Dominic Casciani
Home and Legal Affairs Correspondent

"The government is determined to continue to crack down on the evil trade in such trafficking, whose perpetrators have no regard for human life," said the Home Secretary.

Not Priti Patel - but Jack Straw in June 2000 when 58 migrants were found dead in the back of a lorry that had come across the English Channel.

Priti Patel has faced weeks of attacks from critics who say she has over-promised and under-delivered when it comes to cracking down on dangerous English Channel crossings. But the fact is that the smuggling of people is not remotely a new problem.

David Blunkett, Jack Straw's successor, hoped he had cracked it almost exactly 20 years ago when he struck a deal with the French to close a refugee camp outside Calais that had become a magnet.

Later, the squalid "Jungle" sprung up - that too was bulldozed - but the attraction of crossing the Channel remained.

And that's why - after two decades of attempts to control the flow - these awful deaths are a reminder that nobody in British politics has found a way to stop the crossings - be they in suffocating lorries or small boats liable to drown their cold and terrified occupants.

Lewis Goodall
Newsnight policy editor

Image source, Reuters

The grim truth is today was predicted and predictable.

That is both in a narrow and broader sense. We had been told that many would attempt to cross the Channel overnight due to rapidly worsening weather. But it became clear that the numbers involved and the quality of boats in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes made tragedy inevitable.

Politicians on both sides of the Channel have already blamed the smugglers, who are indifferent to loss of life. But there will be questions for both governments. For France on the conditions in the camps, with children living in the woods and streets. And for Britain the lack of legal routes for asylum to the UK, which critics says is one of the main reasons people accept the risk of taking to the seas.

I've been told today people were still trying to cross the Channel earlier this afternoon. The terrible weather ​expected in the coming days means people know this is their last chance to make it to the UK for a while.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

A small protest and vigil is taking place at Calais port, including by members of organisations calling for the protection of migrants.

One banner read: "30 years of announcements, of inhuman and degrading treatment."

Human rights groups have long been calling on France and the UK to do more to protect the lives of migrants and refugees.

In his briefing, France's interior minister characterised the commitment of UK resources to help address the issue of channel crossings as "minimal".

Speaking to reporters, Gérald Darmanin explained he had spoken to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel three days ago, asking for "more police officers, more cameras, more resources in general".

He said the "sometimes lively discussions" also touched on the resources Britain gives to France, which "remain minimal compared to the resources that we put in place".

There is a contest that we should have between two great countries that are friends to fight against these smugglers", Darmanin added.

Giving more details of what happened in Wednesday's tragedy, Gérald Darmanin, France's interior minister, said the search and rescue operations were continuing.

"We need to fight against these smugglers," Mr Darmanin said.

He said that most of the boats used in these crossings were bought in Germany - and that most of those who tried to cross came into France from Belgium.

"Today is a day of national grief for France, for the EU and the whole world," he added.

The men, women and children who have made the crossing in 2021 come from a wide array of countries.

They include places like Yemen, Eritrea, Chad, Iraq, Iran and Egypt.

So what is happening in their home countries that means they are willing to risk everything crossing entire continents to reach the UK?

Our colleagues at Newsbeat took a closer look - you can read it by clicking here.

Footage from the scene shows a rescue ship coming into Calais harbour.

It is believed that the ship was carrying the bodies of some of those who died.

The death toll has now reached 31, including five women and two children.

More than 25,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year - a massive rise from the just 8,000 who made the journey in 2020.

They are not doing it alone: behind almost every boat is a smuggler, charging extortionate rates for a space on one of their overcrowded boats.

Police and these criminal gangs now find themselves in what one officer told the BBC was a "game of chess". Officers increase their patrols; the smugglers simply move their crossing points to a different - invariably more dangerous - location.

The BBC's Lucy Williamson has been taking a closer look at smugglers' attempts to outfox the police - you can read her report here.

So far in November 179 small boats carrying migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK, the highest of any month this year.

Earlier this month, more than 1,000 people arrived in a single day - a new record.

Crossings this year are already triple those in 2020, with more than 25,700 people making the journey so far.

