The campaign is underway amid a 20 per cent increase in illegal migrants who made the journey this year, with the total standing at 2,716 so far.
The UK Home Office launched an advertising campaign in Iraq, featuring images of destroyed boats and testimonies from migrants, to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats. The campaign targets "ruthless criminal gangs" spreading "dangerous lies" and focuses on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This follows a record number of crossings in March and aims to address the high number of Iraqi and Vietnamese nationals among those crossing the Channel. The UK is also working with the Vietnamese government to prevent irregular migration.
