The Christian case for stopping illegal channel crossings

Rev Dr Nigel Scotland explains why he believes the most compassionate response to the small boats crisis is to immediately return migrants to France

Some in the UK will perhaps feel a tinge of hope that illegal channel crossings may be starting to diminish as they witness French police disabling the odd inflatable boat on the Calais beaches or hearing that a gang leader has been brought to justice for people smuggling.

Nevertheless it is glaringly obvious that this is doing very little to stem the ever-growing number of migrants making a perilous journey to our shores. Clearly France has no means of stopping the growing number of arrivals entering its territory from other EU countries. This is a fact of life that the British government seems unable to acknowledge. It is therefore in France’s interest to encourage as many migrants as they can to leave their shores.

There are of course those whose who make the crossing who will be genuine asylum seekers and who need a compassionate welcome and…