Calls are mounting in the UK and France for the introduction of safe routes for refugees crossing the Channel after a French organisation said it had received multiple distress calls from people making the crossing in recent days.
At least six people lost their lives early on Saturday trying to cross the Channel in a small boat and the organisation issued warnings that more lives would be lost in future unless there were significant government policy changes.
Government sources said the home secretary chaired a meeting with Border Force officials early on Saturday and that the Home Office supported the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, alongside RNLI, in conducting a search and rescue operation.
The French authorities led on the incident as it happened in French waters.
The NGO Utopia 56, which works to support migrants in northern France and operates an emergency number for people to call if they get into distress in the Channel, warned more deaths would follow unless safe routes were introduced to keep people from making the dangerous crossings.
On Thursday, 756 people crossed the Channel in 14 boats and on Friday 343 people crossed in six boats.
Utopia 56 coordinator Axel Gaudinat said it received three distress calls from people who got into difficulty in small boats between Wednesday and Thursday and another distress call between Thursday and Friday.
They have no way of knowing which boat the callers were on and urgently pass on all information they obtain about the location of the dinghy in distress and the number and type of passengers on board to the French and UK coastguards.
“We have received multiple distress calls,” said Gaudinat. “We contacted the coastguards to pass on this information. Our team are all volunteers and they are on the ground 24/7. They deserve so much respect.
“The border kills and we will see more deaths in the Channel unless safe routes are established. The smugglers only exist because there are no safe routes.”
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union accused the UK government of having “blood on its hands” over the deaths.
The PCS’s head of bargaining, Paul O’Connor, said there was a policy available to prevent such deaths and regretted the government had failed to heeds its calls to adopt it.
“It’s clear they have no desire to prevent these dangerous crossings,” he said. “Instead, they’re pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain on policies which are unlawful, unworkable and doomed to failure.
“Why? Because they want to scapegoat refugees to deflect from their own catastrophic failings on people’s living standards. They don’t care that people die as a result. They have blood on their hands.
“The government’s approach is a moral disgrace. The British people should not fall for it. We call upon every person in this country with a shred of humanity to support our call for safe passage.”
Numerous charities have called for safe and legal routes to protect lives and end the smuggling trade.
A UK government spokesperson said: “These deaths are devastating and our thoughts are with the victims’ families and friends at this time.
“This incident is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and how vital it is that we break the people smugglers’ business model and stop the boats.”
Tropical air could cause temperatures to soar past 30C in parts of the UK, making it hotter than California by the end of the week, after heavy rain lashes the country.
High pressure is set to build from the middle of next week, meaning southeast England could reach 32C on Friday, according to the Met Office - higher than the 26C predicted in Los Angeles.
However, it will come after most of the country is inundated by heavy and persistent rain from Sunday evening into Monday.
A weather warning could be imposed on parts of north Wales, with two inches of rain set to fall on Monday - about half a month's worth for the area.
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: "We are looking at the possibility of reaching the low 30s later in the week, most likely on Friday, probably in and around London, running into East Anglia and other parts of the south and east.
"We've got low pressure dominating at the moment, that will eventually give way to another area of heavy rain and cloud which will move up from the south and west into Monday, which will be a miserable and wet day across England and Wales.
"Beyond that, there are tentative signs of an improvement, gradually losing that showery signal during Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures will start to climb.
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"We've got high pressure building from the middle of the week and that will tap into some tropical continental air, which will draw up some very warm, locally hot air that will allow temperatures to climb steadily.
"By the time we get into Friday and maybe into Saturday we stand a chance of breaking into the 30s."
Temperatures could also climb in other parts of the country on Friday, with much of England and Wales set to surpass 25C, while Scotland and Northern Ireland could reach the low-to-mid 20s.
Many areas will be dry with sunny spells during the warm period, according to the Met Office, though there may be outbreaks of thunder showers.
But Mr Stroud said the heat will be short-lived as low pressure will move back in, causing more unsettled conditions next weekend.
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At least six people have died with others still believed to be missing after a migrant boat capsized in the English Channel.
Dozens of people were rescued in an operation involving French and British authorities after a boat struggled in the water on Saturday morning.
