tony smith is a former head of uk border force.e have seen this number of migrants crossing the english channel. it only really began in any number in october last year, but it is now an almost daily occurrence that we are seeing reports of significant numbers of people — many women and children as well — in small vessels coming across. and increasing resource requirement upon the french authorities and ourselves, the border force, to make sure they don't drown, we have had a couple of drownings, that they are properly treated, then brought ashore, then the ongoing issue of processing them. i wonder if you have any thoughts about why we have seen a spike in the numbers? i think it is because success breeds success. you mentioned the lorry issue, that was certainly the main area of penetration into the uk when i was head of the border force. we did a lot of work in calais with infrastructure, additional technology, resources, working with french colleagues to make it much harder for the migrant gangs to smuggle people in lorries. bu

earlier, i spoke to the former head of the uk border force, tony smith. by sea is unprecedented. it is relatively new that we have seen this sort of number of migrants bossing the english channel. it only really began in any number in 0ctober really began in any number in october last year, but it is now an almost daily occurrence that we are seeing reports of significant numbers of people, many women and children as well in small vessels coming across, and increasing resource requirement upon the french —— authorities and ourselves, border force, to make sure they don't drown, we have had a couple of drownings, they are properly treated and brought ashore and then we have the ongoing issue of processing. we will talk about the logistics in a moment, buti we will talk about the logistics in a moment, but i wonder if you have thoughts about why we have seen this bike in the numbers. i think it is because success breeds success. i think it is because success breeds success. you mentioned the lorry issue and that was certainly the main area of penetration in

we'rejoined now from dover by former head of the uk border force, tony smith. very good morning.f borisjohnson‘s comments about migrants trying to cross the channel being sent back. comments that have been described as inflammatory and misleading by campaigners. well, returns has to be pa rt campaigners. well, returns has to be part of the strategy, because the problem we have seen over the past year is increasing numbers, as your report shows, of wreckage migration on the split. that is not been a case in the past, damian method has been concealment and noise. but we are announcing an incident every two to three hours here. we are recommending french to try and stop the smugglers, but it is not working. they are being —— if they are being allowed to stay, then i'm afraid the message being sent back would be of a supply chant. i suspect that is the reasoning behind his comments. but at the moment, as the law stands, we are talking about international law, they cannot be sent back because i have a right to claim asylum. well, there are things called safe third country agreement ar

tony smith is the former head of uk border force, ealier he told the bbc he's unsurprised the prime ministerident every two to three hours here. you see success breeds success. if people are seen to be getting across here and then getting intojurisdiction, then they are being allowed to stay, then i am afraid the message going back is that there will be a continuing supply chain. and so, one of the deterrence would be to say well, actually, we are not prepared to process your application for asylum. you are coming from a safe third country and you will not succeed in getting permission to stay. so, i suspect that is the reasoning behind his comments. medical leaders have called for an urgent meeting with the government to discuss continued shortages of hormone replacement therapy. hundreds of thousands of women going through the menopause in the uk, are struggling to access hrt tablets, patches or gels. many have suffered side effects because they can't obtain hrt products at pharmacies. our health editor hugh pym reports. thanks to hrt, karen, who lives in somerset, felt able to cope with t

so far this year, more than 1000 migrants have been detained by the uk border force, with 590 pickeditain. this month, two people have died trying to cross the channel. there are no figures for migrants arriving in the uk stowed in lorries, the main form of illegal entry. earlier, our correspondent leigh milner gave this update. so, what we've been told is that 50 migrants were actually spotted in kent this morning by coastguards, trying to cross the english channel. what we don't know is where they've come from. but what we've been told by officials is that they've currently been detained. and also, in fact, several other boats have actually been intercepted. as you can imagine, search and rescue operations will be taking place in that area. so, if you are living in kent today, just expect some activity there. and as you mentioned before, you know, the home secretary said urgent action had to be taken to tackle the migrants crisis. particularly migrants using small boats trying to cross the channel, because that is, as we can see, it's extremely dangerous, extremely choppy waters th

