CAMPAIGNERS will demand safe and legal migration routes at a rally outside Downing Street on Friday.

The protest, called by Stand Up To Racism, Care4Calais and the Peace and Justice Project, will take place following the tragic deaths of at least 12 people in the Channel this week.

A pregnant woman and six children were among those who died on Tuesday in the deadliest Channel crossing of the year.

Campaigners are calling out “the culpability of racist government rhetoric and the raft of policies that are ripping up the internationally recognised human right to seek asylum.”

The previous government pledged to “stop the boats” and pushed through the Illegal Migration Act, which was widely condemned for violating the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The current Labour government has vowed to further militarise Britain’s borders by establishing a Border Security Command to target those seeking safety.

Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said political leaders’ “continued obsession with, and investment in, security measures, is not reducing crossings – it is simply pushing people to take ever-increasing risks to do so.

“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is political lunacy. 

“It’s time politicians were held accountable for their choice to dehumanise people seeking sanctuary from horrors back home.”

Stand Up To Racism co-convener Weyman Bennett said that while politicians talk of the horror of the Channel tragedy “they must be held accountable to what could have and should have been in place to stop these needless deaths.

“Instead of lamenting about the moral outrage of small boats, a very practical and effective solution has been outlined in detail.

“How many more must die in our seas before the government listens and urgently implements the safe passage policy?”