French politicians have branded Britain a “soft touch” on immigration following the deaths of 12 migrants in the Channel earlier this week.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in a statement that the UK was a place “where you can work without papers and where you have little chance of being expelled”.
Darmanin has reportedly called for a UK-EU migration treaty to curb crossings in the wake of the tragedy. But Downing Street rejected this, with a spokesman saying: “We have no plans to be part of an EU scheme on asylum, but we will continue to work with European partners to shut down smuggling routes and smash those criminal gangs.”
The French minister’s comments were also echoed by the mayor of Calais who accused Britain of being “hypocritical” over the Channel crisis and compared the UK to “El Dorado” for migrants.
Natacha Bouchart said France and Britain need a showdown over illegal migrants due to a lax approach to black market work.
Referring to labour legislation in England, she said: “We’re suffering from this hypocrisy.
“At some point, we’re going to have to have a showdown with this Government” to avoid “in fifty years’ time (being) still at the same level, with people wanting to go to England because it continues to be an El Dorado.”
Weighing in on the debate, a feisty row broke out on GB News between broadcasters Adam Brooks and Nina Myskow.
Brooks argued that the minister was correct in his claim, while Myskow hit back to argue many European countries have the same issue as Britain.
“I have been banging on about this for 10 years, we have a massive illegal immigration problem in this country and it is only getting worse,” he said.
“You have to be very naive to believe that these people aren’t just coming to this country for what they can get. They get free housing, free food, free medical treatment, free travel in some instances.
“Why didn’t they settle in some of the several countries they passed through to get here? Many of them call us ‘El Dorado’, they think they’ll get rich. They work for these delivery apps or taxi services.
“That’s without the danger to our society, we don’t know who they are or what they’ve done. These are people that are stabbing and shooting people. Enough is enough.”
However, Myskow shook her head, branded his comments “inflammatory” and said Brooks “can’t back up” his comments.
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