People smugglers taunt PM with TikTok videos

Gang leaders ‘laughing in Starmer's face' says top Tory

- By Michael Knowles Home Affairs Editor

PEOPLE smugglers are taunting the Prime Minister by posting videos showing off how big their boats are as they advertise to migrants.

Some purport to have been shot in the past few days, when thousands of asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in small boats.

It is a huge blow to Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper who repeatedly insist they want to “smash the gangs”.

Smugglers have begun transporting dinghies to the shore by tying inflated boats to car roofs rather than pumping them up on beaches, as the French police prepare to try to intercept so-called taxi-boats in the water.

At least 17,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.

One video, posted on TikTok, shows a tape measure on the side of an inflatable dinghy. It revealed the vessel was a staggering 30ft long.

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The clip then purports to show the same boat on a beach in northern France, with migrants climbing into it and testing how safe it is.

The same account also shows a black dinghy stored inside what appears to be a workshop, complete with an assembly area and sheets to protect the floor.