Monday morning’s GB News Breakfast took an unexpectedly sombre turn when breaking news forced the show off its usual track. As presenter Ellie Costello, 31, was going through the top headlines alongside Eamonn Holmes, 65, she paused suddenly to deliver an urgent update.
“Some breaking news coming to us now,” Ellie said live on air. “One person has died after a boat carrying migrants got into difficulties in the channel. That’s according to French authorities”, according to the Express.
It was a stark moment that threw the spotlight right back onto the ongoing crisis in the Channel, just as political tensions are ramping up around the issue. Ellie followed up the tragic announcement by pointing out the timing couldn’t be more critical: “It comes as Keir Starmer gears up for that crucial EU summit later on today.”
And with pressure mounting, especially after a record number of small boat crossings this year, the tragedy adds even more urgency to the Prime Minister’s next steps. The UK asylum system is already under serious strain, and critics say it’s only getting worse.
Ahead of the summit, charities like the Refugee Council have called on Starmer to push for stronger cooperation with EU leaders. They want the UK to persuade European countries to take back illegal migrants who’ve already applied for asylum on the continent. Many of those currently camped in northern France, waiting to make the dangerous journey across the Channel, have already been rejected by other European countries like France, Germany, and Belgium. Once turned away, some still don’t give up – instead, they set their sights on Britain.
So far, though, the EU isn’t exactly jumping at the idea of negotiating a special returns deal with the UK. That hasn’t stopped the UK and France from working behind the scenes on a potential “one-for-one” swap arrangement. Under this proposal, the UK could take in migrants looking to reunite with family already living here, but would send back others who made the journey illegally.
Meanwhile, Labour’s scrambling to get ahead of this politically sensitive issue, especially as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK continues to gain ground in the polls. The Channel crisis is turning into a key election battleground, and every development, including this latest tragedy, only fuels the growing debate.
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