Building partnerships on migration crisis rather than laying blame, says Conservative MP

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B

ritain should partner with other countries rather than “playing an international blame game” for stopping the Channel crossings, a senior Conservative MP said.

Tom Tugendhat said UK politicians and border police “have to fight a lot harder” and identify and prosecute human traffickers.

It comes after 1,185 people reached the UK on Thursday after risking death on board small boats in the English Channel, a new record for a single day in the current crisis.

By clarifying how all migration is linked – from Syria to Libya and from Iraq to Belarus – we can partner rather than engage in an international blame game.

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More than 23,500 people have now reached the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats this year, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.

Mr Tugendhat wrote in the Mail on Sunday: “This is not just a story about human lives. This raises very important questions about Britain – about its borders and how the country’s infrastructure and services cope with the seemingly inexorable daily increase in the number of people wanting to live here.

“Our politicians and our border police must fight much harder to eradicate this illegal trade. We must identify and prosecute those who lead it.

“But we can’t do it alone. As the large number of people gathered on the Belarus-Poland border in an attempt to enter the European Union illustrates, the problem affects the whole of Europe.

“If successful, many of them will also attempt to cross the Channel to settle in the UK.”

(PA Graphics) / PA Graphics

The Tonbridge and Malling MP said that “turning failing national economies into successful societies” can create new business partners and “conditions in which people do not feel the need to migrate”.

He added: “By strengthening the defenses of southern and eastern Europe, we can stem the flow of people. And by clarifying how all migration is linked – from Syria to Libya and from Iraq to Belarus – we can partner rather than engage in an international blame game.

“Unfortunately, today’s crisis is a lesson in failure.

“However, using common sense and cooperation, we could make this a lesson in success.”

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