Morning View: Government right to try to deter migrants

Since January 2018 there have been 76,000 detected crossing. This includes almost 1,000 people who arrived on Wednesday in 19 boats.

Many people say that such numbers are no problem, that they dissolve easily into a nation of 70 million people.

They say that we have a duty to destitute people.

They say that the UK needs help with labour jobs that British citizens will not take up.

All of these points have merit to them. But there are other considerations too. Arrivals add to a major existing problem with immigration to the UK.

For decades now the net number of immigrants into the country has been measured in the hundreds of thousands per year.

This is placing massive strain on infrastructure such as housing and on services like health provision.

The UK is a densely populated nation, and England in particular has one of the highest population densities in the world.

There are also cultural challenges that follow from mass migration such as ability to speak the English language.

Furthermore, the massive arrivals mean that some of the poorest members of society are competing for low-paid jobs.

It is not unreasonable therefore for any country to control its borders. Most rich nations have strict control.

The situation in the English Channel has become an urgent one. If the current rate of arrivals continues then more than 100,000 people could land on these shores in the next year alone.

The government is right to try to send out a signal to would-be migrants that crossing the channel is not an easy route to UK residency.