UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to take a relentless approach to stopping small boat crossings in the English Channel, saying safe routes for refugees are essential to tackling trafficking gangs.
Speaking during a visit to Dover, Burnham said Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, had assured him that approximately 98 percent of the estimated 50,000 migrants who entered the Spanish territory of Ceuta last week have now been returned to Morocco.
The influx of tens of thousands of people into Ceuta prompted a major response and underscored migration pressures in the region. Burnham said enforcement has been stepped up, but more safe routes into the UK are also needed.