Migrants who drowned in channel have themselves to blame, says TalkTV host

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TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer said the migrants who drowned on the channel on Wednesday were not “desperate” and were responsible for boarding the boats themselves.

The South East Coast Ambulance Service was called to the channel early Wednesday morning following reports of an incident.

The government has since confirmed the deaths of four people after a small boat capsized. More than 40 people were rescued.

Rishi Sunak described it as a tragic loss of human life.

Responding to the events, Hartley-Brewer said on her radio show on Wednesday that migrants trying to reach the UK were not “desperate”.

Read more: Labor MP says sending migrants to holiday parks is akin to ‘concentration camps’

“People say they are desperate people,” she said. “You’re in France. I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to say this… you’re in France.

“You are not in war-torn Syria. You are not in Ukraine. You are not being bombed.”

She added: “First of all I blame these people themselves for getting on these boats.

“When you see people, you see children dying, and migrants putting their children in [that situation]…if you did that in this country, you would be prosecuted for endangering your child’s life.

“These people are not victims that way.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman called the incident a “terrible tragedy”.

Four people are confirmed to have died at the channel on Wednesday morning. (Getty Images)

This is an ongoing search and rescue incident, but I can confirm that at the time of making this statement there have been tragically four fatalities,” Braverman said.

It would be inappropriate for me to go into more detail at this point.

Hartley-Brewer is one of the most prominent presenters of TalkTV, the new UK television channel launched in April 2022 and owned by News UK – which publishes The Times and The Sun.

A controversial figure, she has previously claimed that climate change is “complete nonsense” and that “lockdowns are not based on science”.

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Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: We are devastated to hear the news of the incident on the channel today and heartbroken by the reports of deaths.

Our hearts go out to everyone affected and we pay tribute to the rescue teams working on such a terrible incident.

Sadly, this is not the first time we have woken up to such devastating news of people losing their lives on a harrowing journey to Britain in search of safety.”

Read more: New measures for migrants treat asylum seekers like criminals, campaigners say

The founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, Clare Moseley, said the government had blood on its hands – describing the deaths as “totally unnecessary and avoidable”.

The deaths come the day after the Prime Minister pledged to crack down on small boats crossing the Channel after more than 40,000 people crossed in 2022.

I said enough is enough, and I mean it,” Sunak told parliament on Tuesday. “And that means I’m ready to do what needs to be done.

“So early next year we will introduce new legislation to make it clear that if you enter the UK illegally you should not be able to stay there.”

Watch: Home Secretary Suella Braverman says Channel deaths show crossing is a ‘deadly dangerous business’

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