Forum Topic

Asylum seekers boosting the economy!

The Black economy that is! “Migrants are swallowing heroin and cocaine to smuggle the drugs into Britain in exchange for VIP Channel crossings.”

Steve Taylor ● 32d82 Comments

I just wanted someone who would support Ukraine at the time, and he did so I was very pleased about that.

Janice Evans ● 19d

Jayne, do you remember what I called the manifesto, (a book of lies) not only them either, should never take any notice or vote because of a manifesto.

Janice Evans ● 19d

Legal immigration hit a peak of 994.000 in 2023, the last full year of the To⁰ry Government. Dropped to 440.0000 the following year.Illegal migration continues to be 4% of total immigration.

David Burke ● 19d

I couldn't agree more Jayne, but why did so many people vote Labour? Anyone here who did vote Labour, care to explain why? Yes, they did say that they 'would stop the boats by smashing the gangs'. They've done neither, and appear not the slightest bit interested in even trying to doing so. After all, these poor gangs and their leaders are only trying to earn a crust. I think we should rally round and give them all the assistance they need, both moral and financial. There should be donations boxes up and down the country to help them in their just cause.

Brian Coyle ● 19d

To be fair Janice Labour did say they would stop the boats by smashing the gangs, clearly the joke is on all of us. Labour just don't know how to govern a country, they are all about increasing tax, spending, welfare, public services, immigration legal or not. They forget who creates the wealth which enables the country to prosper.

Jayne Thorburn ● 19d

I would have thought that immigration is a main concern for the vast majority in the country. That’s why Reform have done so well since Illegal immigration has doubled under Labour!

Steve Taylor ● 19d

But Steve, their policy has never been to stop immigration in the past, if immigration is your main concern learn from those past Governments.

Janice Evans ● 19d

Labour lie about everything  that’s socialism for you. We have even more migrants now given the generous and fraudulent benefits it’s a real pull for migrants.

Jayne Thorburn ● 19d

TBH I didn’t expect the Labour Party  to lie so openly and blatantly about the biggest issue facing the country when we went into the election. And when they won the election I believed they had a plan to effectively ‘smash the gangs’.It was just lies, lies and more lies.

Steve Taylor ● 19d

what did you expect, really.

Janice Evans ● 19d

Apparently 803 boat people were welcomed into the UK today. The highest number to ever arrive in a day.  Labour have done a wonderful job of smashing the gangs to solve the illegal immigrant problem.

Steve Taylor ● 20d

A fresh, small surge (nicer word than invasion) of boats coming across the channel as I write, only now the gangs are putting small children aboard so to alert our lifeboat men to assist crossings more quickly, the French equivalent appear unconcerned.Several boats have capsized earlier this morning.What happened to "SMASH THE GANGS" Starmer,Cooper?Everybody knew you were fooling nobody.

Denis I. Fox ● 24d

Well we stop meeting up of an evening (past work mates) because we felt unsafe, would meet lunch time instead, so probably other women have had to change how they meet up, many no longer go out of an evening but then things also happening during the day, so i believe they do feel unsafe generally, cannot say because of illegal migration unless figures confirm that.

Janice Evans ● 24d

So the question remains regarding illegal immigrants:  Are women and girls wrong to be frightened as debated in parliament and recorded in Hansard last week?

Steve Taylor ● 24d

I say a 'decent newspaper' because I don't read any that I consider to be unworthy of that title so can't comment on their content.

Keith Iddon ● 26d

I say decent newspaper Steve because that's the only type I bother with when I bother to by one.I don't know what is in the others.

Keith Iddon ● 26d

Cos he's a decent guy (a farmer) 😉

Janice Evans ● 26d

The Rupert Lowe explanation was in answer to Keith who maintains that if you have never heard of Rupert Rowe you have never read a ‘decent’ (sic) newspaper or watched the news. Having now learned who the man is I am confused as to why only ‘decent’ newspapers would be writing about him.

