New immigration figures raise questions about government rhetoric

This morning the government released new figures showing refugees crossing the Channel in small boats accounted for just 3.8 per cent of immigration to the UK.

That’s a tiny figure. So why do they talk of a “migrant crisis”?

Today, the government will fan the flames of hate and division by saying all immigration is unwelcome. But immigration is not a problem for the UK. It helps to grow the economy. It enriches all of us. And it offers protection to people who have experienced some of the worst things imaginable.

But they will pay particular attention to the boat crossings, and they will continue to attack refugees, just as they always do.

They will refuse to offer safe passage for refugees to claim asylum, and then use small boat crossings to sow division – even though today’s statistics show less than 4 per cent of people who came to the UK in 2022 crossed the channel in a small boat.

The government knows that number could easily be welcomed with a safe passage policy, if only it reduced the backlog. But it never does.

The government knows that number could easily be welcomed with a safe passage policy. So why do they persist with the hateful rhetoric and new laws that cause untold suffering to countless people seeking only safety?