A seven-year-old girl has drowned after a migrant boat capsized in northern France.
The child was among 16 on board the boat when it capsized shortly after it was launched in the Canal de l'Aa in Watten, around 20 miles away from Calais.
She was with her three siblings, pregnant mother, and father, local officials said, with surviving members of the family taken to hospital in nearby Dunkirk on Sunday.
The canal leads to the North Sea and is a route regularly used by migrants attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.
Image:A map shows Watten in relation to Calais and the English Channel
The boat, "probably stolen", according to Bertrand Gaume, prefect of the Hauts-de-France region, was also carrying a couple, two men, and six young children.
None of them are in a life-threatening condition, he added.
A facility has been set up at the town hall in Watten for those rescued to get shelter and food.
Sunak takes aim at Starmer: ‘We expel antisemites, he makes them Labour candidates’
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has played down pressure from fellow Conservatives to cut taxes in next week’s Budget as a last-ditch pre-election giveaway to voters.
He and Rishi Sunak are reportedly due to meet on Sunday evening to make a final decision on whether a 2p cut to income tax is affordable in Wednesday’s statement, or whether to build on their cut to national insurance in the autumn.
Asked about what his fellow Tories have been saying ahead of the Budget, Mr Hunt told Sky News: “All Conservatives believe the state has a moral duty to leave as much money in people’s pockets as possible because it belongs to the people who earn that money.
“But we all know it is not Conservative to cut taxes by increasing borrowing, because then you’re just passing on the bill to future generations. So what you saw in the autumn statement was a turning point when we cut two pence off the national insurance rate.
“We will hope to make some progress on that journey, but we’re going to do so in a responsible way.”
Hunt insists Britain must learn to run public services more efficiently
Jeremy Hunt has again resisted insistences that public services are on their knees and “need help now”, telling LBC: “Well we do need to support our public services, particularly the NHS, which has had a very difficult time during the pandemic.
“But the way you support public services is not – there’s always a sort of reflex that you just pour more money in and they’ll get better, and that hasn’t been the case for some of our biggest public services since the pandemic.
“What we’ve got to learn to do is run public services more efficiently, because if we don’t we’ll end up with taxes not just staying high but getting even higher. That will throttle economic growth.”
Hunt ‘appears not to like’ his own childcare policy, says Labour
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the chancellor appears to “not like his own policy” on free childcare expansion.
Jeremy Hunt announced in March 2023 that eligible families of children as young as nine months will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week by 2025, with a staggered rollout seeing working parents of two-year-olds able to access 15 hours of free childcare from April.
But he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he did not “want to give an absolute guarantee” that the policy would be delivered on time.
Speaking after Mr Hunt, Ms Phillipson told the programme: “What we heard from Jeremy Hunt is a failure to guarantee that parents will be able to access what he promised a year ago.
“A year ago I was pushing Jeremy Hunt really hard on childcare, he rushed out this commitment with a pledge with no plan to make it happen, and now it’s working parents, who in the weeks and months ahead - when they go and try and access those places that have been promised - will discover that they just can’t be delivered in the way that he set out.
“What was also rather peculiar, I thought, about what he went on to say, he seemed to almost not like his own policy and regarded it as some kind of extension of the welfare state.”
Jeremy Hunt says Budget will be 'prudent and responsible' as he defends tax-cut rollback
The chancellor said he wants to cut taxes “responsibly” after economists warned against mass tax cuts as the government’s projected economic headroom was reduced.
Jeremy Hunt told the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg that the most “un-conservative thing” would be to “cut taxes by increasing borrowing because that’s just cutting taxes and saying that future generations have to pick up the tax”.
He added: “I won’t do that. But I do want where it’s possible to do so responsibly, to move towards a lower tax economy and I hope to show a path in that direction. This will be a prudent and responsible budget for long term growth.”
Zoe Grunewald, Political Correspondent3 March 2024 10:37
Hunt insists efficiency is key when urged to fund cash-strapped public services
Jeremy Hunt has insisted that it is more important to ensure public services are efficient than spend more money on them.
“I think what most people want is better public services and a lower tax burden. It’s the old thing, isn’t it – ‘can we have European public services and American levels of tax?’ The only way we have a chance of delivering something like that is by spending the money we spend on public services much more efficiently,” he told the BBC.
Citing examples of nurses and police officers spending hours a week doing “unnecessary paperwork”, he continued: “We have to think not about the money we’re putting in, but whether we can do things more efficiently so we can get more out.”
Budget will not be one of ‘gimmicks’, Hunt insists
Jeremy Hunt has insisted his Budget will not be one of “gimmicks” as he was asked by the BBC about a quote of his from 2022 on abolishing the non-dom tax status.
The chancellor previously said of the tax status that its beneficiaries “are foreigners who could live easily in Ireland, France, Portugal or Spain. They all have these schemes. I would rather they stayed here and spent their money here.”
Asked if he disagreed “with Jeremy Hunt from 2022”, Mr Hunt said: “I don’t disagree with Jeremy Hunt from nearly everything I’ve said in the past, but sometimes – let me say this: the country sees through gimmicks, and we are not going to do gimmicks on Wednesday. It’s going to be a Budget for responsible long-term growth.”
Hunt stops short of giving ‘absolute guarantee’ on free childcare pledge
Jeremy Hunt has said he was confident the free childcare expansion pledge he made at the last Budget is “on track” but refused to give an “absolute guarantee”.
The chancellor announced in March 2023 that eligible families of children as young as nine months will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week by 2025, with a staggered rollout seeing working parents of two-year-olds able to access 15 hours of free childcare from April.
Asked about the status of the pledge by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Hunt said: “I believe we are on track.
“It is the biggest expansion of childcare in a generation. What we said in the Budget a year ago was that we would expand the 30 hours of free childcare to every parent when the children are nine months or older. That is a huge change.
“It may mean that we need to employ 40,000 more people in the sector and that is why we are bringing it in stages.”
Pressed again on the commitment, the chancellor said: “You will understand why I don’t want to give an absolute guarantee. But am I confident that we are delivering this programme and it will be on track for this April? Yes, I am.”
The chancellor said he hoped to use the Budget to “show a path” in the direction of tax cuts.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Jeremy Hunt ruled out borrowing to fund tax cuts, saying: “I won’t do that.”
He added: “I do want, where it is possible to do so responsibly, to move towards a lower tax economy, and I hope to show a path in that direction. This will be a prudent and responsible Budget for long-term growth, tackling inflation, more investment, more jobs and that path to lower taxation as and when we can afford that.”
Mr Hunt said there would not be any “gimmicks” this week, adding: “The country sees through gimmicks and we are not going to do gimmicks on Wednesday, it is going to be a Budget for responsible long-term growth.
“When it comes to Labour, this is an election year and people will see a contrast. We have a plan for growth that has seen us grow faster than any large European economy – Labour has just abandoned their plan for growth, their £28bn [in annual green investment].”
Labour will have ‘great candidate’ in Rochdale for next election, frontbencher says
Labour’s shadow education secretary said she “deeply regrets” that her party had no other option but withdraw its support for its candidate Azhar Ali in the Rochdale by-election, after he made antisemitic claims about Jewish control over the media.
“I’m very sorry we ended up in that position, but it was necessary and Keir Starmer took the action that was necessary to demonstrate that the Labour Party has changed and that we cannot stand for such unacceptable comments.
“But what I can say is that come the general election, we will make sure we’ve got a great candidate in place that can win back the support of people in Rochdale and deliver an MP for that community that will bring people together, rather than stoking division – which I fear sadly is what we’re going to see in the months to come.”
Tories have been ‘all over the shop’ ahead of Budget, says Labour
Labour’s shadow education secretary has refused to say whether her party would reverse any tax cuts Jeremy Hunt may hand out in this week’s Budget.
“Ahead of this Budget they’ve been all over the shop,” Bridget Phillipson told Sky News. “We’ve had a range of different ideas floated. Forgive me for being a bit sceptical about what they might say.
Pressed again, she added: “You’re asking me to engage in a hypothetical on a Budget measure that hasn’t been announced, but in terms of the principle of what we want to see in the Budget – working people are paying more in tax than we’ve paid since the Second World War, and I don’t think it’s right that time and again the Conservatves come to working people and ask them to contribute more and more.”
Citing “25 tax rises in the last parliament alone”, Ms Phillipson continued: “I want to ensure we’ve got a fairer tax system for all.”
Labour would end tax breaks for private schools, says frontbencher
Labour’s shadow education secretary has said she would end tax breaks for private schools – having backed down from previous plans to end their charitable status.
Bridget Phillipson told Sky News: “Not the charitable status, but rather ending the tax breaks – absolutely we will press ahead with that.
“The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies have been clear that will raise between £1.3 to 1.5bn, and if I were education secretary I would be making sure that money went directly into our state schools, making sure we’ve got more teachers [and] better mental health support.”
A man has been arrested after a woman died and another woman suffered life-threatening injuries in Worcester.
Emergency services went to a property in Haresfield Close in the city at about 20:30 GMT on Saturday where the 58-year-old woman died.
