A leading bishop today called on the Government to “take a lead” on tackling the causes of refugees risking their lives following the death of a Sudanese boy who drowned in the Channel.
The teenager’s body was washed up after he and a friend tried to reach Britain on a flimsy inflatable using shovels as oars.
Home Secretary Priti Patel called it “an upsetting and tragic loss of a young life” but stressed the blame lay with “criminal gangs” and people smugglers.
But the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, said politicians needed to show more compassion and address the causes of mass migration.
“We need to try to understand what is happening, why people are fleeing from their countries, why are people taking such unsafe routes to get to the UK or to get to Europe,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“We need to not just, every time there’s a boat, throw our arms up and think ‘panic, panic, let’s do something about it, let’s build walls, let’s put the Border Force out’. We need more long-term planning and thinking.”
She added: “What I want our Government to do is to take a lead with other governments around the world and to begin to look long-term as to what are some of the things that we can do to stop the flow.”
In a tweet, Ms Patel said: “This is an upsetting and tragic loss of a young life. This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people. Working together we are determined to stop them.”
Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s newly appointed clandestine Channel threat commander, is returning to France to continue discussions with officials in Paris and Calais in a bid to tackle the migrant crossings crisis.