Steve Taylor ● 26d

As I said, no shrinking violet - and thanks for the clarification about your support ( or rather lack of support) for reform - I hereby withdraw my description of you as a "reform supporting remoaner".One addditional correction for clarity, I don't (as far as I can remember) believe I've previously made any mention of Rupert Lowe.

Andrew Jones ● 26d

That rivetting insight into your life explains a lot Steve.

Keith Iddon ● 26d

Keith and Andrew seem to be obsessed with the fact that I don’t, and never have, supported Reform and that I’d never heard of Rupert Lowe before last week. I can state categorically that I don’t support Reform and I don’t know of any of their members except Farage, Tice and Anderson.  Andrew mentioned that I’d once alluded to their articulate chair and that remember that now. Do I know his name? NO! Can I remember what he looks like? NO! I can remember that he is a GP by profession.  Do I follow Reform? No! Do I read newspapers? Yes! Do I watch TV news? Yes. Both selectively. I.e. We now refuse to watch anything involving killing or dying or mothers nursing screaming babies. My wife won’t have it so I haven’t a clue what is happening in Gaza or Ukraine and I’ve given up  caring. Do I know anything about the Bondi killings? No - I listened to about two minutes of it on the news and that was enough as I have no interest in the matter. Do I read everything about Rachel Reeves taxing me more on my savings interest? Yes. Do I read and worry about interest rates being cut again this week? Yes. Do I care about Reform members and know anything about them? NO!  Had I ever heard of Rupert Lowe before last week? NO!  Do I  watch Question Time? Definitely not!  Do I watch NewsNight? Definitely not. Both programs have deteriorated so badly, they are laughable.Do I trust the BBC? Definitely not. Anyone who says I support Reform is a blatant liar. Do I think Kemi is running rings around Starmer? Yes.  Do  I think the Labour front bench are a bunch of incompetent fools. In the main, yes! Trust this clarifies!!!Now then, as Burke has refused to answer the question,  because he’s too frightened  - it’s open to everyone - Are women and girls wrong to be frightened as debated in parliament and recorded in Hansards?

Steve Taylor ● 26d

I don't remember reading that one Janice, but I'll take your word for it. Thanks.

Andrew Jones ● 26d

Andrew, I do remember Steve saying he only winds you all up over Reform.

Janice Evans ● 26d

No it isn't - and I don't believe anything I wrote in any way suggests that it is or should be. Was that a rhetorical question?

Andrew Jones ● 26d

Totally inappropriate? Why? At the end of my post I asked Steve whether he might imagine himself voting for Reform in 3-4 years time. He can tell me it's none of my business, but  it's not up to you to do so - Steve is quite capable of answering himself, one thing he certainly isn't is a shrinking violet.Plenty of people on this forum give their views on political parties, you in particular are not shy of criticising the current government, often several times daily.I suggested Steve supported reform, he alluded to me lying about this, so I provided some of the comments he's made on this forum that led me to reaching my conclusion about where his political sympathies currently lie.Like you said, the voters will decide, whenever the next general election takes place.

Andrew Jones ● 26d

Voting the way you choose isn't a criminal offence yet is it?

Keith Iddon ● 26d

Andrew a totally inappropriate message who people decide to vote for is their busy and not yours. The reality is very simple Labour have blown it, they do not know how to mange an economy that fact is obvious. We have the highest energy costs in Europe & the G7 following a ridiculous net zero policy when even Europe has recognised the deadlines are too tight. Cost of living and inflation has been far too high for too long. Tax increases are killing many businesses. Food security and IHT on genuine farmers is mad. Benefits costs and fraud is crazy agree this government is hard left which is not what people voted for. Labour infighting has killed them & unfortunately Keir does not seem to be able to lead a united party. Forget the scandals of angie and the rest so another 3 plus years of this government is going to leave an almighty mess behind them. Who knows where any of the opposition parties are going to be in terms of policy come the election only time will tell. The voters will decide. Let’s not mention immigration……..

