Watch: Minister jeered for claiming most Channel migrants are children and women
A Cabinet minister was jeered by a BBC Question Time audience after claiming that most Channel migrants are 'children, babies and women'.
Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'The majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women', adding that he felt it was a 'controversial' thing to say.
But statistics for the year to March 31 last year from the Migration Observatory showed 75 per cent of those arriving in Britain in small boats were adult men.
Separate Home Office data showed that 83.6 per cent of arrivals over the year to this March were men, with 12.5 per cent women and the rest of undetermined gender at the time of the release.
When he was jeered, Mr Jones rebutted: 'You're told not to challenge the audience on Question Time – but I'm going to.
'Let me tell you, when you're there on the site seeing these dinghies put together by these organised criminal gangs, which are clearly not safe, and when you see that the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women.'
Zia Yusuf, the head of Reform UK's 'Doge' cost-saving unit, interrupted Mr Jones to say: 'No, they're not. No, they're not.' The audience applauded when he added: 'North of 90 per cent of them are adult men.'
Mr Jones said: 'I'm saying that this is controversial for a reason. Let me tell you the story.
'When there are babies and children, put into that position by human-trafficking gangs, who are coming across in the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt sea water, I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say, 'go back to where you came from'.
'It's right that we take a humanitarian response for those people who are put in those positions, and as the Government's policy states, dealing with the criminal gangs who are exploiting vulnerable children to use that route, and then tackling the people who should not be using it, and making sure that they're not staying in this country.
'You can do both of those things without politicising it.'
'The focus is tackling these vile gangs'
Downing Street failed to provide any evidence to back up Mr Jones' comments. No 10 said Sir Keir Starmer had confidence in the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Asked to provide evidence, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The Government is absolutely focused on tackling these vile smuggling gangs that risk lives in the Channel.' Asked again, he said: 'The focus of the Government is tackling these vile gangs that deal in human misery. That is why our joint work with the French is vital to tackle these gangs.'
When it was suggested to him that Mr Jones was effectively gaslighting the nation with his remark, the spokesman said: 'Again, our focus is on tackling the gangs.'
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Mr Jones 'is completely out of touch with reality', adding: 'Since 2018, 73 per cent of small boat arrivals have been single adult men. Yet Labour MPs like Jones still push the fairytale that these boats are full of women and babies. It's a dangerous distortion of the truth.'
The UN's International Organisation for Migration estimates that a record 82 migrants, including 14 children, died in attempts to cross the Channel last year. But officials believe this is an underestimate, with dozens more reported missing over recent months. At least 12 have died so far this year.
Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in more than 260 boats, a record high for the first six months of any year since boats started arriving in 2018.
Last month, Sir Keir Starmer came under fire after using a speech to declare that the UK risks becoming an 'island of strangers' unless it introduces stricter immigration controls.
Several of his own backbenchers, including veteran MP Diane Abbott, expressed outrage at the remarks, for which the Prime Minister appeared to express regret this week.
Downing Street set out an immigration white paper last month, which Sir Keir said would see his Government 'take back control of our borders' and bring net migration down. It was seen as a move to combat the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform, which had sweeping gains at local elections last month.
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