Undercover on a migrant dinghy: French police help the smugglers

In Tuesday’s episode of The Daily T, Camilla Tominey speaks with investigative journalist Isabel Oakeshott and undercover reporter Christian Drogan following their year-long operation to infiltrate people-smuggling networks in northern France.

Christian describes his seven-hour journey across the English Channel alongside 35 migrants, revealing how armed gangs operated with near impunity in French camps and migrants discarded their phones at sea to avoid detection.

Isabel details the security risks and planning required to get a British reporter on to a migrant dinghy, and describes the Channel crossings as a “national security emergency” that is not represented accurately by official figures.

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Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

Producer: David Levene

Social Producer: Nada Aggour

Video Producer: Jim Spencer

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Editor: Camilla Tominey

Highlights:

• Isabel explains why the migrant crisis is a 'National security emergency'
• Christian recounts his story and the harrowing tale of crossing the Channel on a dinghy
• The French Police are accused of helping the smugglers back to shore.