UK Home Secretary Claims Nearly All Women Crossing English Channel Raped
Shabana Mahmood states sexual abusers exploit asylum seekers as traffickers control passage to Britain.
Nearly all women attempting to reach the United Kingdom in small boats from northern France are subjected to rape during their journey, according to UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
In an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast, Mahmood stated that sexual abusers exploit most asylum seekers as long as traffickers dictate who arrives in Britain. "We're not in control of this border," she said. "The sifting of the people that end up in the north of France and are about to get on a dinghy is done by criminal gangs who are also, by the way, people traffickers.
"You can almost guarantee that every woman that's in the north of France has probably been raped along the journey," Mahmood added. "Some of the men too, they've certainly been abused and threatened. That is not the model that should decide whether somebody gets to come to the UK, make this their place of sanctuary and ultimately become one of us."
The comments came after approximately 300 anti-migrant protesters clashed with police on Sunday. The confrontation occurred following the arrival of dozens of migrants at a historic naval port in Gosport via small boat, reportedly using a new route to evade detection.
Flares were discharged during the stand-off at Haslar Marina, which continued into the early hours of Monday. The Home Office confirmed that 149 migrants were rescued in a mid-Channel operation involving the RNLI and a French coastguard vessel. The migrants were subsequently transported to a processing center in Kent.
Protesters had gathered near the marina and were heard shouting "send them back" and "you're not welcome." This incident marks the second known instance of a large group of migrants landing far west along the south coast in recent years.
Mahmood also addressed the protesters, telling podcast hosts Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell that the balaclava-wearing individuals should "sod off." She described them as troublemakers who would not accept her as a "true Brit" due to her Muslim faith. "They don’t think I’m a true Brit and they hate the fact that I’m a Muslim," she said.
Mahmood also commented on her discomfort regarding the arrests of activists opposing a ban on the group Palestine Action. Over 82 individuals were arrested by Merseyside police outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on suspicion of supporting a banned organization. She defended the enforcement of the ban, emphasizing the importance of applying principles consistently, even when personally uncomfortable.