Rayner: Boat migrants are often 'women and children'

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"I feel absolutely appalled these criminal gangs will load a boat up to dangerous levels.Housing Secretary Angela Rayner reacts to a small boat crossing the English Channel yesterday carrying 230 people. pic.twitter.com/9B9a5GE7w3— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 11, 2026

Small boat migrants are often ‘women and children’ who are ‘desperate, vulnerable people’, Angela Rayner told the nation this morning. The Housing Secretary was asked for her thoughts on the illegal migration crisis as she graced the airwaves, fresh from her return to the Cabinet.

A day after the arrival of the 230-seater mega-dinghy, Nick Robinson put it to Rayner that members of the public feel ‘rage’ at the government’s inability to protect Britain’s borders. Asked for her reflections, she responded: ‘Well, these are desperate, vulnerable people getting into these vessels that are dangerous and we’ve got to stop that. The Home Secretary has got this agreement which is pay by results with the French to stop these boats from coming over.’

Rayner went on to insist that the number of boats invading Kent’s shores has fallen while deportations are up. But she just couldn’t help herself, adding the ridiculous suggestion that women and children make up a significant proportion of illegal arrivals. She said: