Few can deny that the arrival of 100,000 illegal migrants to Britain from France by small boat since 2018 is nothing short of a catastrophe.
So what word would best describe the arrival in Italy by sea from North Africa of 100,000 illegal migrants already this year?
So Meloni’s main focus is not on dealing with the migrants once they are in Italy but on stopping them getting to Italy
That is well over double the number of migrant sea arrivals in Italy during the same period in 2022. It means this year’s total will almost certainly break the record set in 2016 of 181,436. This weekend alone more than 4,000 migrants arrived by boat on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa half way between Tunisia and Italy.
The record number of illegal migrant sea arrivals in Italy this year would seem to prove that the country’s new conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, like her British counterpart Rishi Sunak, has totally and utterly failed to honour her 2022 election campaign pledge to stop the boats.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in