Economic migrants should be towed back to France  '“ Clive Smith

'˜Rescuing' these boats, giving the passengers a blanket and a cup of tea is only encouraging more people to try it.

If we were to just turn the boats around and tow them back to France fewer people would be tempted to make the crossing.

It's a shame the powers that be don't have the courage to make decisions like this.

It wasn't so long ago that Australia was sending out its navy to turn away illegal rafts trying to enter their country, and all Australia has is three people and a couple of  kangaroos per square mile.

We're supposedly in the middle of a housing shortage and homelessness crisis and we're letting these illegal immigrants stay here.

And that's what they are, illegal. It's illegal to enter our country this way.

And they are not refugees either, they've travelled from their country of origin through the likes of Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and France to get here.

These aren't war-torn places, you don't get thrown off buildings for being gay in those countries; there's no tyranny, they are perfectly safe.

So why have they not sought asylum in the first safe country they entered? That is what you are supposed to do.

There is no asylum brochure where you choose which country you like best. If that were the case, I might end up in the Maldives because I question the safety of Portsmouth.

What exactly are they fleeing from in Normandy and Calais? French people? The smell of garlic and poor hygiene?

They are here because they are economic migrants; as ABBA once said it's Money, Money Money. 

So it's not a moral issue as some people have been saying.

We shouldn't be responsible for their recklessness and disregard for the law. We have no obligation towards them.

What is morally wrong is putting your child in a dingy and paddling across the English Chanel in the middle of winter.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹

 

We can't work out Brexit, so let's leave the universe alone

On New Year's Day a NASA spacecraft sent a signal back to Earth that it had successfully flown-by Ultima Thule, a planet one billion miles past Pluto!  And I can't get a phone signal when I go camping.

I've no problem with exploration and discovering new things but all we ever get are grainy pictures of a rock and a list of minerals from which it's supposedly made. It would be more impressive if we saw pictures of little green men bombing about on quad bikes, but I'm sure most of us don't want to open that can of worms. Leave the aliens well alone.

We've enough problems trying to negotiate a split from Europe, let alone trying to carve up who owns what in the universe.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹

 

Qatar's eye-watering tax on booze really is a step too far

Qatar welcomed the new year by placing a 100 per cent tax on alcohol, doubling its price and sending the cost for a crate of 12 to £82. You could say it's just like picking up a few cans from Waitrose.

The increase has been dubbed the '˜sin tax' as it targets products prohibited under Islamic law. But upping the price rather than banning it makes this a tax on the poor as the rich can still '˜sin' for all their worth.

Next they'll be banning plastic seats. With no affordable beer to drink or chairs to sling at other fans, it's time for the 2022 World Cup to be moved elsewhere. Forget allegations of human rights violations, corruption and searing temperatures, this tax is a step too far!'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