:39:38

What can the navy do that Border Force can't? I don't think even the government intends to torpedo the dinghies.

growstuff Sat 08-Aug-20 12:41:14

The UK wanted control of its borders. It's got it.

growstuff Sat 08-Aug-20 12:42:45

BTW They're not illegal if they apply for asylum, which they're entitled to do as soon as they enter British waters.

biba70 Sat 08-Aug-20 13:13:43

Surely the Le Touquet nd Sandhurst agreements are linked to EU membership or at least a Deal approved by both sides.

Growstuff - exactly. Project fear, they said. Border will move back to Dover, 24/7 armed police patrols will cease and the massive infrastructure of very high fences with rolls of razor wire, lights, cameras, will come down.

lemongrove Sat 08-Aug-20 13:30:28

They are entering illegally growstuff and yes, they will then apply for asylum which takes time, but quite a lot will be flown back to France if it’s denied.They have to prove they are not simply economic migrants.
We pay France to stop this vegansrock ( you ask why the French should stop migrants) and no doubt will come to an agreement with the French by paying more.It’s better if we do it that way as then nobody will drown trying to cross.

vegansrock Sat 08-Aug-20 13:58:12

We'll have to pay the French a lot more to make it worth their while. Savings from brexit (haha - we know brexit will cost us a hell of a lot more than remaining members would have).
I think over 95% asylum seekers not sent back to France. So thats not much of a threat, and nothing to stop them trying again if they are. The migrants don't want to stay in France and the French don't want them to stay in France. British exceptionalism puts up the backs of the French unsurprisingly. The French hold the cards on this one.

varian Sat 08-Aug-20 13:58:51

This latest Priti Patel nonsense has been described by our military as "bonkers"

Riverwalk Sat 08-Aug-20 14:02:41

growstuff

The UK wanted control of its borders. It's got it.

Yep.

lemongrove Sat 08-Aug-20 14:24:15

vegansrock

We'll have to pay the French a lot more to make it worth their while. Savings from brexit (haha - we know brexit will cost us a hell of a lot more than remaining members would have).
I think over 95% asylum seekers not sent back to France. So thats not much of a threat, and nothing to stop them trying again if they are. The migrants don't want to stay in France and the French don't want them to stay in France. British exceptionalism puts up the backs of the French unsurprisingly. The French hold the cards on this one.

The question that needs answering though, is....why don’t the migrants wish to stay in France?

Rosalyn69 Sat 08-Aug-20 14:25:23

Isn’t the idea “push back” as the Australians do?
Aren’t we at saturation point with the amount we can take?

biba70 Sat 08-Aug-20 14:40:42

because they speak English and not French- and because they already have friends or relatives here.

biba70 Sat 08-Aug-20 14:41:47

but the question is irrelevant in many ways - and won't stop them from coming, and neither will the French from Jan 2021.

Mamie Sat 08-Aug-20 14:43:15

lemonsgrove many of them are English speaking and have family in England. I met a group of young migrants last year, who were in a local small rural town, learning French and preparing to settle in France, even though they had been trying to get to England. They were all English speaking and I had a long conversation with one of them about cricket, amongst other things. Contrary to what might be reported by the British press they were getting lots of support to help them to settle here.
It is obviously easier to disappear in the UK because you do not have to carry ID, but from this small sample the main reasons were family and cultural.

Callistemon Sat 08-Aug-20 15:02:55

Why should the French stop them?
Why would they not want to stay there?
Apparently it is much more wonderful than the UK.

re increased number of immigrants crossing the Channel.
Are they illegal immigrants, asylum seekers or people who have been granted refugee status?

biba70 Sat 08-Aug-20 15:04:20

Le Touquet and Sandhurst agreements signed with Frace were based on us being part of EU and later on having a Deal agreed with EU. Without a Deal, both will become void.

grannyrebel7 Sat 08-Aug-20 15:11:10

Feel so sorry for these people. They must be so desperate to risk their lives in this way.

vegansrock Sat 08-Aug-20 15:13:54

They want to come to the U.K. as many speak some English, they have heard of Manchester United and a Liverpool fc, they have relatives here, they may come from a former British colony, they know it is easy to work under the radar and they don’t have to carry ID so can disappear. France has stricter laws on employment and don’t translate every document into 27 other languages or supply translators for everything. France is a lovely country as anyone who has been there on holiday or lived there will testify, but it’s not Shangri La for many migrants. Migrants believe, rightly or not , that the U.K. is friendly and welcoming, many are shocked when they discover the reality.

AGAA4 Sat 08-Aug-20 15:17:07

I wonder too why they risk their own and their children's lives to get here to the UK. Many are unaccompanied children, which is worrying. Even if they have family here it is a huge risk to cross the dangerous .waters of the channel

MaizieD Sat 08-Aug-20 15:32:20

Are they illegal immigrants, asylum seekers or people who have been granted refugee status?

I think that very much depends on your political and moral outlook, Callistomen

tidyskatemum Sat 08-Aug-20 15:33:31

It’s an industry. So many are conned, back in their home country, to believe Britain is the land of milk and honey where they’ll make their fortunes. Their families end up deep in debt to people traffickers, the migrants end up living in misery and the traffickers go on making money.