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The weapons that drive immigration
New analysis has made the link between the arms trade, wars and forced migration clearer than ever — but instead of clamping down on the industry, Europe and Britain are focusing on turning back desperate refugees in boats, writes NATHAN AKEHURST
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: (Left) A local lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent, brings in a group of refugees picked-up following a small boat incident in the Channel

LAST YEAR a Conservative MP warned the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) that they “were risking the reputation of the charity.”

The RNLI, a volunteer emergency service which usually saves the lives of overconfident surfers or sunstroke-hit beachgoers, has dared to defend also saving refugees in the English Channel, as well as run an anti-drowning overseas aid programme.

In so doing they have wandered into the British political establishment’s periodic assaults on migrants. These have stepped up again as the British government rushes through its Nationality and Borders Bill, adopting a suite of measures that have caused chaos and misery elsewhere to “protect” the country from a handful of people in dinghies.

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