While Britain and France were brought to a standstill during the coronavirus lockdown, record numbers of migrants in Calais were on the move, boarding small boats to make perilous journeys to the UK.
But what is motivating migrants to risk their lives and take to the sea in such numbers?
File on 4 investigates conditions on the ground for migrants in northern France and hears claims a lack of food and sanitation, already a major issue in the informal camps, has been exacerbated by coronavirus.
Reporter Paul Kenyon hears concerns migrants have been driven to desperation by the worsening conditions on the ground and anxious not to fall ill with coronavirus in France in case they enter the French immigration system and harm their chances of settling in the UK.
Last year Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a package of new measures to crack down on migrants crossing the Channel in boats and vowed it would be an infrequent occurrence by spring 2020.
With record numbers of arrivals File on 4 investigates whether the Government's policies have prevented even greater numbers of people attempting crossings or forced them to take greater risks?Reporter: Paul Kenyon
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Carl Johnston
Politik
File on 4 Investigates Folgen
News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.
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Folge vom 09.06.2020The Perfect Storm
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Folge vom 02.06.2020Covid CrimeThe covid-19 pandemic continues to have a profound effect on society - including the world of serious organised crime. The closure of international borders and global lockdown has made some criminal activities impossible while at the same time creating opportunities for new ones. While law enforcement around the world grapple with this new challenge, criminals seek to profit from the pandemic. In this episode of File on 4, reporter Paul Connolly examines how the global crisis has changed organised crime - with some unexpected consequences.
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Folge vom 26.05.2020Game Changer: How the UK played on during coronavirusFrom the Olympics to Euro 2020, the world’s biggest sporting events have fallen like dominoes because of coronavirus. But as the global pandemic was declared and most European countries closed their sports stadiums, the UK allowed events to carry on with hundreds of thousands of fans coming together to watch everything from Champions League football to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. File on 4 casts a forensic eye over the decisions that were made before the UK went into lockdown, speaks to those at the heart of these big events and asks whether allowing them to go ahead, enabled the virus to spread and put more lives at risk. Reporter: Adrian Goldberg Producer: Mick Tucker Editor: Carl Johnston
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Folge vom 19.05.2020Coronavirus: The care homes catastropheThe awful impact of Covid-19 on the lives of care home residents and staff is now well understood. But many in the industry believe the authorities, both local and national, didn't recognise the threat of the virus on the most vulnerable elderly early enough and didn't react quickly enough to stop it spreading through their homes. File on 4 hears from those who say opportunities to collect and share information were missed, that vital PPE supplies weren't secured quickly enough and that a policy of discharges of untested patients into care homes was ill thought-out and badly executed. The effect this has had on residential elderly care, they say, isn't just measured in the deaths of those who went too soon, but also in the threat the virus now poses to the survival of the whole private care industry. With testimony from those at the front line at the very beginning of the crisis, File on 4 examines the fight to keep care home residents safe on the frontline and investigates the circumstances which led to care homes becoming one of the most significant crucibles for the virus.Editor; Ciaran Tracey Producers; Rob Cave and Helen Clifton Reporter; Jane Deith