The UK government has admitted it has “lost control” of its borders after a record 1,194 illegal migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on Saturday— the highest daily figure this year. Despite paying France hundreds of millions to stop the crossings, French authorities only intercepted 184 migrants, around 15 percent of those who set sail.
Britain is set to implement its largest defense spending increase since the Cold War, aiming to send a clear “message to Moscow,” UK Defense Secretary John Healey said Sunday. The Labour government’s plan will push defense spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027—an increase of £13 billion ($17 billion) annually—and Healey expects it to reach 3% in the early 2030s.