"Another woman, aged 39, was found with life-threatening injuries and taken to hospital," said West Mercia Police.
The 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the force said.
Det Ch Insp Leighton Harding, of its murder investigation unit, said: "I understand that incidents of this nature can be alarming, but I would like to reassure the local community that this was an isolated incident and there is no wider risk to the public."
He said there would be a higher police presence in the area in the coming days as officers investigated.
"Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who has sadly lost her life," he added.
In the year leading up to 3 February, figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that the equivalent of 3.9 per cent of services in England and Wales were cancelled.
This only narrowly fails to beat the worst performance of 4.1 per cent in records which date back to 2014.
Rail fares in England and Wales rise by nearly 5% on Sunday despite train cancellations being among the highest level in 10 years (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
Persistent strikes, infrastructure failures and faults and an increase in severe weather have all impacted the reliability of services.
The increase in fares could add £190 to an annual season ticket from Woking to London, taking the cost from £3,880 to £4,070.
It could also see flexi season tickets for travel between Liverpool and Manchester on two days per week over a year rising by £92.60 from £1,890 to £1,982.60.
How much will your ticket increase?
Here are 10 examples of potential rail fare rises across England
Figures are based on an increase of 4.9%.
The table compares the cost of season tickets using any valid route bought before and after the rise.
It does not include the price paid if within-London travelcards are purchased for Tube and bus journeys in the capital.
– Annual season tickets:
ROUTE – CURRENT PRICE – AFTER 4.9% RISE – INCREASE
Woking to London – £3,880 – £4,070 – £190
Gloucester to Birmingham – £4,908 – £5,148 – £240
Brighton to London – £5,616 – £5,891 – £275
Whitehaven to Carlisle – £2,284 – £2,396 – £112
York to Leeds – £2,764 – £2,899 – £135
– Flexi tickets for travel two days per week over a year:
ROUTE – PREVIOUS PRICE – AFTER 4.9% RISE – INCREASE
Welwyn Garden City to London – £1,851.60 – £1,942.30 – £90.70
Liverpool to Manchester – £1,890 – £1,982.60 – £92.60
Cambridge to London – £4,208.40 – £4,414.60 – £336.70
Ipswich to Peterborough – £4,510.80 – £4,731.80 – £221
Chris Page, who chairs pressure group Railfuture, said: “Why are rail passengers being punished year after year with inflation-busting fare rises?
“No matter that there’s a cost of living crisis, no matter that we’re facing a climate emergency, the government seems more determined than ever to price us off the railway and on to the roads.”
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: “This fare rise will be tough for passengers to stomach given the shocking state of rail services up and down the country.
“Since coming to power in 2010 the Tories have hiked fares by almost twice as much as wages, and now passengers are being asked to pay more for less.”
Campaigners say passengers are being ‘punished’
Campaign for Better Transport campaigns manager Michael Solomon Williams said: “At a time when we urgently need to encourage people to take the train, the public will rightly be angry to discover that it has just become even more expensive to do so.
“We know that people will decide to drive or fly if the train is too expensive, so this is bad news for our personal finances, the wider economy and the environment.”
Rail minister Huw Merriman said last month that the government had attempted to “split the balance between the UK taxpayer and the fare payer” in relation to fare rises, which he described as being “well below inflation”.
ORR figures show the Westminster administration provided £4.4bn of funding to train operators in Britain in the year to the end of March 2023.
Last July’s retail price index measure of inflation, which is traditionally used to determine annual fare rises, was 9 per cent.
The consumer prices index, which is a more commonly used inflation figure, was 6.8 per cent in July 2023 but fell to 4 per cent in January. Westminster and the Welsh government set the cap for rises in regulated fares at 4.9 per cent.
These include season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance routes and flexible tickets for travel around major cities.
Train operators set unregulated fares such as Advance singles, although their decisions are heavily influenced by the government due to contracts introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rises in these fares are expected to be similar to those for regulated fares. The Scottish government will increase ScotRail fares by 8.7 per cent from 1 April.
Police have launched a murder investigation after a man was stabbed to death inside a flat in London.
The 66-year-old victim was knifed inside a flat in Lockhart Close, Enfield at just before 7:30pm on Friday. Police officers and paramedics were called and the man was found in the communal area of the block. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating the fatal stabbing. No arrests have been made. A spokesperson for the force said: "Detectives believe they know the identity of the man. Enquiries are under way to identify and inform his next of kin. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course."