Accounts from survivors of the shipwreck say at least 65 people took to the sea in the boat that sank, French authorities said in a statement this afternoon.
With two migrants still believed to be missing, a large-scale search and rescue operation continues, involving two French aircraft, numerous boats and merchant vessels, the UK Coastguard and a British chartered ship.
About 58 people have been rescued, with several brought off lifeboats on stretchers. Six people, one of whom was airlifted to hospital, were recovered in a serious condition but were later pronounced dead.
At least 22 people were dropped off at Dover by UK crews while 36 were taken to the port of Calais on a French boat, France’s maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.
One volunteer told how migrants were using shoes to bale water out of the sinking boat. She told Reuters that “there were too many on the boat”.
Home secretary Suella Braverman said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life in the Channel today.
“I have spoken with our Border Force teams this morning who have been supporting the French authorities in response to this incident.”
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the latest incident was an “appalling, deeply shocking tragedy”.
‘Notre Dame du Risban’, a French lifeboat, enters the port of Calais following a rescue operation after a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel capsized
“We must stop these crossings and defeat the criminal people smugglers.
“There can be no more headline-chasing gimmicks or madcap schemes that just make everything worse,” he wrote on Twitter.
The rescue operation began after information was received from a patrol boat that a migrant boat was sinking off Sangatte, around five miles from the French coast, according to a statement from the maritime prefecture.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the incident “underscores the need for meaningful action” to reduce dangerous crossings, and urged the government to focus on creating an “orderly and humane asylum system”.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in today’s sinking of a boat in the English Channel. Our hearts go out to the victims, survivors, and their loved ones. We also thank the rescuers who helped save many lives under harrowing circumstances,” he said.
He accused the government of “focusing on passing expensive and unworkable legislation and shutting down existing safe ways to get to the UK”, adding: “There are constructive alternatives we have set out that would create an orderly and humane asylum system.”
Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, described it as an “appalling and preventable tragedy”.
“Those who died were not just statistics, but individual people: someone’s children, someone’s siblings, and possibly someone’s parents. This terrible loss of life demonstrates yet again the need for a system of safe passage to the UK for refugees.”
Asli Tatliadim, head of campaigns at Refugee Action, said the incident had been “predictable and inevitable” because the government’s “hostile deterrent policies are designed to keep people out and not keep people safe”.
“Until the government creates more ways for people to travel to the UK to claim asylum, more people will die trying to reach safety here,” she added.
Natalie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, said the fatal incident reinforced the need for joint patrols in the Channel.
She said: “Today’s tragedy underlines why we must stop the small boats to keep people safe and prevent loss of life in the Channel.
“These overcrowded and unseaworthy deathtraps should obviously be stopped by the French authorities from leaving the French coast in the first place.
Rescued migrants sit on the ‘Notre Dame du Risban’ after a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel from France capsized
“The time has come for joint patrols on the French coast and a cross-Channel security zone before any more lives are lost.”
A UK government spokesperson said: “These deaths are devastating and our thoughts are with the victims’ families and friends at this time.
“This incident is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and how vital it is that we break the people smugglers’ business model and stop the boats.”
At least 50 people are thought to have drowned attempting to cross the Channel since 2018, while others have lost their lives attempting to board lorries and trains in France or walk through the Channel Tunnel.
On Thursday, people were rescued from another sinking dinghy that had reached British waters. The RNLI said it pulled several people from the water but believed everyone was accounted for.
‘Thoughts and prayers’: Suella Braverman
The previous day, French authorities reported six children suffering from hypothermia had been taken to hospital after their boat went down off the coast near Sangatte.
Some 343 people in six boats were detected crossing the Channel on Friday, according to Home Office figures.
It means more than 1,000 made the journey over two days and takes the provisional total for the year so far to more than 16,000.
All 39 people moved on to the ‘Bibby Stockholm’ have now been evacuated
It came as the Home Office came under fire as all asylum seekers were ordered to move off the housing barge Bibby Stockholm after bacteria was found in its water system.
All 39 people were evacuated from the barge and will be temporarily placed back in hotels, with a date yet to be confirmed for the migrants to return to the floating accommodation.
The department said all 39 of those on board had been disembarked as a “precautionary measure” after samples from the water system showed levels of Legionella requiring further investigation.
