At least 27 people including a pregnant woman drowned yesterday in the worst migrant tragedy in the Channel.
Five women and a young child were among the dead after a dinghy rapidly deflated, plunging them into the frigid water. Two more were in a critical condition in hospital with hypothermia.
Boris Johnson said last night that he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened” and accused France of failing to do enough to stop the crossings.
He added: “I say to our partners now is the time for us all to step up, to work together, to do everything we can to break these gangs who are literally getting away with murder.”
Referring to money promised to France by Britain for immigration controls, the prime minister
A man has been charged with murder over the deaths of a couple in their Somerset home.
Collin Reeves, 34, of Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, remains in police custody and is due to appear at Taunton Magistrates' Court tomorrow morning.
Jennifer and Stephen Chapple, 33 and 36, were found with serious injuries at their home, also in Dragon Rise, at around 9.45pm on Sunday.
They were pronounced dead at the scene, with a post-mortem examination revealing they both died from multiple stab wounds.
Detective Inspector Neil Meade, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: "Specialist officers are providing support to Jennifer and Stephen's families and our thoughts remain with them this evening.
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"We've been keeping them fully updated on the progress of our investigation and they're aware of this latest development.
"It is undoubtedly an extremely difficult time for them and I'd ask their privacy is respected as they continue to come to terms with what has happened."
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He added: "I'd like to remind both the media and the public that criminal proceedings are now active and Collin Reeves has a right to a fair trial.
"It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."
The Chapples' children, aged five and six, are being looked after by family members.
At least 24 migrants have drowned while trying to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy, a French official has said.
Several others are thought to be injured after their boat capsized off Calais this afternoon.
"Strong emotion in the face of the tragedy of several deaths due to the capsizing of a migrant boat in the English Channel," tweeted French interior minister Gerald Darmanin, who's heading to the area.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding a meeting of the emergency COBRA committee in response.
Franck Dhersin, vice president of transport for the northern France region, tweeted that 24 bodies had been found off Dunkirk and that there were some survivors.
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La Voix Du Nord newspaper reported 26 bodies had been recovered, citing a police source, and that as many as 50 migrants had been onboard.
French prime minister Jean Castex called it a "tragedy".
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In a tweet, he said: "My thoughts are with the many missing and injured, victims of criminal smugglers who exploit their distress and injury."
Earlier, a police source told Reuters: "A search and rescue operation is under way off the coast of Calais. We think several people have died as their vessel sank."
One fisherman, Nicolas Margolle, told Reuters he had seen two small dinghies - one with people onboard and another empty.
Image:Another group of migrants arrived at Dover harbour earlier on Wednesday
He said another fisherman had called rescuers after seeing an empty dinghy and 15 people floating motionless in the water.
British and French authorities were searching the area using helicopters and coastguard vessels, according to the French maritime agency.
A French naval boat spotted several bodies in the water and retrieved an unidentified number of dead and multiple injured, including some who were unconscious, a maritime authority spokesperson said.
The Dover Strait is the busiest shipping lane in the world and has claimed many lives of people trying to cross to Britain in inflatable dinghies.
Image:More migrants were brought ashore by the RNLI at Dungeness on Wednesday
More than 25,700 people have made the dangerous journey to the UK this year - three times the total for the whole of 2020, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: "This is an absolute tragedy. It underlines why saving lives at sea starts by stopping the boats entering the water in the first place.
"As winter is approaching the seas will get rougher, the water colder, the risk of even more lives tragically being lost greater.
"That's why stopping these dangerous crossings is the humanitarian and right thing to do."
Lewis was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police at the pair's misconduct hearing, while Jaffer was told he would have been dismissed if he was still serving.
The two sisters were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, in Wembley, London, in June last year.
Image:Bibaa Henry (L) and Nicole Smallman, in a photo from Ms Henry's phone, in Fryent Country Park
More detail on the language the two officers used in their messages was also revealed during the hearing, with both referring to the women as "dead birds".
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Lewis sent a WhatsApp message which said: "Unfortunately I'm sat next to two dead birds with stab wounds."
Jaffer then sent a message in a WhatsApp group saying: "I'm here now I'll try to take pictures of the dead birds."
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The officers had been assigned to protect the scene where the two women were discovered.
Instead, they breached the cordon to take "inappropriate" and "unauthorised" photographs of the bodies, which were then shared on WhatsApp.
Jaffer took four photographs and Lewis took two - and one of the images sent to a female colleague had Lewis' face superimposed on to it.
Image:Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis at their misconduct in a public office trial
The two men also used a racially derogatory term for Pakistanis in messages about other, unrelated police matters.
Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, chairing an accelerated tribunal in west London on Wednesday, ruled that both men had committed gross misconduct.
"This was hurtful, dishonest and unprofessional behaviour of the utmost seriousness," she said.
"I am sorry that our officers behaved in such a hurtful, disrespectful and criminal way. Their actions are shameful."
The tribunal - which neither of the men attended - ruled that the two officers breached six established police standards, including confidentiality and honesty and integrity, as well as authority, respect and courtesy.
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Mother's outrage at police conduct
The hearing was also told that Lewis separately "responded with approval" to another officer who stated he was going to be posted to a new location which had fewer Asian people in, whom he referred to as "P****".