Jayne Thorburn ● 26d

"I don’t particularly follow Reform or care to know who it’s representatives are, were, or will be.""I have never ever supported the  Reform Party although I know who their leader is."Steve,I expect that if you voted at the last general election you voted Conservative. From comments you've made, I can't imagine you ever voting for Labour, and while you are happy living in a Lib Dem run council, I can't imagine you voting for the Lib Dems nationally.I can also see that you have a soft spot for Kemi Badenoch.However, you appear to pay more attention to Reform than you let on. You made quite a few comments on the thread talking about the Channel 4 programme about reform activists in Clacton that aired in 2024. Fair enough, plenty of people here also made comments.Some other sample comments you've made in connection with reform over the last 18 months:It seems from recent poll that Farage won the BBC debateMore evidence that the Conservatives are so far to the left that they might as well be Labour. Nigel must be laughing as more and more true blue bloods will move to Reform.Reform indicated that asylum seekers could be housed in tents.Likewise, nationally, the Conservatives now have little chance of maintaining a few seats unless they work with Reform although the resignation of the Reform Chairman must be sending shockwaves through the party.With the appointment of the articulate, well spoken, intelligent and pragmatic new Reform Chairman, I await the defection of more conservatives anxious to abandon the sinking ship as senior Conservatives continue to be in denial of their past abhorrent actions and behaviour. Extinction looms.I make comments about Reform gaining popularity but have never indicated that I would ever vote for them.Hence the government PROMISED to get a grip on all those generous benefits and get Britain back to work but Starmer has blown the perfect opportunity yet again as he kowtows to the socialist loonies. Now the country has to wait 3 or 4 years for Reform to take over and make some economic sense of the mess Labour has created.Now I note ( and indeed have highlighted) your comment that you have never indicated you would ever vote for reform.So I'd like to ask you whether you are going to stay with Kemi and the 'sinking ship' (sic) or whether you can maybe, just maybe see yourself giving your vote to Reform in 3 to 4 years time.

Andrew Jones ● 26d

Steve,you don't have to have been a Reform supporter to know who Lowe is,you just have to have watched the news or read a decent newspaper now and again over the last couple of years.You are obviously (mis)informed by a higher power though.

Keith Iddon ● 26d

You can support whoever you want it's nothing to do with anyone else.

Janice Evans ● 26d

“Run that by us all again Steve.”Ok - if it’s so incredibly difficult for you to understand!I had no idea who Rupert Lowe was until Peter Evans mentioned it because I don’t particularly follow Reform or care to know who it’s representatives are, were, or will be. Perhaps you are being conned by Andrew Jones who blatantly lied about me yesterday by calling me “the reform supporting forum remoaner.”I was indeed a  proud Remainer in terms of my Brexit Referendum vote but I have never ever supported the  Reform Party although I know who their leader is.

Steve Taylor ● 27d

Clearly some women & girls are very vulnerable and do feel scared the grooming gangs being Pakistani is a case in point and our institutions not only did NOT protect them but in some cases completely ignored the horror of these gangs. Why did we not deport all of them and their families. We have got to make nasty people really scared if they do anything wrong and the shame it will bring on their families. If perpetrators know their family will also be deported just maybe it will make them stop.

Jayne Thorburn ● 27d

Run that by us all again Steve..you had never heard of Rupert Lowe? Where have you been living in the last few years?

Keith Iddon ● 27d

I had no idea who Rupert Lowe is until Peter Evans mentioned it because I don’t particularly follow Reform or care to know who it’s representatives are, were, or will be. However, the Hansard publication caught my eye and the question remains: “are women and girls wrong to be scared as described in Hansards ? “

Steve Taylor ● 27d

Even Macron stated the UK has to stop the benefit incentives which is a pull factor. The whole world knows we are a soft touch and have a generous benefit system to anyone arriving illegally. That’s the answer stop all benefits to illegals and deport them immediately. We just need to get tough and the boats would stop.