DCI Laura Nelson, of Specialist Crime, said: “The victim was stabbed inside a flat in Lockhart Close and was found, critically injured, in the communal area of the block. I know that local people will be extremely concerned by this tragic incident, and I can assure them that dedicated detectives are investigating. We will do everything possible to find whoever was responsible for this killing.
The 66-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene (stock image) (
Getty Images/iStockphoto)
“I am grateful to the local residents who assisted officers last night and this morning as our investigation commenced. They will continue to see police working in the area, including forensic officers and other specialists who are supporting what will be a painstaking murder investigation.
“I am appealing for information from anyone who saw anything suspicious in Lockhart Close, Derby Road, Lincoln Road and the surrounding area on Friday evening. Did you see anything or anyone unusual? If so, please call police, or to remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers.”
The fatal stabbing occurred just hours after a gun-wielding moped driver opened fire in Clapham, south London, before fleeing the scene. A suspect fired what was believed to be a shotgun while riding a moped during a police chase on Clapham High Street around 4:55pm. Two people sustained shotgun pellet injuries and a third person was injured by the moped. There's no suggestion at this stage that the two incidents are linked.
Henry, who was in the Belle Vue pub at the time of the incident, said his friends were "absolutely terrified" when they heard a "really loud bang." He continued: "It was two guys on a moped. And then they shot through into the pub. I was two tables away from the window. So luckily, I didn't get shot in the head."
Pro-Palestine protests are to continue across the UK on Saturday after Rishi Sunak’s warning that democracy was being targeted by “extremists”.
In an address to the nation on Friday, the prime minister spoke about “forces here at home trying to tear us apart”, in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks by Hamas against Israel.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak said “our democracy itself is a target” and decried a recent “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality”.
He described the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale byelection as “beyond alarming”. He also spoke directly to those taking part in pro-Palestine protests, urging organisers to demonstrate peacefully and “with empathy”.
He said he had told senior police chiefs the public expected the protests to be policed rather than simply managed.
Sunak said: “I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: don’t let the extremists hijack your marches. You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.
“Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree, we will never be disunited.”
The prime minister said a line had to be drawn so that while people should be able to “march and protest with passion” in support of Gaza, demonstrators “cannot call for violent jihad” to justify the actions of the Palestinian militant group Hamas – a group that is proscribed in the UK, which bans any show of support – or “call for the eradication of a state or any kind of hatred or antisemitism”.
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, appeared to back Sunak’s message calling for unity in the country.
He said: “The prime minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.”
Sunak’s comments were also criticised, particularly by those he took aim at, including Galloway, who secured almost 40% of the vote in a constituency that has a strong Muslim population.
Galloway accused Sunak of using Britain’s Muslim population as a “whipping boy” and treating them as “second-class voters”.
“And that is what he was doing in Downing Street today, a despicable and dangerous thing,” said the newly elected MP, who has been a divisive figure in British politics in recent decades.
“And secondly, alarmed at the growing support for Palestine, for Gaza in Britain, the attempt is being made to paint these peaceful demonstrators – almost always demonstrating without a single arrest being made, without so much as a paper cup being dropped – they are trying to conflate peaceful democratic protest in Britain with some kind of mob, with some kind of violence and intimidation.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said: “The British people will take no lessons from a prime minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.”
Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, responded to the prime minister’s address by suggesting he “look in the mirror” and expel some senior MPs from his party.
Posting on X, Jamal said: “So Rishi Sunak wants to deal with ‘extremists’. Maybe he should start with politicians, political commentators and religious leaders who support a state, on trial for genocide, in its mass slaughter, and deliberate creation of famine. Not those protesting against it.
“As for his ire at those who seek to divide us, does he ever look in the mirror, or around his cabinet table? Come back when you’ve kicked Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick [and] Michael Gove out. That’s just for starters.”
Many of the protests this weekend are directed against Barclays Bank, which the group claims holds “substantial financial ties with arms companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel”.
Branches of the bank will be the focus of protests on high streets from Abergavenny, south Wales, to Worthing, West Sussex, according to the group.
The newly elected Workers Party MP told Sky News: “You talk as if this is God. We’re talking about little Rishi Sunak, in the fag end of his prime ministership. Don’t talk to me as if he’s come down from the Mount with tablets of stone.”
Mr Galloway took 12,335 votes to become the only MP for the party he founded in 2019.
Mr Sunak’s criticisms came in a speech outside No 10 on Friday evening, in which the PM said protests had “descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence” and warned that democracy was being targeted by extremists.
He vowed to back the police in taking action and announced a fresh crackdown on extremism in the UK.
