230 migrants on a single boat: ‘New and sad record’ for English Channel crossings

A total of 230 migrants, including more than 20 children, crossed the English Channel aboard a single inflatable boat, according to reports Monday from the French rescue service SNSM and British media. This is the highest number ever recorded on a single vessel.

According to AFP, the boat, about 49 feet long, set sail Sunday night from the northeastern coast of France amid chaotic scenes. The SNSM described the incident as a "new and sad record" due to the number of people crammed into these fragile vessels. The previous record was 165 people, set last month.

France escorts the boat, London condemns the human traffickers

French rescue boats escorted the vessel to British waters, where U.K. authorities took over. Jean-Marc Lamblin, director of the local SNSM branch, explained that over the past three months there has been an increase in these nearly 50-foot-long boats and that "there are no longer any limits" on the number of passengers.

The British Home Office condemned the "reckless and dangerous tactics" of the criminal gangs organizing these crossings. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the images of babies aboard these fragile boats as "shocking" and condemned the mafias that "are prepared to risk human lives for profit."

Reform U.K. proposes deploying Royal Navy

Right-wing party Reform U.K. presented one of the most forceful proposals in recent years regarding border control in early August: Operation Fortress. If it comes into effect, it will deploy the Royal Navy to intercept migrant boats crossing the English Channel from France and immediately return them to the French coast. This would be the largest military operation in those waters since World War II.

Zia Yusuf, one of the leaders of Reform U.K., defended the measure to the BBC and described it as a "last resort." Yusuf stated: "We have reached that point," after visiting the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, which has also seen a massive influx of migrants. Like other European sovereignty-focused parties, Reform U.K. believes that the current open-border policy and the lack of effective deterrence are eroding the country's security and social cohesion.