British fury at the French over fatal migrant crossings: Home Office insider claims France 'doesn't give a s***' about death toll after a record 853 make the perilous journey across the Channel in a single day
An extraordinary war of words erupted over the Channel crisis last night after a record 853 migrants reached Britain in a single day.
Government sources accused the French of ‘lamentable inaction’ as rising numbers risk the perilous crossing.
Home Office insiders claimed their French counterparts ‘don’t give a s***’ about the growing death toll after seven migrants were feared to have lost their lives in just ten days.
A group of migrants were this week brought in to Dover, Kent through a lifeboat. Government sources accused the French of ‘lamentable inaction’ as rising numbers risk the crossing
And for the first time, they voiced escalating concerns about France’s ineffective use of £54million of British taxpayers’ money intended to stop the flow of migrants.
The Daily Mail can reveal the French have deployed only 220 gendarme reservists with the British cash so far – described as ‘woefully inadequate’ by a senior Home Office source.
British insiders also pointed the finger at French President Emmanuel Macron for concentrating on the fishing permit dispute rather than the humanitarian crisis in the Channel.
UK migrants walking ashore at Dungeness in Kent, escorted by border officials and RNLI on Wednesday
A staggering 853 migrants reached UK shores on Wednesday aboard 25 small boats, beating the previous daily record of 828 set on August 21.
The total to have made it to Britain since the start of the year now stands at 21,051, compared with 8,410 last year.
Three migrants have drowned off the French coast this week in two separate incidents, just days after up to three Somali men were reported overboard from a dinghy which was recovered off Harwich, Essex, last week. Their bodies have not been found.
In addition, an Eritrean migrant died after being hit by a train in Calais on Thursday. Northern France has seen a sharp rise in arrivals hoping to make the push for British shores.
A group of migrants at the new Calais migrant centre as the first residents were seen entering the shelter
Franck Dhersin, of the Hauts-de-France regional council, said there was an ‘incalculable number’ of migrants arriving in Calais and Dunkirk.
In a sign of worsening Anglo-French recriminations, a Home Office source said last night: ‘We have had enough of the French’s lamentable inaction.
‘They seem content to continually blame us for their domestic problems and that they have hundreds of people living in squalor in northern France. What are they doing to stop migrants arriving?
‘Macron and his top team are spending their time having a stupid argument about fishing licences, while multiple people are setting sail from his shores to their deaths each day.’
The source added there were fears there would be a mass tragedy if smuggling gangs continue to push boats across the Channel in choppy weather.
British insiders also pointed the finger at French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) for concentrating on the fishing permit dispute rather than the humanitarian crisis in the Channel
Government sources accused the French of ‘lamentable inaction’ as rising numbers risk the perilous crossing
‘There could have been scores of deaths and the French just don’t seem to give a s***,’ the source said.
‘It seems inevitable there will be a large-scale loss of life unless the French rapidly improve.’
The Home Office is understood to have been enraged by remarks from Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart this week, when she blamed the UK for the crisis and described the UK as an ‘El Dorado for migrants’.
Miss Bouchart said in a radio interview: ‘We know that a migrant who arrives in England is taken care of.
They are housed, they have an income. For them, England remains an El Dorado but the British Government does not have the courage to review its legislation in the field.’
The Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart this week blamed the UK for the crisis and described the UK as an ‘El Dorado for migrants’
A UK source described the comments as ‘jaw-dropping’, adding: ‘This has left a very sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths.’
A senior Home Office source also questioned whether French officials were making effective use of British taxpayers’ cash.
‘The French are deploying 220 reservists with our money,’ the source said. ‘We’re not sure how many more from their own resources, but it’s clearly woefully inadequate.
‘The fact is that six people have died in the past week – plus 39 nearly drowned in Boulogne last week and 29 were found adrift after two days off Belgium last week. That could have been more than 70 deaths in a week.’
Ben Bano, from refugee charity Seeking Sanctuary, said: ‘The UK and French governments can work together to provide safe and secure ways to seek asylum in the UK.
'Instead those involved put their lives in even more danger in response to what they see as a hardening of attitudes from both governments.’
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