British MPs say some migrants are being held in “shocking conditions” in facilities in England, with women and children forced to sleep in crowded rooms on thin mattresses.
Their concern comes amid criticism over a government advertising campaign on Facebook designed to deter arrivals.
Record numbers of migrants are crossing the English Channel in small boats, with more than 9,000 making the journey so far this year, surpassing the 2020 total of 8,417.
Ministers had promised to make the route “unviable” for migrants, but thousands are reportedly still waiting in northern France to make the crossing by sea.
The Home Office launched an advertising campaign in December to get a message to migrants in France but refugee charities say it has been ineffective.
This has included spending more than £23,000 ($32,118) on social media ads between December and April targeted at migrants living in France, a Freedom of Information request by the PA news agency revealed.
The ads on Facebook and Instagram featured slogans such as “There is no hiding place”, “Don’t put your or your child’s life in danger” and “We will return you”.
Migrant charity Care4Calais accused the Home Office of “wasting money” on the ads that could have been better spent helping migrants.
“I’m genuinely horrified by the lengths this Government will go to to avoid helping desperate people,” founder Clare Moseley told the Press Association.
“Refugees risk their lives to escape from some of the world’s most dangerous countries, fully aware that this could be the last journey they make.
“It’s extremely naive of this Government to think that social media ads will deter them. This isn’t a choice.”
MPs also highlighted a perceived lack of concern for migrant welfare in a report on the Atrium facility in Kent, where migrants are transferred after they are brought ashore.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the facility was unsafe, with vulnerable people held in cramped conditions.
The MPs observed 56 migrants held in a waiting room. They said women with babies and a woman in a wheelchair were among the group.
“There were teenage boys sharing mattresses,” Ms Cooper told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme.
“Almost the entire floor was covered with thin mattresses jammed into aisles and squeezed between seats. There were no open windows, there was no sign of any Covid precautions, no masks or social distancing.
"I could not see in how or any way that room was Covid safe, as well as concern for the welfare of the vulnerable children in that situation for many hours.”
Ms Cooper said that legally no person should be detained by Border Force for longer than 24 hours, but some migrants at the facility had been there for twice that amount of time.
The committee noted that services were under increasing pressure from “unacceptable numbers” of migrants crossing the Channel at the hands of people smugglers.
The Home Office said: "Unacceptable numbers of people are making life-threatening journeys crossing the Channel at the hands of criminal trafficking gangs.
"We take the welfare of migrants extremely seriously and despite these pressures we have improved our facilities, arranged additional staffing and are working to process people as quickly and safely as possible.”
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