Jayne Thorburn ● 27d

What this Hansard extract fails to mention is who said it.It was Rupert Lowe, who is a well-known off-the-scale right winger, elected as Reform PM for Yarmouth but then suspended from the party.  He's now leader of own recently established political organisation called 'Restore Britain', and I suspect he was being extremely selective with the examples he chose to share. Later in the same debate, it was pointed out that Mr Lowe had previously recently railed against illegal migrants arriving at his constituency when they were actually fund-raising canoeists from Cornwall!

Peter Evans ● 27d

So Burke - are women and girls wrong to be scared as described in Hansards ? Hansard -  Parliament this week. “The scale of illegal immigration and its impact on our country is simply not understood in this Parliament, and nor do most Members even care. British people are genuinely scared—women are frightened to go into their towns alone, and parents are terrified to let their children walk to school. It is getting worse and worse. The British people are not stupid; they can see their communities radically changing, and they can feel their streets becoming more unfamiliar, more dangerous and more menacing, all while the Home Office deliberately conceals the true extent of the change from our citizens.I am contacted by dozens and dozens of women who genuinely fear for their lives and who feel ignored by this place—ignored by those who are supposed to represent and protect them; ignored and abandoned; thrown to the wolves in pursuit of some sick multicultural experiment that is being forced on our people, one that has very real-world consequences.What happened just yesterday? Two Afghan illegal migrants were jailed for raping a schoolgirl. The footage exists—she filmed herself during the rape. Even the men’s barrister warned that it would lead to “disorder” if it was released, as it was so horrific. “You’re going to rape me”, the girl cried as she was dragged away. She screamed for help and begged not to be taken. One of the migrants gagged her with his hand. The Afghan men forced her to perform sex acts in a secluded area. She is heard screaming for help; she calls for her friends; she wants to go home. She is pleading for help from passers-by—none came. Can you imagine her horror, her fear and her desperation? Think if it was your daughter. How would that make you feel? Honestly, think about that.”

Steve Taylor ● 27d

“ or even that most have any idea about the UK benefit system before they arrive.”Oh what rubbish. It is the main reason they come to the UK rather than stay in one of the numerous countries they passed through to get to Calais. The other reason is how easy it is to escape into the black economy when they arrive in the UK. They wouldn’t pay  £thousands for a place on a dinghy unless they were  aware of the rewards which await them in the UK.

Steve Taylor ● 27d

You don't know that. It's wild assumption.The Home Office asks many questions before granting asylum.There is no evidence that asylum-seekers are gang members, drug dealers or even that most have any idea about the UK benefit system before they arrive.Most want to live in safety and get on with their disrupted lives.Maybe you should try meeting and talking to a few sanctuary-seekers before making such allegations.Of course there will be some malefactors. Every demographic has that. But disproportionately few. Asylum-seekers are usually frightened of breaking the law and of being deported.

Sara Nathan ● 28d

It’s a game of cat & mouse, none of the boat people are genuine asylum seekers just chancing their lucky in benefit street, drug dealers, gang members and the like we should deport all illegals immediately.

Jayne Thorburn ● 28d

“ 90% of those coming in small boats apply for asylum, according to the Home Office”So what on earth are the other 10% doing here? And how many of the 90% are bogus and slip into the black economy within days or weeks of arriving?

Steve Taylor ● 28d

Some evidence about asylum-seekers prioritised for smuggling drugs would be good. Does the Telegraph article quote an authoritative source? (ie not Migration Watch or one of the other Tufton-Street-light lobbies)

Sara Nathan ● 28d

When asylum-seekers get refugee status, they aren't usually "placed" anywhere. Most of the single people just get some advice from the relevant council. Only people with children, sometimes the elderly (a really small number) and the seriously poorly (again, not a high proportion) are even considered for any sort of placement. Over 90% of those coming in small boats apply for asylum, according to the Home Office.There is a large asylum-seeker hostel in Acton. It causes no problems to the area and many sanctuary-seekers attend Ealing Sanctuary Hub and try to integrate and learn English.

