In response to reports of a rescue mission launched in the English Channel after a migrant boat sinks, Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrant Rights Director at Amnesty International UK, said:

“This news is deeply distressing but tragically comes as no surprise. 

"We can only hope this person does pull through. It’s only a matter of time before once again someone loses their life trying to reach safety in the UK because of the woeful lack of safe means to do so. 

"The Home Office must take this as an urgent wake-up call.

“Priti Patel needs to fundamentally change Government policy and ensure that this does not happen again.”