Back now to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who gave his reaction to the loss of life in the Channel. He was speaking a little earlier, before the death toll had risen to 31.

The PM said the disaster "underscored how dangerous it is to cross the channel in this weather":

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here's what we know so far about the tragedy in the Channel:

• At least 31 people have died after a boat with 34 migrants on board capsized while trying to reach the UK

• Two people were rescued from the boat and are being treated in hospital, while another person is still missing, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has confirmed
• Among the dead are five women and one young girl
• The International Organization for Migration has said it is the biggest single loss of life in the Channel since it began collecting data in 2014
• Four people suspected to be linked to the people smuggling have been arrested by French police
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is "shocked and appalled" by the tragedy, after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting in response to the deaths
• French President Emmanuel Macron has said France will not let the Channel become a cemetery, calling for an emergency meeting of European migration ministers

Thousands of people have crossed the Channel from France to the UK in rickety boats in recent months.

Pictures of men, women and children arriving on beaches along the Kent coast have become commonplace.

But as today's tragedy shows, the 26-mile crossing is fraught with danger.

So why do people decide to take the risk?

This article from 2020 looks at some of the reasons - as well as the criminal gangs who made money from their desperation.

Read: Why are migrants crossing the English Channel?

Image source, Getty Images

France's President Emmanuel Macron has called for an emergency meeting of "European ministers faced with the migration challenge", in response to the deaths in the channel.

The president also promised to find those responsible for the deaths, adding French authorities were doing everything possible to do so.

He said: "It is Europe's deepest values, humanism, respect for the dignity of each person, that are in mourning."

Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that the deaths are a "devastating and heartbreaking tragedy".

He added that the UK, France and the international community have a "duty to prevent people from being forced into such peril".

A migrant charity has warned that the international procedure for protecting refugees was at risk of collapse.

Speaking in response to the tragedy, Zoe Gardener from the London-based Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants told the BBC there is "no requirement on people to seek asylum in the first country they reach".

She said: "Of course there isn't, otherwise nobody would end up seeking protection in the UK."

Gardener adds that allthough the UK is a "compassionate country", it's also a rich, powerful and stable place that is "very able to offer protection to lots more refugees than we currently do".

"So if everybody is supposed to stay in France because we're slightly to the west of France, then France can say the same thing to Italy, and then Italy can say the same thing to Libya, and in the end, the entire international refugee protection regime will crumble", she said.

The mayor of Calais has blamed Boris Johnson for the deaths, arguing the prime minister lacks the "courage" to take responsibility for the migration situation.

Natacha Bouchart said the tragedy is a "result of several successive failures" over migration policy.

She told reporters: "It's the failure of Boris Johnson, our region has had to take measures because he doesn't have the courage to take on some responsibilities."

Bouchart said governments "need to react and react quickly", adding "we shouldn't be waiting for tragedies to act".

"What angers me the most this evening is for several weeks I've been alerting members of the government to warn them there are exceptional pressures at the moment," the politician said.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the deaths are "starkest possible reminder" of the dangers migrants face attempting to cross the Channel.

Writing on Twitter, the Home Secretary said her "thoughts are with the families of all of those who have tragically lost their lives in French waters today".

She wrote: "It serves as the starkest possible reminder of the dangers of these Channel crossings organised by ruthless criminal gangs."

The politician added the UK government's plan "will overhaul our broken asylum system and address many of the long-standing pull factors encouraging migrants to make the perilous journey from France to the United Kingdom".

Four people suspected of being linked to the drownings have been arrested by French police, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has confirmed.

He added the incident was the "the biggest (migrant) tragedy that we have seen".

Image source, Getty Images

France's President Emmanuel Macron has said that "France will not let the Channel become a cemetery".

Mr Macron promised to "find and condemn those responsible" for the tragedy.

He also called for an "emergency meeting of European ministers concerned by the migration challenge".

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

France's interior minister, speaking in Calais, has confirmed that 31 people have died after their boat capsized.

Gérald Darmanin said five women and one little girl were among the dead, according to Reuters.

Two people were rescued from the capsized boat, the politician said.