earlier on breakfast, the former director general of uk border force told us there needs to be more rescourceswe‘re winning that battle. so we do need to look at more resources, betterjoint working, our maritime defences. potentially, even a border patrol in this country responsible for the perimeter security, like they have in the states, because the border force is also responsible for a lot of other things and they‘re very stretched at the moment. medical leaders have called for an urgent meeting with the government to discuss continued shortages of hormone replacement therapy. it comes as one manufacturer, everol, has confirmed to the bbc that its products will not be available until the middle of next year. the department of health says it is working closely with suppliers and patients should discuss alternative hrt products with their doctor. an employee at the uk consulate in hong kong has been released from custody in mainland china, where he‘d been held for more than two weeks. simon cheng went missing during a business trip to shenzhen. china‘s foreign ministry confirmed that he had

so far this year more than a thousand migrants have been detained by the uk border force, with 590 pickedeople died trying to cross the channel. there are no figures for migrants arriving in the uk stowed in lorries — the main form of illegal entry. let's take a look at some of the day's other top stories. nearly two million people in the indian state of assam have effectively been made stateless, left off a newly published register of citizens. people queued throughout the day to find out if they'd made the list — drawn up, says the government, to identify illegal bangladeshi migrants. but critics say it's a witch hunt against ethnic and religious minorities. thousands now deemed illegal migrants have already been detained. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has condemned violence overnight in glasgow. trouble flared when a planned march in support of a united ireland was met by a counter protest in the govan area of the city. riot police and mounted officers were called in. five teenagers arrested on suspicion of arson after a huge blaze at a kitchen appliance factory in peterb

so far this month 77 migrants have reached the uk by boat, and total 837 have been picked up this year by the border force migrants say conditions like these in calais, with some migrants sleeping rough in tips, is leading people to take evermore desperate measures to get to britain. this shows the desperation that people are feeling to want to have to have a flimsy means of transport like a kayak coming over to the uk, and also shows that the countermeasures that have been taken don't really address this particular situation. shouldn't people be claiming asylum in france which is a safe country? many people feel they have connections with the uk, which means that they feel they have a right to actually claim asylum in the uk. one of calais‘s top officials in a recent interview with the bbc insisted he was taking the issue seriously. translation: for us, the french authorities, we need firstly to save lives, avoid any serious incidents, and also disrupt people trafficking networks. but this will not be a quick or easy task. this is bbc news, the headlines: police say the el paso shooting suspect has confe

the uk government has announced an extra $2.5 billion of funding to prepare for a no—deal brexit. the plan includes more border forces to transport infrastructure at ports. britain's opposition labour party described the move as a waste of taxpayer money. the boss of ryanair has won staff to prepare forjob cuts in the coming weeks, saying the airline has 900 to two many pilots and cabin crew. in a video message to workers, michael only reclaim the planned cuts to flights next summer due to the grounding of its boeing 737 max fleet. in the hopes of becoming social media stars, young people in india's smaller towns are signing up for a live streaming app called bego live, as singers and dancers who attract large numbers of followers can attract more money than engineers and lawyers. but the platforms paving these parts to fame are among several vying for a slice of the world's second smartphone market. with just a smartphone app and a mobile app, ranji performs her daily tribute to 90s bollywood for 60,000 virtual fans. its tribute to 90s bollywood for 60,000 virtualfans. its not tribute to 90s bollywood for 60,000 vi

uk has announced an extra £2.1 billion — $2.5 billion — to fund preparations for a no—deal brexit. the money comes on top of more than $4 billion already allocated. it will be spent on more border forceure at ports as well as stockpiling medicines and a national programme to help businesses. british airways is facing a possible summer of disruption after the airline lost its legal attempt to stop pilots from taking strike action, as part of a pay dispute. that is it for the business briefing, we will have the news briefing, we will have the news briefing injust a moment. frontline nhs staff at one london hospital have worked with developers to create a mobile app to identify patients at risk of acute kidney injury. kidney damage accounts for 100 thousand deaths every year in the uk, as hugh pym reports. whether it's the pager of the fax machine, there is no shortage of old technology across the nhs, but where are we on the verge of a big leap forward ? are we on the verge of a big leap forward? this is the kidney function that we were talking about. helga's —— a lead nurse specialist at london's three nurse hospital is able to show him the results of blood tests on her mobile. she is

intercepted by the border force 2 miles east of kingsdown near deal, prompting this message from the prime minister to those thinking ofjoining them. we will send you back, and the ukhere you can automatically come and break the law by seeking to arrive illegally. but few migrants have been sent back so far. just 65 since january, and the numbers attempting to cross is growing by the day. on wednesday, 21 people were intercepted in the english channel having set off from france. yesterday, a total of 64 people, mostly claiming to be iranian, arrived in six vessels. with 11 arriving today, it brings the total number of migrants arriving by small boat this week to 96, the busiest week since the bbc began tracking the crossings in november. what we need to see is 24—7 surveillance of the french coast. we need to see greater action by the french authorities to stop any boats leaving the french coast or, if they do leave, to make sure they are apprehended. french authorities are stopping some boats. an operation saw 2a migrants rescued near dunkirk this morning. there are fears that migrants are taking too great a risk, though. a woman who fell from a dinghy in the chan

border force two miles east of kingsdown near here. punting this message from the prime minister of those think ofjoining them. we will send you back. the ukbut few migrants have been sent back so far. just to c5 since january and the numbers attempting to cross is growing by the day. on wednesday, 21 people were intercepted in the english channel having set off from france. yesterday a total sissy for people mostly claiming to be iranian arrived in six separate vessels. —— arrived in six separate vessels. —— a total of 60 people. the total number as of today is 96. the busiest week since the bbc began tracking the crossings in november. we are seeing 24 hour surveillance of the french coast, we need better action from french authorities to re nt action from french authorities to rent those leaving the french coast or if they do need to measure apprehended. the french authorities are stopping some boats, an operation saw 24 migrants rescue near dunkirk this morning. there we re near dunkirk this morning. there were fears that migrants had taken too great a risk. a risk. a woman who fell from a dinghy in the chain early this month still has

force at all. but to say he does not want to put checks on the northern ireland border is disingenuous because it is not up to them because of the uk of the uk falls back on the rules, that is what will have to be there. if there is not a single market in it is out of the eu market, you have the border checks and without a concrete alternative for he proposed nothing new from the eu site, then there is nothing to talk about. but there is nothing to talk about. but there was a clear message and the basic message was if you take a look at this backstop again, i think i can geta at this backstop again, i think i can get a new deal through parliament. is that quite persuasive to the eu? no. because there really isa to the eu? no. because there really is a need for this insurance policy in the view of ireland, the eu and increasingly and it looks like an act of desperation, given the weeks that have come out of this are damaging and no—deal brexit would be. so this seems like a prime minister who may be new to the job but the uk and eu negotiators have been at this for the better part of three years and if such an alternative arrangemen

would come in to force at the end of next year, if the uk and the eu fail to agree terms of a deep and comprehensive trade deal to ensure the smooth passage of goods across the borderparts of the uk why it is important to many unionists that they should not be a backstop. this backstop is a fallback position if we are there is no possibility of a deal being reached that why the idea of it is so reached that why the idea of it is so apparent to some. one of the things about living in northern ireland is that you can travel to london in the same way you could travel to cornwall... but you won't have to show a passport. what has happened with the backstop is that it has taken a long time for people to understand it. one thing is that while there has always been an understanding of the fact that a new border run in northern ireland would be problematic, there has been a time over than number of years to think about the possibility of barriers between northern ireland and great britain. i do not think anybody is talking about passports but more about trade. the implications of that other that a fundamental part of being the united kingdom is that there are nuts checks a