George Galloway claims Rishi Sunak ‘is in office but not in power'
George Galloway has claimed that “British democracy is in danger alright, but not from me”, as he responded to the prime minister’s speech by posting on X/Twitter that “little Rishi Sunak is in office but not in power”.
The newly-elected Rochdale MP pointed to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics which found that the British public’s faith in political parties fell from 20 per cent in 2022 to just 12 per cent last year.
Approximately 68 per cent said they distrusted political parties, which retained their status as the least trusted of any UK public institution.
Lee Anderson greeted with ‘standing ovation’ at Tory fundraiser and ‘hugged’ by Liz Truss, report claims
Lee Anderson was given a standing ovation at a Tory fundraising dinner on Friday, the Daily Express reports, just days after he was suspended from the party over Islamophobic remarks about Sadiq Khan.
The Ashfield MP and GB News host was hugged by guest of honour Lizz Truss – who joked, “who is this de-whipped Tory?” – as he made a surprise appearance at a dinner in Nottinghamshire raising money for Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith’s re-election effort, according to the paper.
Sunak told to ‘look in the mirror’ by pro-Palestine group after extremism speech
Speaking ahead of further planned pro-Palestine protests across the country on Saturday, Ben Jamal, director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, responded to Rishi Sunak’s address by suggesting he “look in the mirror” and expel some senior MPs from his party.
Mr Jamal posted on X saying: “So Rishi Sunak wants to deal with ‘extremists’. Maybe he should start with politicians, political commentators and religious leaders who support a state, on trial for genocide, in its mass slaughter, and deliberate creation of famine. Not those protesting against it.
“As for his ire at those who seek to divide us, does he ever look in the mirror, or around his cabinet table? Come back when you’ve kicked Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick (and) Michael Gove out. That’s just for starters.”
Further local protests are planned for this weekend before another national march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, takes place in central London next weekend.
Many of the actions this weekend are directed against Barclays Bank, which it claims holds “substantial financial ties with arms companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel”. Branches of the bank will be targeted on high streets from Abergavenny, in south Wales, to Worthing, in West Sussex, according to the group.
John Rentoul | A brave speech from Rishi Sunak – but who is he trying to persuade?
Here is The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul’s reaction to the PM’s No 10 speech yesterday evening:
When the prime minister says something is “beyond alarming”, that is hardly a reassuring message. Everything Rishi Sunak said in his surprise statement in Downing Street was brave and right, but that he felt he had to say it at all didn’t inspire confidence that he is in command.
When he said, “I need to speak to you all this evening because this situation has gone on long enough,” he sounded as if he was complaining that the government had been asleep on the job.
It is an extraordinary tone for a prime minister to take, listing all the things that have gone wrong recently that could be grouped under the heading of “extremism”, and implying that the government has been doing nothing about them not just “in recent weeks” but “months”.
Worse than that, he implied that Suella Braverman, the home secretary he sacked for using the term “hate marches” about pro-Palestinian demos, might have had a point. Which is strange from someone who only a few days ago was trying to calm the row about Lee Anderson’s comments that Sadiq Khan was “controlled by Islamists” by urging everyone to “take the heat out” of the debate.
And he criticised the voters of Rochdale for making the wrong decision. I agree with him on that, but if you are making an important, unscheduled speech to warn that “our democracy itself is a target”, you need to recognise that sometimes democracy can throw up results that you don’t like.
George Galloway has said he “despises” Rishi Sunak after being asked about the PM‘s criticism of him during a No 10 speech about tackling extremism.
When asked by Sky News if he respected Mr Sunak, the newly elected Rochdale MP said: “I despise the prime minister. And guess what? Millions and millions and millions of people in this country despise the prime minister. I do not respect the prime minister at all.”
Rishi Sunak’s warning about the forces of extremism has been welcomed by the UK’s right-leaning newspapers – although several felt it was overdue.
The Times described the speech as a “wake-up call” and “a sobering warning of the fragility of democracy”, while the Daily Telegraph said “enough is enough” was the “welcome – albeit belated” – sentiment of Mr Sunak’s address.
Calling Mr Galloway’s victory a “dreadfully dark day for democracy”, the Daily Mail said the prime minister delivered a “crackdown on extremism ... the nation was crying out to hear”.
The Daily Express said Mr Sunak was “right to encourage us to unite against hate” and said his “blunt words will strike a chord with many”. It also focused on policing which it said could partly have been driven by a “laudable desire to protect the right to protest”.
The Sun said “too many people have grown up feeling no love for, or connection to, Britain or our liberal values”. It said turning things around is “a monumental task” but that Mr Sunak must back up his words. “We can only hope it is a turning point,” the paper wrote.
