Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that the UK's asylum system needs a "complete overhaul", after migrants lost their lives in the Channel yesterday whilst trying to cross in a small boat.
At least 12 small boat migrants were killed on Tuesday after their boat capsized, including a pregnant woman and six children.
This morning, French police struggled to detain more migrants as dozens stormed the beach on the northern coast of France in an attempt to make the perilous journey to Britain.
Discussing the increasingly concerning situation for migrant deaths in the Channel, Migrant Support Coordinator Kay Marsh stressed that "people are dying in the Channel because our system is broken", calling for an "overhaul" of the current asylum process.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to 'overhaul' the UK's asylum system after more Channel deaths
Reuters / PA
Marsh explained: "I do understand the issue is a broken system. People are dying in the channel because our system is broken. We need to a complete overhaul of the immigration system.
"We need alternative safe and legal routes to asylum, so that people can be brought here safely and legally without needing to risk their lives in a small boat."
When pressed by host Bev Turner on what alternative barriers the Labour Government can use to help tackle the migrant crisis, Marsh claimed that a new processing centre could be built in France to prevent people from making the journey across the Channel.
She told GB News: "There are a number of different things that we could look at. Humanitarian visas were used for the Ukrainian situation, people were brought here very quickly when they needed to be, very safely. They didn't have to navigate small boats or the asylum system at all.
French police struggled to detain dozens of migrants as they stormed a beach on the north coast of France
Reuters
"If we can build a processing centre in Rwanda, we can build a processing centre in northern France, where people can start their claim before needing to get onto a boat."
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Host Andrew Pierce disagreed with Marsh's remarks, arguing that France "doesn't want a processing centre" and so migrants easily "disappear into the black market" once they reach UK shores.
Marsh responded: "We know that the asylum backlog is huge and the amount of people currently going through the asylum system is astronomical, so we know that people don't just disappear into the ether. It's not as big an issue as some people like to make out."
Migrant Support Coordinator Kay Marsh said there needs to be 'more safe and legal routes' for asylum seekers
GB News
When questioned on Prime Minister Starmer's plan to "tackle the gangs" is an effective method of deterrent for migration, Marsh scolded that the move is simply "more Government rhetoric".
Marsh told GB News: "It just feels like more government rhetoric, it's just something that people can say they can't do immediately, but it's be seen to be doing something.
"The biggest change I want to see around immigration is putting the argument for safe and legal routes for asylum seriously on the table and say 'we need to admit now these deterrents aren't working'. It's time to try safe and legal routes to asylum."