Sara Nathan ● 28d

Yes you are……op0en your eyes and read what is really going on go drugs are a massive problem from illegal's

Jayne Thorburn ● 28d

This seems to have some factual errors:1) there is no mechanism for considering the asylum application for someone not currently in the UK.2) People with criminal records are almost always rejected. Unless it's for their means of arrival.3) asylum seekers don't get benefits until they have asylum status. They are forbiddne to work for the first 12 months of thier asylum claim and only after that in "shortage occupations"4) refugees have only ever been able to bring in a spouse and dependent children under 18. No-one brings in "20 dependents"5) I've hardly met a refugee who doesn't want to work, or doesnt want to speak Englsih. Asylum-seekers may not attend college classes at all until they have been in the UK six months.Hope that helps.

Sara Nathan ● 28d

I can't see anything about drugs. Am I missing something?

Sara Nathan ● 28d

Platitudes will get us nowhere.

Keith Iddon ● 28d

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. FDR.

David Burke ● 28d

The illegal immigrants arriving via RNLI or Border patrol boats, who have been ‘rescued’ from dinghies, are undoubtedly all going to claim asylum upon arrival. The question is just how many of these illegal arrivals are bogus asylum seekers    .  The recent evidence of just how many of these people abscond from asylum hotels,  and effectively disappear, is frightening.

Steve Taylor ● 28d

AndrewI’m not sure it is appropriate on this forum to admit there is something about which you have insufficient knowledge to comment on.  The normal form is to state the first thing that comes into your head and call anyone who disagrees an idiot.

Christopher Shea ● 29d

"I don't know enough about illegal immigrants who aren't asylum seekers, to answer that part of your question"Fear ye not Sir, Steve is on his way to tell you all about it.

Mark Frost ● 29d

If someone has been successful in their application for asylum, then I would have no objection to a proportionate number being placed in Chiswick.I don't know enought about illegal immigrants who aren't asylum seekers, to answer that part of your question.

Andrew Jones ● 29d

If they were contributing to the local environment during the day, why not ? Messages on CW4 have indicated that LBH's leaf-clearing regime is inadequate, so it could be a win-win situation. Although if LBH was responsible for operating it, it would probably go wrong.

Richard Greenhough ● 29d

So in principle you are not against asylum seekers/illegal immigrants being placed in Chiswick if there was something to keep them occupied during the day?

Keith Iddon ● 29d

They could do the work on a voluntary basis - one way of saying thanks to the UK for not sending them to Rwanda.

Richard Greenhough ● 29d

Except they are not allowed to work,Richard.And for a good reason.

Keith Iddon ● 29d

“So what is a VIP Channel crossing? First class seat? “I’ve no idea, Andrew, you’d probably need to contact the Telegraph journalist who seemly passed this info also to your Daily Mail, which I’ve never read until you posted a link today. I assume by VIP they mean that you are guaranteed a seat rather than have to wade out to sea and fight for a place amongst all the other hundreds of young men coming across every week. You say that you get a place on a boat with mostly women and children but I am sceptical because the numbers of women and children arriving by dinghy are comparatively very few. I am aware that drugs smuggled by other means can be of considerably higher value than drugs smuggled by ingesting but it is not to be negated especially when it involves incentives for illegal immigrants. It poses a double threat for the UK. As quick as the someone tries to impose deterrents to illegal immigrants, the criminal gangs offer incentives! The street value of heroin varies widely based on purity and location, but in the UK it typically ranges from £40 to £100 per gram. A typical amount smuggled via ingestion (a "body packer") can have a potential street value of around £60,000 to £75,000 per kilogram. I don’t think it’s catastrophisation for the Telegraph to print this story as it will be of interest to very many people I’m sure.

Steve Taylor ● 29d

"It's certainly a 'small amount' in leafy,affluent Chiswick.I think there is plenty of scope for the authorities to open a hostel or a dozen hmo's locally."Perhaps they could be employed to clear the leaf droppings that block road drains, cycle paths and pavements in leafy Chiswick ?

