Around 29% of migrants who arrived in the UK between January 2020 and June 2021 were from Iran, according to data released to the British Refugee Council through a freedom of information request by iNews. Almost 20% travelled to the UK from Iraq, while around 11% were from Sudan and Syria respectively.

Indeed, as the refugee crisis in Afghanistan continues to worsen, amid food shortages and civil unrest, campaigners are calling for safer, legal routes for refugees and asylum seekers.

Beth Gardiner-Smith, CEO of refugee charity Safe Passage International said in a statement: “We are shocked and saddened by the tragic news unfolding in the Channel. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of all those who have lost their lives.”

Calling on the Home Secretary Priti Patel to resign in the wake of the tragedy, Gardiner-Smith continued: “The tragic truth is that these deaths could – and should – have been prevented. No one should have to risk their life to reach safety. Every day, men, women and children are having to make extraordinary efforts to reach safety, sanctuary and loved ones here in the UK because there is no other way. To prevent a repeat of this tragedy, refugees urgently need safe routes to reach their loved ones, find refuge and have the chance to rebuild their lives.

“More and more people are risking the freezing, frightening journey across the Channel in small, unstable boats since the government closed safe routes to the UK last year. Choosing to play politics with people’s lives, the government has failed to prevent people risking the crossing and this is the result. The government must act now to save lives by opening safe routes to the UK, and scrap their unworkable plans in the Nationality and Borders Bill which will only make the situation worse.”

The government can’t keep ignoring the migrant crisis, as 27 people die trying to cross the Channel