NEARLY £4million has been spent under Sir Keir Starmer’s government on chartering five privately owned boats to rescue migrants in the Channel over the last eight months.
Border Force chiefs have used vessels from two private companies to patrol the English Channel and pick up migrants in dinghies making the treacherous journey from France to the UK.
Nearly £4million has been spent under Sir Keir Starmer’s government on chartering five privately owned boats to rescue migrants[/caption]
Aeolian Offshore and CWind provide the boats, which are normally used to carry maintenance and repair crew between offshore wind farms.
Home Office figures show Aeolian has been paid £2,093,800 since July last year and Cwind £1,786,199 in the same period.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The catamarans leased under these contracts are considered more suitable for the task of rescuing migrants from small boats, than the larger vessels in the Border Force maritime fleet.
“As a result, our fleet of cutters and coastal-patrol vessels are free to concentrate on tackling the wider threats around the UK coast.
“This includes preventing the smuggling of drugs and firearms into our country.”
This week Reform and the Conservatives accused the Government of “blaming the weather” for record numbers of crossings in the 12 months since April 2024.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It is the border- security equivalent of a lazy student claiming ‘the dog ate my homework’.”
The Sun revealed yesterday that immigration was seen as the worst-handled issue under Labour.
A staggering 74 per cent of Brits said the government was doing a bad job, with more than half – 52 per cent – said it’s being handled very badly.
