A French mother has spoken of her fear at remaining in her Channel coast home amid the small-boat crisis, sharing CCTV footage that appears to show groups of migrants in life jackets streaming past the property on their way to dinghies headed for Britain.

Héloïse Longuet, 44, a mother of two, said her family’s 19th-century farmhouse near Neufchâtel-Hardelot, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, has gone from a peaceful holiday retreat to a property surrounded by young men staying in illegal squats.

She said the area, once a quiet stretch of northern France, has become a staging point for people trying to cross the Channel, with criminal gangs allegedly charging around £1,000 per person for a space on overcrowded inflatable boats bound for England.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Longuet said: “The house is a holiday home which we were renovating, but it became surrounded by men trying to get to the beach.

“They congregate outside checking their phones for coordinates supplied by the smugglers, and then they try to get to the beach.

‘In fact, there is no direct access to the beach across my land, but that did not stop at least three incursions.’

Ms Longuet said she has had to put up CCTV video cameras with warning signs, but makeshift camps have started to appear in the woods around the house.

Now the migrants make her fearful about staying in the area, especially as she has two young daughters, and protection from local police is minimal.

The problems have been likened to those experienced in Britain in areas where mainly male asylum seekers are housed.

‘It is very frightening,’ she said. ‘We see them in the forest, living in very unsanitary conditions. They leave all their rubbish behind.’

Ms Longuet often walked her dog, Maurice, on Hardelot beach, but was dismayed to see it increasingly being used by the smugglers.

They switched their departure points from Calais and Dunkirk to a more isolated area which is harder to patrol.

Its wide shoreline allows them to board men, women and children on to dinghies, with the migrants hiding in sand dunes beforehand.

Last month a man in his 30s died after a small boat capsized off the beach in a catastrophe which also saw six others, including a toddler, sustained injuries.

And in May two women died from cardiac arrest after being suffocated on a boat carrying upwards of 80 people that had set off from Hardelot beach.

Fights regularly break out between migrants and gendarmes and riot police, who use tear gas to try to restore order.

Tensions reached boiling point during the summer heatwaves when a series of fires broke out around Hardelot.

‘The situation is appalling, and the dangers are immense, but very little is done about it,’ said Ms Longuet.

‘I do not have Right-wing views, I just want to see the situation improved for everybody, including local residents.’

Ms Longuet met a number of migrants while working as an estate agent, and had an enormous amount of sympathy for them – but not the smugglers who were exploiting them.

She said: ‘Some Afghans were looking for a home after settling in France, and they told me that there had been up to a dozen of them when they set off from their home country.

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‘By the time they got to France, only two or three were left, with the others dying on the road. This shows how perilous the situation is.

‘As a mother, I wouldn’t like to imagine the horrors they go through. I pity them.

‘The problem is bigger than domestic politics – it is a global problem which starts in the country which the migrants set off from.

‘In France, the biggest problem is the people smugglers – to them it is a business, and all they are interested in is the money.’

Ms Longuet, who now works in public relations, is permanently based in another part of northern France with her family, and visits to Hardelot beach are becoming a lot less frequent.

Paulette Juilien-Peuvion, mayor of Neufchâtel-Hardelot, said there could be as many as 600 migrants congregating in the town at any one time.

Many residents were complaining about being scared to go out at night, especially in wooded areas.

Ms Juilien-Peuvion said: ‘Some say that, ultimately, these people left everything behind for an adventure – it’s a tragedy. And others say, ‘We feel unsafe’.’

Hardelot beach is on a stretch of coastline that includes Le Touquet, where French president Emmanuel Macron himself owns a holiday home.

He bought it in the past two years with his wife, Brigitte Macron, after she sold another property in the seaside town that had been in her family for generations.

Gangs of migrants from all over the world are often seen congregating by railway stations, in commercial centres, and in open countryside.

In turn, French law and order authorities insist that the migrant situation in the area is improving thanks to more robust policing.

Officers have prevented ‘185 small boat crossings’ in the four months since a new Anglo-French agreement was signed in April, pledging some £660million of UK taxpayers’ money to the French, according to an Interior Ministry source in Paris.

Police say they have arrested an increased number of smugglers, and confiscated boats, engines and lifejackets, while deploying a dedicated 50-member riot squad.

Some 15,897 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, down 43 per cent on the same time last year, and an 18 per cent drop from the same point in 2024.

This is despite a record 230 people making the journey from France to England in a single boat last month.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘Our new UK-France deal is already having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the criminal gangs behind them.

‘People smugglers should be in no doubt, we’re taking down their operations, seizing their equipment and breaking their business model for good.

‘Through our joint work with France, we have stopped over 47,000 small boat crossing attempts since the election and we will not let up.’