The Home Office said no migrants have fallen sick or developed legionnaires’ disease, which is a serious type of pneumonia, and that they are all being provided with “appropriate advice and support”.
But, after the evacuation, the Home Office was accused of “startling incompetence”.
Bacteria was found in the water system of ‘Bibby Stockholm’ on Thursday
(PA Media)
Former Brexit secretary David Davis said the barge would not serve as a “solution” to the backlog even without the presence of the bacteria.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The primary thing that’s been revealed has been the startling incompetence of the Home Office itself… It’s really, really hard to understand how, at all layers, this could not be caught early”.
Mr Kinnock also wrote to his opposite number on Saturday asking what the Home Office knew about the risk of the bacteria being present before moving migrants onto the barge.
Department officials are understood to have been told by Dorset Council on Wednesday evening about the discovery of initial results indicating that the bacteria was present, but the transfer of a further six migrants onto the barge still went ahead on Thursday.
Government sources said the UK Health Security Agency then told ministers on Thursday that Legionella had been found in the vessel’s water system and advised them that they needed to remove those six migrants.
At least six people have died and dozens of others have been rescued after a migrant boat crossing the English Channel capsized.
At least 50 people have been rescued, French authorities said.
A search and rescue operation involving five French ships, two British ships and a helicopter is under way following the incident off Cap Gris Nez in northern France.
Local mayor Franck Dhersin said a vast rescue operation was launched at around 4am UK time, as dozens of boats tried to make the crossing at the same time.
He said: "Near Sangatte they unfortunately found dead people".
A UK government spokesperson says it is "aware of the incident in the Channel", adding: "HM Coastguard are working on a coordinated response and further information will be provided in due course."
One volunteer who was on board one of the rescue boats described the migrants' frantic efforts to bale water out of their sinking vessel using their shoes.
Anne Thorel said: "We saved 54 people, including one woman... There were too many of them on the (migrant) boat."
Meanwhile France's Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said: "Unfortunately, six people were recovered in serious condition and one of them, evacuated by helicopter to Calais hospital, was declared dead."
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In a later statement, the French authorities added that five people rescued by the vessel Notre Dame du Risban were also pronounced dead.
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HM Coastguard said it is assisting French authorities in response to the incident involving a "small boat", adding that a Dover RNLI lifeboat has been sent as part of that assistance with Folkestone and Langdon Bay coastguard rescue teams.
The UK coastguard is also working with the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
An investigation has also been opened by the Boulogne prosecutor's office.
The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years has passed 100,000.
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The latest Home Office figures show 755 migrants were detected in the Channel on Thursday, the highest daily figure so far this year.
The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload rickety dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.
The incident comes as Rishi Sunak's government spent the week making announcements about its efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers, hoping to win support from voters as the ruling Conservative Party trails in opinion polls.
Thursday's figures were recorded as another major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water.
The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.
But shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the latest incident was an "appalling, deeply shocking tragedy".
"We must stop these crossings and defeat the criminal people smugglers, he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"There can be no more headline-chasing gimmicks or madcap schemes that just make everything worse."
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The digger used to tear down the much-loved Crooked House pub at the centre of criminal investigations was hired and delivered before the fire that gutted it, it has been claimed.
Lyndon Thomas, the boss of the plant firm that owns the excavator used on the 18th-century building near Dudley, West Midlands, said his firm had delivered it a week-and-a-half ago.
It was Saturday 5 August when the pub, famed for being “Britain’s wonkiest”, went up in flames. Just two days later, the excavator moved in and pulled it down, to the fury of local people who were fond of the quirky building.
People inspect the rubble remains of The Crooked House pub in Himley, near Dudley, West Midlands (Matthew Cooper/PA)
Police are investigating whether the blaze was started deliberately, and Staffordshire council is investigating whether the demolition was illegal, because it had not given permission for the entire structure to be flattened.
Mr Thomas said he could not be held responsible for what customers do with the machinery, once they have proven they have insurance – but had he known what was going to happen, he probably would have acted differently.
“If you give me your insurance and all your details and I deliver [equipment] to you and then you just tried to knock down your neighbour’s building, what can I do? I have done nothing wrong,” he told Construction News.