Lewis, who did not use the term himself, replied: "Exactly."
Jaffer also used the same racially derogatory term in a separate message on another matter.
Speaking outside the Old Bailey after the two officers' pleaded guilty to committing misconduct in a public office, the victims' mother, Mina Smallman, called on the force "to drill down and get the rot out once and for all".
"You are not above the law, you are not going to be protected," she said, before criticising Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick for her "shoddy way of behaving and her response since all of this has come out".
The pair have already been warned they face "lengthy" jail terms when they are sentenced next month for misconduct in a public office.
Image:Danyal Hussein killed the sisters after believing he had made a blood pact with a demon
The Met's commissioner previously apologised to the family on behalf of the force.
"I deeply regret that at a time when they were grieving the loss of their loved ones who were taken in such awful circumstances, they faced additional distress caused by the actions of two police officers," she said.
"What former PC Jaffer and PC Lewis chose to do that day was utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive. I know that is the view of colleagues across the Met who utterly condemn this behaviour."
Bobbi-Anne had not been seen since Saturday evening, prompting a huge search.
Devon and Cornwall Police announced on Tuesday evening the body of a woman had been located during searches for the missing 18-year-old.
A police cordon remains in Bovisand, in South Devon, where the body was found.
Police say the two men arrested are aged 24 and 26 and are from Plymouth.
Ms McLeod left her home in Leigham at around 6pm on Saturday evening and had been due to catch a bus into the city centre to meet friends.
She never arrived and Devon and Cornwall police have been conducting searches and inquiries across Plymouth, the force said, supported by a police helicopter.
A Facebook page set up to help find her has now attracted more than 10,000 members.
Investigators said the body had been located near Bovisand in South Hams on the south coast of Devon after information was passed to the police.
Devon and Cornwall Police said formal identification has yet to be carried out, but that Ms McLeod’s family had been informed of the development and are being supported by officers.
PC Andrew Harper’s wife Lissie has led a campaign to change the law (Picture: Thames Valley Police/PA)
Anyone who kills an emergency services worker while committing a crime will be given a mandatory life sentence, the Government has announced.
The move follows a tireless campaign from PC Andrew Harper’s widow whose husband, 28, was killed responding to a late-night burglary call just four weeks after their wedding day.
Mrs Harper said on Wednesday it had ‘been a long journey but she knew Andrew would be proud’.
She said: ‘Emergency services workers require extra protection. I know all too well how they are put at risk and into the depths of danger on a regular basis on behalf of society.
‘That protection is what Harper’s Law will provide and I am delighted that it will soon become a reality.’
PC Harper died after being caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as the trio fled the scene of a quad bike theft on August 15 2019.
Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years and Jessie Cole, 18, and Albert Bowers, 18, were handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter. All three were cleared of murder.
The Thames Valley Police officer was dragged to his death by a getaway car (Picture: PA)
Lissie Harper, 30, said her husband ‘would be proud’ (Picture: PA)
Albert Bowers (left) and Jessie Cole (centre) leaving Reading Magistrates Court in 2019 (Picture: PA)
‘Harper’s Law’ is likely to go through early next year and will be an amendment to the existing Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, paid tribute to Mrs Harper’s ‘remarkable’ campaign while announcing the news.
He said: ‘This Government is on the side of victims and their families and we want our emergency services to know that we’ll always have their back.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel, described PC Harper’s killing as ‘shocking’ and said the Government wanted to ‘honour his life’.
She added: ‘Those who seek to harm our emergency service workers represent the very worst of humanity and it is right that future killers be stripped of the freedom to walk our streets with a life sentence.’
Police officers, National Crime Agency officers, prison officers, custody officers, firefighters and paramedics are all defined as emergency services workers.
Police searching for a missing 18-year-old have found a body - and two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Bobbi-Anne McLeod left her home in the Leigham area of Plymouth at about 6pm on Saturday evening.
The teenager had been due to catch a bus into the city centre to meet friends - but never arrived.
Police found the body near Bovisand, south of Plymouth, after receiving information.
While formal identification is yet to take place, Ms McLeod's family have been informed.
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Two men aged 24 and 26, from Plymouth, remain in police custody.
Chief Superintendent Matt Longman said the case was "weighing heavy on the people of Plymouth".
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He added: "We are continuing to do everything we can to understand exactly what's happened around this event."
Officers used a helicopter in the search for the teenager and a Facebook page set up to help find her gained more than 10,000 members.
She was described as being 4ft 11in tall and of slight build, with brown hair, green eyes, straight shoulder length hair and ear piercings.
The Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard, said the discovery of a body was "devastating".
He tweeted: "It is devastating news for our city that a body has been discovered in the search for missing Bobbi-Anne. My thoughts and love are with the family.
"We await news from the police but this is another dark day for our city."
Leader of Plymouth City Council, councillor Nick Kelly, said: "This is really tragic news. Bobbi-Anne McLeod was a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. It is devastating that someone has chosen to take this away.
"I am sure that the shock of this tragedy will not just be felt in Leigham but across the whole of our city and I know that everyone will stand with me when I say that all our thoughts are with her family and friends at this devastating time."
Anyone who has information that could assist the investigation should call 101 quoting log number 706 22/11/21.