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A podiatrist described as “aggressive” and “disrespectful” has been struck off after giving a teenage patient “inappropriate” diet advice and telling her to remove her face mask during an appointment for verrucae.

Gary Denby told the 13-year-old: “Take your mask off and answer my question or I won’t be able to treat you,” before later emailing her mother to say the girl needed to eat her “five-a-day”.

A tribunal heard that during the July 28, 2021 consultation, Denby attempted to “impose his own view” on face coverings and “bombarded” the child with questions about human physiology.

Denby, a former Ukip councillor, had run Foot Wise Podiatry in Woodford Halse, Northamptonshire, for more than two decades.

He has now been removed from the profession after the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) found he had “created an obvious risk of harm” to the “nervous” patient and her mother.

Two days after the consultation, the girl’s mother accused Mr Denby of having an ‘unusually aggressive and disrespectful attitude’ towards her daughter in a complaint to the professional body.

She alleged: ‘He did not give any attention to her feet choosing to bombard her with questions and berating her.’

The misconduct panel heard that when the girl’s mother answered a question on her daughter’s behalf, Mr Denby said to the patient: ‘You said that without opening your mouth!’ 

He is also alleged to have said: ‘Take your mask off and answer my question or I won’t be able to treat you.’ 

However, the podiatrist suggested he had been subjected to an ‘unjust or malicious’ accusation.   

Mr Denby, who described the hearing as a ‘complete waste of my time’, said the patient should remove her face mask, while not wearing one himself, against health guidance at the time of the appointment, during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The tribunal ruled that he was ‘seeking to impose his own view over what must have been obvious to him was the wish of the child to keep it in place’, adding that his failure to wear a mask created an ‘obvious risk of harm’ to the mother and daughter. 

The mother also alleged that Mr Denby offered the girl ‘inappropriate’ dietary advice, which the tribunal described as ‘unnecessary and erroneous’, despite the appointment being made to treat the patient’s verrucae. 

The podiatrist wrote in his notes from the appointment: ‘Too nervous to treat or answer questions, which might gain buy-in to an improved diet and an immune response.

‘Would not remove mask (hiding?), became tearful. White coat fear? Would not answer with own knowledge, mother intervening (red blood cells…). 

‘Unable to gain informed consent. Too nervous to treat with cryotherapy. Mother removed daughter from surgery.’

He added: ‘I advised mother that we need an improved diet to gain a better immune ability, then we may try some different treatments to encourage a specific immune response against the warts. 

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‘May return when more composed? NEEDS to improve diet (25% fruit & green vegetables for immunity; 25% dairy for height, bone density and growth; 25% animal protein for muscle development) and then warts may resolve? You are what you eat.’

In an email to the teenager’s mother, he said: ‘From the report, you provided the most likely key to the warts’ persistence: a poor diet. My concern for (Service User A) that she may also be limiting her dairy-calcium intake, which is VERY necessary at her age for normal height and bone density development. 

‘We did not get this far, before (Service User A) became tearful, from my simple and purposeful questioning. 

‘An approach you may try with regards providing (Service User A) with a more diverse diet (five-a-day fruit and veg is difficult for the best of us!), is to mix favourite with new. 

‘Eg: Tomatoes and courgettes; mint and potatoes; grated cheese and cucumber… As teenagers develop, so do their taste buds (less sweet) and their appreciation of texture. 

‘Their brains need direction and encouragement to be experimental, to find this out for themselves.’

According to the tribunal, the podiatrist’s conduct was ‘sufficiently serious for a finding that the misconduct threshold had been crossed’. 

Mr Denby wrote an email to the mother the next day after the appointment apologising for causing any distress from his behaviour. 

However in a separate email – believed to have been sent to the HCPTS – just days before the hearing took place, he referred to her as an ‘impatient mother’. 

It was subsequently found that he had ‘not developed the degree of understanding that would be needed for there to be confidence that he would not repeat behaviour of the type that has been found against him’, according to tribunal documents. 

However, in an email to the HCPTS before the tribunal, Mr Denby described the hearing as a ‘complete waste of my time’ as he had retired and does not intend to return to work.

He wrote: ‘A review is a complete waste of my time and of HCPC resources. I retired seven months ago. 

‘My case back in February 2026 was a similar waste. No one with decision-making powers ever reads my file – they keep on with the same old accusations, without taking account of my detailed explanations. 

‘My file just keeps growing into hundreds of pages, which no-one has time to read. It’s all from so long ago, no-one remembers the situation in any detailed accuracy.’ 

Mr Denby also accused the body of ‘failing repeatedly in its obligation to protect the patient from harmful practice and the registered practitioner from unjust or malicious accusation’.

The HCPTS has now ruled that it is ‘proportionate’ for Mr Denby to be struck off. 

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Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells has drawn criticism after suggesting Australians’ deepening distrust of politicians is being fuelled by social media and the power of online algorithms.