Richard Greenhough ● 29d

It's certainly a 'small amount' in leafy,affluent Chiswick.I think there is plenty of scope for the authorities to open a hostel or a dozen hmo's locally.What do you think? Would that be fair and equitable as regards us all being in it together?

Keith Iddon ● 29d

“Migrants are swallowing heroin and cocaine to smuggle the drugs into Britain in exchange for VIP Channel crossings.”So, what is a VIP Channel crossing? First class seat? Refreshments served on board? No, it's a place on a boat with mostly women and children as your fellow passengers ( https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15364627/Migrants-offered-free-Channel-crossings-smuggle-heroin-Britain.html)So how much cocaine gets smuggled in on the little boats? 50kg? 100 kg? 200kg?A drop in the ocean compared to recent seizures.https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/nca-and-border-force-make-record-breaking-5-7-tonne-cocaine-seizureNow, don't get me wrong, I'd rather we didn't have illegal boat crossings, but the moral panic about the small amount of drug smuggling associated with illegal small boat crossings is the type of catastrophisation that is all to prevalent in rage bait. 

Andrew Jones ● 29d

“the largest ethnic majority by far in the UK is white European(inc. Brits obviously).“Indeed - which is why Lily O’Connor is particularly dense.

Steve Taylor ● 29d

I think you have misunderstood the word

Julian Pavey ● 30d

Er..the largest ethnic majority by far in the UK is white European(inc. Brits obviously).Is it any surprise that the largest number of drug users come from this group? The largest number of just about anything will come from this group as they outnumber all the rest put together and then some.

Keith Iddon ● 30d

Oh dear. Either Lily O is really stupid or has missed the point entirely. The Telegraph article on Monday didn’t imply that the illegal immigrants arriving on small boats are using hard drugs. It simply made the case that drug smugglers are offering illegal immigrants free passage on a dinghy to bring the drugs into the UK to hand over to the criminal drug gangs. They’re using them as mules probably because there is less chance of them being caught than if they were smuggled in via an official border post. Lily O, for some reason,  goes off on a tangent about ethnicity of drug users somehow desperate to prove that the majority of hard drug users are white.  Why? Nobody is disputing that. It may help Lily to understand that the ‘Black Economy’  doesn’t differentiate between races.  These alleged asylum seekers, bringing in drugs in order to gain free passage to the UK, are fuelling the Black Economy when they deliver their packages which they may be carrying internally. “The black economy (or underground economy, shadow economy) refers to all economic activities hidden from the government to avoid taxes and regulations, including both legal work done "off the books" (like cash-in-hand jobs) and illegal activities (like drug trafficking). It involves transactions not reported to authorities like HMRC, meaning these activities don't show up in official GDP figures, potentially making a country seem poorer than it is. Key characteristics are tax evasion, unreported income, and cash payments, existing globally across all economic systems. “

Steve Taylor ● 30d

Dodgy fag abd vape shops up and down the country are being busted for illegal goods and for employing illegal immigrants of one classification or another.Do any of you watch the news?

Keith Iddon ● 30d

I assume the reiteration of your 'black economy = drugs' point there was either because you're a troll or are genuinely proud of what you think is witty. I won't grace the general tarring of asylum seekers with an answer but for the benefit of anyone else viewing this thread who might otherwise be alarmed by Taylor's points and/or spurred into even more of an anti-refugee panic, it might be worth pointing out - with sources - that this equation is false. eg.,  White people using class A substances 4x as much as Black people (1), and even outside of Class A's (the only things 'worth' smuggling across borders), even overall drug use is lower among minority ethnic groups than among the White population in the UK (2) whilst also having less access to wraparound support and treatment than their white counterparts. (1) - Dr Shiner/London School of Economics - The Colour of Injustice: Race Drugs and Law Enforcement, (2) UKDPC Drugs and Diversity: Ethnic Minority GroupsFurther, I don't think I've ever come across a source which says the vast majority of people selling and consuming drugs in this country are men. Would Taylor also like to refer to this as a 'male' economy, or would that be unfairly simplifying issues and tarring a whole group of people with the same bad brush..?

