Row over Labour minister’s small boat feedback
A row has erupted after a senior minister stated nearly all of individuals crossing the English Channel in small boats he had seen had been “kids, infants and girls”.
Treasury minister Darren Jones and Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf clashed on the BBC’s Query Time over the age and intercourse of individuals making the journey.
Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch referred to as on Jones to apologise for saying one thing that was not true.
However the minister later stated he had been referring to what he had seen on a current go to to Border Safety Command in Dover.
He added: “After all the general majority of individuals arriving illegally on small boats are males – however not ‘north of 90%’ as Reform claimed.”
Within the first three months of 2025, there have been 6,420 small boat arrivals the place the age and intercourse of the individual was recorded, in response to House Workplace figures.
Of those, 81% (5,183) had been grownup males.
In the identical interval, of the 531 baby arrivals (aged 17 and beneath), 427 of them had been male and 104 feminine. There isn’t a additional age breakdown, so we do not know what number of infants had been amongst them.
In the entire of 2024, 76% of small boat arrivals, the place the intercourse and age are identified, had been grownup male.
Within the Query Time change on Thursday, Jones stated: “Let me let you know, once you’re there on the location, seeing these dinghies put collectively by these organised legal gangs, that are clearly not secure.
“And once you see that almost all of the individuals in these boats are kids, infants and girls… you’ve got to take word.”
At this level within the debate, Jones was interrupted by Yusuf, who claimed greater than 90% of those that cross the Channel in small boats are grownup males.
“That is not true,” Jones stated.
Yusuf and BBC presenter Fiona Bruce requested Jones to make clear if he disputed the 90% determine.
“I am saying it is not true,” Jones stated.
He then added: “When there are infants and youngsters put into that place by human trafficking gangs who’re coming throughout the Channel with pores and skin burns from the oil in these boats, mixing with the salt sea water, I might ask any of you to take a look at these infants and youngsters and say return the place you got here from.”
He stated the federal government may take a “humanitarian response” while tackling people-smuggling gangs with out politicising the problem.
Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch referred to as for Jones to apologise, saying: “We’re not going to have any belief within the authorities or politicians if individuals cannot consider what it’s they’re saying.
“So I feel Darren Jones ought to completely retract his remarks and apologise.”
Reform UK chief Nigel Farage argued what Jones had stated was “merely not true”.
“One other clueless Labour minister,” Farage posted on social media.
Jones hit again in a put up on X, saying: “After all the general majority of individuals arriving illegally on small boats are males – however not ‘north of 90%’ as Reform claimed.
“On Query Time, I shared a narrative from my go to to the Border Safety Command a few dinghy that arrived largely carrying ladies, kids and infants who had suffered horrific burns.
“I am pleased to make clear this given how that is now being misrepresented”.
Extra reporting: Joshua Nevett
