https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...blishing-daily-illegal-boat-migrant-arrivals/
A British think tank has accused the UK Home Office of attempting to cover up the number of migrant crossings of the English Channel and has launched a petition to keep the daily figures public.
Migration Watch UK, which advocates against mass migration to Britain, has launched a petition to demand the government continue publishing daily updates on Channel crossings, with some 7,472 signing the petition so far. Should the petition reach 10,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
In January, amid record numbers of illegal migrants flooding across the Channel, reports emerged that Priti Patel’s Home Office was planning on scrapping the daily reporting of migrant arrival in favour of a quarterly reporting scheme. The plan has drawn widespread criticism, with opponents claiming the government is trying to avoid the bad press suffered upon each arrival.
Speaking to Breitbart, executive director of Migration Watch UK, Dr Ben Greening said: “Hiding the daily boat arrival numbers from the public in the midst of rocketing illegal crossings is a desperate move. The politicians and civil servants who helped enable this deadly mess to grow are clearly afraid that people will see the facts for what they are.”
“Those in power are making a last-ditch bid to dodge responsibility. Please sign and share our petition as widely as possible to send a clear, unmistakable message that this is simply not acceptable in a democracy. We, the public, demand the truth,” Dr Greening added.
While the think tank accused the coverup of already taking place, the Home Office told Breitbart that there is “no basis” to the claims and that the figures are still publicly available. After a record January, in which over 1,300 landed compared to 223 last year, there were curiously no crossings for two weeks.
The sudden lull was blamed on windy weather conditions, and the Home Office did report that eleven migrants landed in Britain on Saturday. It is not clear, however, how much longer the data will be made available to news outlets.