How far will the Tory right push Rishi Sunak when it comes to small boats?

Hardliners are clutching at ever more extreme solutions – from forcing back boats to sending people to distant islands. Adam Forrest takes a closer look at what happens next

No 10’s ‘small boats week’ turned from a damp squib into an embarrassing disaster (PA)

Rishi Sunak must be wishing he could extend his summer holiday in California and enjoy a few more strolls along the west coast’s serene beaches. Instead, the prime minister is heading into another gloomy storm over the small boats issue as he returns to work on Monday.

The government’s “small boats week” turned from a damp squib into an embarrassing disaster when the Home Office was forced to evacuate the Bibby Stockholm barge on Friday after Legionella bacteria were found in its water supply.

And intense pressure to get to grips with the Channel crossings problem rose to fever pitch after the appalling tragedy on Saturday that saw six people die when a vessel sank off the coast of France.