In an interview with The Saturday Paper, Wells pointed to a recent conversation with a constituent as an example of what she sees as growing public scepticism toward government, politics and major institutions.

‘I had mobile offices last week and a lady came to talk to me about her various grievances and I was struck by how I could say to her, “I’m a member of the cabinet, that’s not true, we’re not doing that, that’s a scare campaign from online”,’ Wells said.

‘I look you in the eye and I tell you that will never happen in this government, and she didn’t believe me.’

Wells said the encounter challenged her previous belief that direct, face-to-face conversations could be enough to break through political cynicism and misinformation.

‘I’ve always found until this year even that the way to solve that malaise and that sense of distrust in the establishment was to go and knock on people’s doors and look them in the eye,’ she said.

‘What I’m noticing now is that they don’t. The power of online is so strong, the power of the algorithm is so strong that it is overwhelming our public institutions and the decline of trust is problematic for everybody.’

But her comments quickly sparked criticism online, with many arguing public distrust of politicians has more to do with government behaviour than social media feeds, noting Wells’ recent series of scandals. 

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found four breaches of parliamentary travel rules between 2022 and late 2025 involving family travel that did not coincide with official business.

Wells was ordered to repay $10,116.11, including a penalty, and apologised for what she described as ‘honest mistakes’.

Questions were also raised over a taxpayer-funded trip to New York to promote Labor’s social media ban, her use of Comcar, and travel by her husband under family reunion entitlements to attend AFL grand finals and cricket matches.

Further scrutiny followed an Adelaide trip that coincided with a friend’s birthday, raising questions over whether official business was the primary reason for the visit.

Daily Mail revealed earlier this year that Wells did not disclose her husband Finn McCarthy’s role as a lobbyist with government relations firm SEC Newgate on her register of interests during Labor’s first term in office from 2022 to 2025, prompting further questions over transparency.

A spokesperson for Wells defended her disclosures.

‘All ministers comply with the Prime Minister’s Code of Conduct for Ministers. The minister made the appropriate disclosures,’ the spokesperson told Daily Mail .

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One critic accused Wells of failing to recognise why Australians have become disillusioned with the political class.

‘Is there a less self-aware political leader than Anika Wells?’ the person wrote.

‘She says that over the last year she has noticed people, even face-to-face, no longer trust her or the government. She puts this down to “the power of the algorithms”.’

The same critic argued there are far more obvious reasons for declining trust.

‘Her own travel expense scandal aside, her government and party are masters of running scare campaigns, operating dirt units, and now outright lying to the public about core election promises.’

Another accused politicians of simply trying to dodge scrutiny.

‘”The algorithms” has become a last-ditch attempt at a low-hanging fruit to deflect and avoid any accountability,’ they wrote.

Others noted that Anthony Albanese had backflipped on his 2025 election promise not to change negative gearing or capital gains tax, only for both to be overhauled in the May budget.

‘It’s not the power of online that has cause the mistrust, it’s Albo and the Labor party keep lying or changing their mind on their promises,’ one said. 

The backlash comes as the Albanese government readies sweeping new social media laws aimed at forcing tech companies to take greater responsibility for content promoted on their platforms.

Under the planned Digital Duty of Care regime, social media companies could face fines above $100 million if their algorithms push users towards harmful material.

Australians would also be given more control over their online experience, such as opting out of algorithmically recommended feeds in favour of chronological or non-personalised formats.

The legislation is expected to be introduced this week, although it’s unclear if Labor has the support of the Coalition or the Greens.

Fire crews had to climb a ladder to reach the cockpit of an Amazon cargo jet after the aircraft skidded beyond a runway at Miami International Airport and slammed into vehicles on a busy road, leaving five people dead and five others injured.

Striking footage from the airport showed emergency responders working to access the Boeing 767-300, whose underside appeared blackened by fire, while fuel poured from a ruptured line near the rear of the aircraft.

The cargo plane had been arriving in Miami from San Juan, Puerto Rico, when it overshot the runway at about 2 p.m. Sunday and “struck multiple vehicles” on Northwest 42nd Avenue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told the Daily Mail.

Fire Chief Raied Jadallah said during a Sunday evening news briefing that crews reached the crash site within roughly 30 seconds of the emergency call and immediately discovered victims trapped inside their cars.

Responders also encountered the Boeing 767-300 engulfed in fire, with thick smoke and intense flames coming from the wreckage.

At least five people were killed in the tragedy, while three others remain in critical condition at a local trauma center.

Two others were also transported to the hospital with unspecified injuries. Authorities have not yet identified the deceased nor the victims taken to the hospital.

Federal investigators have since descended on the scene as they work to determine what may have caused the cargo plane to overshoot the runway.

But Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokeswoman Hannah Walden further confirmed to The New York Times that runways at Miami International Airport are not equipped with an Engineered Materials Arresting System – crushable concrete designed to bring planes that overshoot the runway safely to a stop.

The FAA has long recommended that airports install the system, which is ‘designed to slow the aircraft down at a rate such that it doesn’t create too much stress on the landing gear so that it decelerates at a steady pace,’ Michael Meyers, manager of FAA’s Airport Engineering Division, told Local 10 News in February.

‘EMAS does have a perfect record of saving all lives in every single incident that has occurred involving EMAS,’ he noted, adding that it is useful in South Florida, which ‘has some of the busiest airspace and aviation activity in the country.’

The product absorbs the weight of the aircraft and is designed for planes weighing more than 12,500 pounds.

‘It’s very similar to, like, riding from the parking lot onto the beach, into the sand,’ Runway Safe spokesperson Trip Thomas explained.

‘So you ride your bike on the parking lot, it’s really easy to go, and then you ride straight and even right into the sand, all sudden it becomes very difficult. There’s a lot of drag on the wheels and that’s exactly, essentially what’s happening here.’

The system came in useful last year when a small plane overran the runway in nearby Boca Raton, Florida, and the EMAS stopped the aircraft safely and prevented it from reaching the busy roadway just feet away. 

However, the FAA only requires EMAS for airports that do not have standard runway safety areas and as of February, only about 130 airports across the country have deployed the system.

The cargo plane involved in the fatal crash on Sunday, operated by North Carolina-based 21 Air, had been traveling at 129mph as it exited the ‘usable runway’ amid thunderstorms and gusting winds, according to data from flight tracking site FlightRadar 24.

It then came to a rest near a parking lot that services an Amazon warehouse and other businesses, with photos from the scene showing the plane largely intact behind two semitrucks. 

Automatic Dependent Surveillance broadcast data also shows the plane touched down on Runway 30 at about 167 knots, or about 192mph, and went off the runway at over 120mph.

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Meanwhile, Miami’s own Automated Surface Observation System reports that the plane had tailwinds of 20 knots to 30 knots amid thunderous conditions.

That data has led aviation attorney Robert A Clifford to believe the pilot involved in the crash ‘mistakenly or over-confidently’ decided to land the cargo plane with a tailwind instead of a headwind, which causes excessive touchdown speeds and leaves an inadequate distance for the airplane’s braking and reverse thrust systems. 

Investigators will now look into the pilot’s decision to land with such high tailwinds, said Clifford, whose firm represents 15 victims and their families who were killed or injured when a UPS cargo jet crashed shortly after takeoff last year. 

‘Certainly, the [National Transportation Safety Board] will examine that issue fully, along with the failure to declare an emergency,’ he said. ‘Also, to be examined, will be the performance of the engines to see if the reverse thrusters were properly deployed.’

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney in the Miami-area, also told the Miami Herald there are a number of details about the crash that stand out to him.

‘You can see it stops in this parking lot area with the landing gear collapsed,’ he said. ‘The nose is kind of dipping down. We don’t know if that’s something that happened late in the accident sequence or early enough to have caused the accident sequence.

‘You can imagine the incident being caused by something else and then the landing gear collapsing, but certainly if there was an issue with the landing gear early in the accident sequence, that’s going to be the first clue for investigators,’ he continued, adding that the investigators will also look at the stormy weather conditions.

‘A landing at an international airport is complex,’ Rojas declared. ‘The pilot needs to be communicating with air traffic control. Air traffic control needs to be minding the weather and communicating that with the pilot.

‘We know we’ve had rain in Miami recently. Air traffic control needs to help the pilot understand the condition of the runway,’ he said.

‘Planes can land in nasty weather, but obviously if the runway is slick, that can sometimes cause air traffic control to pause or stop landings for a period of time.’ 

Following the crash, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a full ground stop at the airport. 

‘If you’re traveling through the area, please expect significant delays and potential cancellations,’ he posted on social media.

Miami International Airport has since reopened two of its four runways, but flights are still being impacted, with about 15 flights still canceled as of early Monday morning, according to FlightAware. 

As investigators now continue to probe what may have happened, a spokesperson for Amazon said it was ‘heartbroken to learn that five people lost their lives in today’s incident at Miami International Airport.

‘Our deepest condolences go out to the families, loved ones and all those affected by this devastating loss.’

‘We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to learn more and will cooperate fully with any investigation.’

21 Air CEO Keith Winters also said the crash left his company ‘devastated’ and that it is cooperating with federal investigators.

‘Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives,’ he said in a statement.

‘Our immediate priorities are supporting those affected, assisting the authorities and ensuring that accurate information is communicated as it becomes available.’ 

Investigators from both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are now at the scene, with NTSB officials set to hold a news conference on the crash Monday.