“We just hire a digger to a customer. I can’t be responsible for what they do with the machinery.
“If I knew this was going to happen, I probably would have done something different, but I’m not Mystic Meg.”
Employees have been sent “horrific” abusive emails, Mr Thomas revealed.
“They are not very nice. We’ve had a lot of people ringing the phone and putting it down again.”
The building was a shell after the fire
The hire customer involved had an account, was paying weekly and always paid the bills, Mr Thomas said.
Less than two weeks before the fire, Warwickshire-based property company ATE Farms had bought the pub. Its director, Carly Taylor, is married to Adam Taylor, the boss of Himley Environmental, which operates a clay quarry next door.
The Independent has been unable to contact the couple, and the company has not responded to our calls and emails.
Local MP Marco Longhi has demanded to know why police did not halt the demolition, given that officers had started investigating the blaze two days earlier, and the site might have needed a forensic examination.
Detectives are still looking into the fire and photographs showing mounds of earth blocking access roads to the pub after the blaze started.
By Ione Wells, political correspondent & Joe Nimmo
BBC News
All migrants have been removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge after traces of Legionella bacteria were found in the on-board water system.
The Home Office said all 39 migrants on board the vessel in Dorset were disembarked as a precaution.
The Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires disease - a type of pneumonia.
The barge is part of the government's migration policy intended to cut the cost of housing asylum seekers.
One resident who spoke to the BBC said the migrants had been transferred to a new hotel and all had received a letter saying they will be moved back to the barge after a week.
He also said a few of those who had been on board had sore throats, and he himself had been coughing and having breathing problems.
Most people who contract Legionnaires disease make a full recovery but it can be deadly - around 10% of cases are fatal. People with underlying health conditions, the over 50s and smokers are at risk of serious illness.
The government eventually plans to house up to 500 men aged 18-65 on the barge moored in Portland Port, while they await the outcome of asylum applications.
A Home Office source has told the BBC that results showing "low levels" of Legionella in the water system on the Bibby Stockholm were received by a contractor on Monday.
It is understood the local council informed the Home Office on Wednesday evening, but at this stage the results being discussed were still "low levels".
On Thursday further results "changed the picture". There was a discussion with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) who advised that the six newly-arrived asylum seekers should be disembarked.
Further testing has been done - by Dorset Council's environmental health team - and it is expected that migrants will be moved back only if and when the water supply is completely clear of contamination.
The council added that the samples related "only to the water system on the vessel itself, not the fresh water entering the vessel". It said there was "no risk for the wider community of Portland".
To get rid of the Legionella bacteria, the water system needs to be flushed through with hot water.
In a letter, seen by the BBC, migrants were told it was "necessary to temporarily relocate" them "as a precautionary health and safety measure".
"We are not aware of any individuals onboard with clinical signs of Legionnaires' disease," the letter said.
Ministers have said the barge would help cut the cost of housing asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels and described the barge as "perfectly acceptable".
However, the initiative had already suffered a shaky start after delays over safety concerns and legal challenges had frustrated ministers' attempts to ramp up the numbers of people boarding the barge.
Government sources have said they are complying with the UK Health Security Agency guidance and have gone "above and beyond" what has been recommended by removing people from the barge temporarily.
A Home Office spokesman said: "No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires', and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support. Legionnaires' disease does not spread from person to person."
Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the government had turned itself "into a laughing stock this week".
"They clearly haven't completed the safety checks properly," he claimed, saying the latest issues added to "a very clear sense that the government is in a state of shambles".
Campaigners were also quick to hit out at the government over the development.
A charity representing asylum-seekers, Care4Calais, said its concerns over the safety of the barge had been justified. The charity is supporting a number of asylum seekers in legal challenges against being moved to the barge.
Alex Bailey from the Say No To The Barge campaign group said the news was "another example of the haphazard, incompetent way our government has approached this scheme from start to finish".
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is understood to have been chairing meetings about the situation.
Earlier this week he described accommodation on board the barge as "decent" but said there was "not a menu of options" for those seeking state-funded help as they sought asylum.
"We've got to be fair to the taxpayers as well as decent and compassionate to the individuals concerned."
What are the risks of Legionella bacteria?