Lily O'Connor ● 30d

I don’t think it’s castrophisation for Sky News to film an Immigration Lawyer, who deals with visa overstays on a daily basis, to claim that there are 400,000 such people currently in the UK. I don’t think it’s overcastrophisation to state as fact that the UK government doesn’t have these figures because the Home Office stopped recording them. I don’t think it’s castrophisation to state that well over 400,000 people are in the UK illegally and should rightfully be immediately deported without question or favour. I do think it’s right that these people should live in fear of police sirens, as should anyone who breaks the law. The more uncomfortable their lives are, the better and hopefully will act as a deterrent to other would be criminals.

Steve Taylor ● 30d

All illegals regardless of whether they have overstayed their visa or arrived on boats should be deported and only then have their applications considered. Anyone with a criminal record should be rejected. No benefits paid so have to prove they have skills and can work. Too many undesirables in our country. No they can’t bring 20 dependants who live off benefits, don't speak English’s or work.

Jayne Thorburn ● 30d

Now who was it who was going on about catastrophisation on this forum recently?

Andrew Jones ● 30d

That’s right. Add that to the 400,000 bogus asylum seeker arrivals by dinghy, who melt into the black economy and any fool can see the problem created by this government. These problems now exacerbated with the drugs being smuggled in by bogus asylum seekers arriving in dinghies.

Steve Taylor ● 30d

If he's s visa overstayer,  he needs to be dealt with on that basis. Not as an asylum seeker .Very unlikely that he arrived by a dinghy.

David Burke ● 30d

Indeed, the number of overstayers far exceeds that of people arriving in small boats. But why do you still quote without citing sources?

Robert Fish ● 30d

“Ramesh lives in fear every day. A police siren is enough to alarm him.He's one of up to 400,000 visa overstayers in the UK, one lawyer we spoke to believes.It's only an estimate because the Home Office has stopped collecting figures - which were unreliable in the first place.Britain is being laughed at, another man told us, "because they know it's a soft country".Ramesh says he came to the UK on a student visa in 2023, but it was cancelled when he failed to continue his studies. He tells us he is doing cash-in-hand work for people who he knows through the community where he is living and is currently working on a house extension”

Steve Taylor ● 30d

Evasive, as ever. Put the source on here, for all to see and make up their mind.

Robert Fish ● 30d

I don’t care what YOU decide Fish because you are a liar by declaring a smear. Ignorance is no excuse to lie if you don’t read the papers. If anyone else wants the publication and source I will happily email it to them if they haven’t already, arrogantly and ignorantly, declared if a smear.

Steve Taylor ● 30d

If you can't, or aren't prepared to, reveal a source, that immediately suggests your information is questionable, and your use of it is a smear. Give us the source, and we can decide whether it's a smear or not.

Robert Fish ● 30d

Another unadulterated lie from Fish. As soon as someone says something he doesn’t want to hear, he says it’s a smear.

Steve Taylor ● 30d

More unattributed smears!

Robert Fish ● 30d

People smugglers are ruthless they don’t care about human life they care about money. Drugs is an easy win for them, no surprise the majority of illegals migrants are young men who are not fleeing war or persecution they want to make money. We are complete mugs! Hotels, benefits, free health care drugs is a natural progression to make easy money.

Jayne Thorburn ● 30d

"NCA says people smuggling caseload is now top of the list over drugs. I'd be surprised if both don't go together.""Boat migrants arriving in the UK are generally not subjected to mandatory, routine screening for swallowed drugs (internal mules), though standard border security procedures aim to detect drug trafficking." So the claim is most likely very plausible.

Julian Pavey ● 30d

Where's the evidence? What's the source? Are there actual convictions for this?Or is it the usual inaccurate swill published by GBeebies and its ilk?

Sara Nathan ● 30d

Terrifying…words fail me! Labour has incentivised illegal migration so much for protecting our borders come to benefit Britain.

Jayne Thorburn ● 32d