'Bigger boats crossing the Channel are a warning sign that people smugglers will keep adapting'

'Bigger boats crossing the Channel are a warning sign that people smugglers will keep adapting' "Break the supply of boats and engines, disrupt the money, identify the organisers and work with our European partners to stop launches before desperate migrants are packed aboard" The emergence of so-called mega dinghies in the Channel shows just how quickly the criminal smuggling gangs change tactics when pressure is put on them. That is why Britain cannot simply wait for these boats to reach the French coast. British intelligence is already working with foreign agencies to trace where the vessels are made, how they are moved across borders, where they are assembled and who is behind the networks supplying them. That is exactly where this battle has to be fought. Break the supply of boats and engines, disrupt the money, identify the organisers and work with our European partners to stop launches before desperate migrants are packed aboard. There are encouraging signs. Crossings are down by more than 40 per cent, and gangs are being dismantled. But these bigger boats are a warning that the smugglers will keep adapting. The answer is relentless international pressure, intelligence-sharing and enforcement. Smash the supply chain, and you smash the trade in human lives. Real leadership Andy Burnham inherited a prison system in crisis and legislation risking early release for serious offenders. He did not inherit the public anger that followed, but he has listened. The outrage over the possible early release of Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper, was understandable. Andrew's family have suffered enough without watching them walk free early. Mr Burnham shares that concern and is acting. The Justice Secretary has been ordered to find extra prison capacity, speed up deportations and keep serious criminals behind bars. Governments cannot always control the problems they inherit. They can control how they respond. Here, the Prime Minister heard the public and changed course. It is what leadership should look like. No red card yet After 62 seasons and more than 5,000 matches, Ken Wright still refuses to blow time on a remarkable refereeing career. At 78, the world’s longest-serving man in black is back for another season in Swansea. Some refs lose the crowd. Ken has outlasted several generations of them. Clearly, he still loves the shrill.