TERRIFIED young men dying in the dark in the turbulent, icy Channel. A tragic and appalling reminder of why the small-boats racket must be smashed.
We were told by Rishi Sunak on Tuesday that the illegal migration scandal is at its heart one of simple unfairness. That it is unfair to abuse our asylum system, unfair to jump the immigration queue, unfair to burden taxpayers with the bill.
The PM was absolutely right. That IS what rankles with most people.
But the most basic, most compelling argument is that it kills. That evil, greedy gangs based in France put people to sea with total indifference to their safety.
And, only hours after Mr Sunak spoke, more lives were lost in horrifying scenes.
Panic-stricken, frozen migrants — assured by the traffickers of an easy crossing and a warm welcome to Britain — instead left clinging to a punctured, sinking inflatable screaming for help.
It is a miracle so many survived, a testament to their rescuers.
No one with a shred of humanity can see that footage or those pictures without their hearts going out to those people, irrespective of their motivation for reaching Britain and the route they chose.
Such disasters have happened before, of course — worst of all when 27 died in November 2021.
And they will happen again if Mr Sunak’s potentially game-changing new plan is blocked by Labour politicians or left-wing lawyers habitually waging war in the courts against the Tory Government.
There are those who wring their hands on this issue, who pretend the migrants are all genuine refugees and oppose the Government’s strategy as illiberal.
There are those too who increase the lure of Britain by helping the migrants’ passage across the sea and by acting for them in endless asylum appeals.
They should all think hard about whether THEY are unwittingly perpetuating this vile criminal enterprise, with its callous disregard for human life.
Labour has no solution. Its waffle about more talks with France and increasing safe routes fools no one.
The Sun doesn’t object to more safe routes for real refugees. The PM has rightly promised them. But they won’t stop those with no legitimate claim risking their lives in the Channel.
That’s why barring anyone entering illegally from ever staying is the crucial deterrent at the heart of Mr Sunak’s plan.
We fear he has a legal mountain to climb. He is hamstrung both by the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.
But rather than playing party politics, throwing up obstacles, voting against him and willing him to fail, the Left should back what is clearly a detailed and considered strategy which really could end this nightmarish problem.
They will surely save lives if they do.
