13 h. ago Borders chief can’t name a way Brexit has helped UK control its borders

The new border security commander, Martin Hewitt, said he did ‘not immediately’ have an answer

Politics

34 h. ago QUENTIN LETTS: Want to know why Labour has no hope of stopping the small boats? Meet the windy dullard in charge of border security

Martin Hewitt appeared at a parliamentary committee yesterday.To his CBE and QPM there should perhaps be added the OPD, the Order of Prize Dribblers.

Events

38 h. ago Number of Channel crossing arrivals ‘frustrating’, says border security chief

Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said he finds the numbers very challenging but that work to stop crossings was always going to take time.

Events

38 h. ago UK borders chief warns of surge in Channel migrants from southern Africa and 'significant violence' against police

Martin Hewitt, the Border Security Commander, said there had been 'quite a shift' in the nationalities of people who are coming to Britain on small boats.

Events

41 h. ago Channel small boats crisis will not be solved quickly, Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt admits

Martin Hewitt, who was appointed to the role a year ago, told MPs he was 'frustrated' by rising number of arrivals across the Channel.

Events

63 h. ago Brookside's Corkhill family now from career change to famous musician son

Brookside is set to make a special return to our screens later this year in a crossover episode with Hollyoaks to celebrate the Channel 4 soap's 30th anniversary

Politics

6 d. ago French police use pepper spray on migrants trying to cross English Channel

French police have used pepper spray to stop migrants from trying to cross the English Channel.

Events

7 d. ago Two Kent sites earmarked as holding areas in event of EU border system issues

The sites have been chosen as part of long-term efforts to boost Kent’s resilience to problems with Channel crossings.

Politics

8 d. ago More than 1,000 small boat migrants cross Channel to Britain in just one day AGAIN

There were 1,075 arrivals in a 24-hour period, the Home Office said. It brings the total since the start of the year to 35,476, up a third on the same period last year.

Events

8 d. ago More than 1,000 small boat migrants cross Channel to Britain in just one day

There were 1,075 arrivals in a 24-hour period, the Home Office said. It brings the total since the start of the year to 35,476, up a third on the same period last year.

Events

1 week ago There are plenty of ways to humanely control British borders. So why isn’t Keir Starmer using them? | Enver Solomon

Labour’s incoherent asylum policies are vilifying refugees. A better and more compassionate route is possibleJust 24 hours after he described providing asylum as the “mark of a decent, compassionate country”, Keir Starmer said the UK had been too “generous” towards refugees, and announced a plan to end what he described as the asylum “golden ticket,” which allows people to resettle their families in Britain. For a refugee who has pulled the body of their child from the rubble of their bombed-out home, or made a perilous journey alone as a young adult having lost their family, it certainly doesn’t feel this way.The government believes that to deter refugees from crossing the Channel in small boats, it must restrict their ability to reunite in Britain with their immediate family. It must also make it impossible for them to achieve settled status if they have ever claimed benefits or received a criminal record.Enver Solomon is chief executive of the Refugee Council Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer: 'No golden ticket' to UK as automatic settlement and family reunion rights for asylum seekers to end

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would help ‘address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats’ crossing the Channel from France

Events

2 w. ago Keir Starmer: 'No golden ticket' to settling in UK as automatic settlement and family reunion rights for asylum seekers to end

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would help ‘address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats’ crossing the Channel from France

Events

2 w. ago Automatic settlement and family reunion rights for asylum seekers to end in landmark immigration reforms

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would help ‘address the pull factors driving dangerous and illegal small boats’ crossing the Channel from France

Events

2 w. ago POLL OF THE DAY: Starmer blames Brexit for 'Farage boats' crossing the Channel. Is he right?

Sir Keir Starmer stepped up his war on Reform UK today by blaming Brexit for the English Channel migrant crisis and dubbing the small boats 'Farage boats'.

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer pledges rethink on international law to stop ‘Farage boats’

The Prime Minister blamed Brexit for making it harder to remove migrants who crossed the Channel in small boats.

Society

2 w. ago PM brands Channel crossings ‘Farage boats’ because Brexit has hampered returns – UK politics live

PM also says he does not believe Nigel Farage or Reform voters are racistHelena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.Ed Miliband is due to take to the stage to deliver his speech today, and he is set to announce a “total ban” on fracking.I am about to announce something you have been calling for and campaigning on, which is to ban fracking for good. You called for it, I’m going to do it, thank you for your campaigning.What an amazing result for our environment, our local communities, and the thousands of committed people and groups right across the country who’ve spent years fighting for fracking to be banned for good – including the many who signed 38 Degrees supporter Geoff’s recent petition. Not long ago, it felt like fracking might make a comeback, with Reform UK pushing to put it back on the agenda. But thousands of us stood up, demanded a permanent ban, and made our voices impossible to ignore. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer brands small boats 'Farage boats' in latest scathing attack on Reform

Keir Starmer has lashed out at Nigel Farage, branding small boats crossing the Channel as 'Brexit boats' and saying the Reform leader was wrong to say leaving the EU would not affect migration

Events

2 w. ago George Clooney, Typhoon Bualoi and a Channel crossing: photos of the day – Tuesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago Migrants attempt longer Channel crossing after recent deaths

After a quiet morning in northern France, a large black dinghy carrying migrants was pictured having set off from a beach in north-west France.

Events