Darren Jones Admits He Was Wrong To Say Most Migrants On Small Boats Are 'Children, Babies And Women'

Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.Darren Jones has admitted that he was wrong to say that the majority of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats are “children, babies and women”.The chief secretary to the Treasury made the erroneous claim on the BBC’s Question Time programme on Thursday night.He was challenged on the programme by former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf, who claimed that more than 90% of those on the boats were men.In actual fact, Home Office data indicates that adult males made up 73% of small boat arrivals between January 2018 and March 2025.Jones has been under pressure to correct his statement all day, and finally did so in a post on X on Friday evening.However, he said his comments had been “misrepresented” by Labour’s opponents.He said: “Of course the overall majority of people arriving illegally on small boats are men - but not “north of 90%” as Reform claimed.“On Question Time, I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and babies who had suffered horrific burns.“I’m happy to clarify this given how this is now being misrepresented. Labour committed new funding this week to secure our borders while Reform have voted against giving our police the powers needed to smash the gangs fuelling this vile trade.”Of course the overall majority of people arriving illegally on small boats are men - but not “north of 90%” as Reform claimed. On @bbcquestiontime I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and…— Darren Jones MP (@darrenpjones) June 13, 2025Related...Starmer Accused Of Dancing To 'Farage's Tune' With Small Boats CrackdownLabour Split Erupts After Asylum Seekers On Small Boats Banned From Becoming UK CitizensLabour Plan To Deny Small Boat Refugees Citizenship Called 'A Dark Moment In British History'

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