Legionella bacteria can cause a serious infection called Legionnaires' disease
The bacteria are normally found in rivers and lakes, but can grow inside water tanks and plumbing systems
Problems emerge when people breathe in infected water and the bacteria get into the lungs
Showers that create a mist of water carrying the Legionella bacteria would pose a risk
Once in the lungs, the bacteria lead to pneumonia and symptoms can include a cough, shortness of breath and a fever
People infected will need antibiotics and, in more severe cases, oxygen support
By Ione Wells, political correspondent & Joe Nimmo
BBC News
All migrants have been removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge after traces of Legionella bacteria were found in the on-board water system.
The Home Office said all 39 migrants on board the vessel in Dorset were disembarked as a precaution.
The Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires disease - a type of pneumonia.
The barge is part of the government's migration policy intended to cut the cost of housing asylum seekers.
One resident who spoke to the BBC said the migrants had been transferred to a new hotel and all had received a letter saying they will be moved back to the barge after a week.
He also said a few of those who had been on board had sore throats, and he himself had been coughing and having breathing problems.
Most people who contract Legionnaires disease make a full recovery but it can be deadly - around 10% of cases are fatal. People with underlying health conditions, the over 50s and smokers are at risk of serious illness.
The government eventually plans to house up to 500 men aged 18-65 on the barge moored in Portland Port, while they await the outcome of asylum applications.
A Home Office source has told the BBC that results showing "low levels" of Legionella in the water system on the Bibby Stockholm were received by a contractor on Monday.
It is understood the local council informed the Home Office on Wednesday evening, but at this stage the results being discussed were still "low levels".
On Thursday further results "changed the picture". There was a discussion with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) who advised that the six newly-arrived asylum seekers should be disembarked.
Further testing has been done - by Dorset Council's environmental health team - and it is expected that migrants will be moved back only if and when the water supply is completely clear of contamination.
The council added that the samples related "only to the water system on the vessel itself, not the fresh water entering the vessel". It said there was "no risk for the wider community of Portland".
To get rid of the Legionella bacteria, the water system needs to be flushed through with hot water.
In a letter, seen by the BBC, migrants were told it was "necessary to temporarily relocate" them "as a precautionary health and safety measure".
"We are not aware of any individuals onboard with clinical signs of Legionnaires' disease," the letter said.
Ministers have said the barge would help cut the cost of housing asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels and described the barge as "perfectly acceptable".
However, the initiative had already suffered a shaky start after delays over safety concerns and legal challenges had frustrated ministers' attempts to ramp up the numbers of people boarding the barge.
Government sources have said they are complying with the UK Health Security Agency guidance and have gone "above and beyond" what has been recommended by removing people from the barge temporarily.
A Home Office spokesman said: "No individuals on board have presented with symptoms of Legionnaires', and asylum seekers are being provided with appropriate advice and support. Legionnaires' disease does not spread from person to person."
Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the government had turned itself "into a laughing stock this week".
"They clearly haven't completed the safety checks properly," he claimed, saying the latest issues added to "a very clear sense that the government is in a state of shambles".
Campaigners were also quick to hit out at the government over the development.
A charity representing asylum-seekers, Care4Calais, said its concerns over the safety of the barge had been justified. The charity is supporting a number of asylum seekers in legal challenges against being moved to the barge.
Alex Bailey from the Say No To The Barge campaign group said the news was "another example of the haphazard, incompetent way our government has approached this scheme from start to finish".
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is understood to have been chairing meetings about the situation.
Earlier this week he described accommodation on board the barge as "decent" but said there was "not a menu of options" for those seeking state-funded help as they sought asylum.
"We've got to be fair to the taxpayers as well as decent and compassionate to the individuals concerned."
What are the risks of Legionella bacteria?
Legionella bacteria can cause a serious infection called Legionnaires' disease
The bacteria are normally found in rivers and lakes, but can grow inside water tanks and plumbing systems
Problems emerge when people breathe in infected water and the bacteria get into the lungs
Showers that create a mist of water carrying the Legionella bacteria would pose a risk
Once in the lungs, the bacteria lead to pneumonia and symptoms can include a cough, shortness of breath and a fever
People infected will need antibiotics and, in more severe cases, oxygen support
