Do more to address causes of migration

THE tragedy of lives lost in the Channel has resulted in the Government once again focusing on deterrents. How can it be made more difficult for desperate people to get into the UK? A wholly immoral stance.

The real question should be what is creating the situation that makes people take such desperate measures in the first place.

The role of the UK as a seller of weapons into conflict zones is one cause, as is the failure to take adequate measures against climate change. War and climate devastation both create desperate situations, so people have to flee. Nor has the decision of the UK Government to cut international aid helped at this vital time.

Failure to deal with the causes driving asylum seekers to these shores will do nothing to stem the flow. The measures being taken amount to nothing more than sticking plasters on an increasingly gaping wound.

Paul Donovan