‘Heartbreaking’ migrant deaths show ‘need to stop the boats’, Cameron says, as he defends ‘unorthodox’ Rwanda plan
14 January 2024, 08:30 | Updated: 14 January 2024, 15:22
The Foreign Secretary has said the deaths of five migrants at sea shows the need to 'stop the boats', as he defended the Government's 'unorthodox' Rwanda plan.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Five migrants died while trying to cross the Channel in French waters in the early hours of this morning.
Around 70 migrants were attempting to get into a small boat when it overturned, according to French media.
While dozens were pulled from the water in overnight rescue efforts, five died.
They are understood to have been from Iraq and Syria.
David Cameron said it is always "heartbreaking" when "these things happen".
But he said it only further underlines the need to 'stop the boats' - one of Rishi Sunak's key pledges.
Read More: UK ready to strike Houthis again if Red Sea attacks continue, says David Cameron
The only way to do that is to bust the business models of people smugglers, he added.
That is also why Rwanda is necessary, despite being "unorthodox", Lord Cameron said, telling the BBC the policy would "collapse" the trade.
Around 124 migrants arrived in the UK on Saturday morning on a Border Force vessel in Dover.
The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, had previously told LBC that it was his target to get small boat crossings down to zero this year.
Lord Cameron's comments come as the Prime Minister prepares to face down Tory rebels who are unhappy about the proposed Rwanda plan.
The former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has already said she will vote against the bill if further improvements are not made.
"I'm only going to support a Bill that works. As currently drafted, this Bill does not work. And if there are no improvements to it, I will have to vote against it, I'm afraid," Ms Braverman said this week.
