Ex-chief immigration officer says military should be brought in to manage Channel migrant crisis
Ex-chief immigration officer tells Border Force to call in the military as dozens more migrants arrive in the UK today and Calais MP warns £54m deal WON’T work – and furious Tories accuse Priti Patel of being ‘fobbed off by French excuses’
- Furious Tories ordered Home Secretary Priti Patel to get tough with France and stop being ‘fobbed off’
- Ms Patel said millions who have travelled across Europe are amassing ‘along entire French coastline’
- Tim Loughton said ‘giving France more money to carry on doing what they’re doing badly, it’s ridiculous’
- MP for Calais today rubbished the Home Secretary’s latest £54million payment to France as pointless
- Ex-Chief Immigration Officer urged that military should be brought in to manage crisis in the Channel
Furious Tory MPs today ordered Home Secretary Priti Patel to get tough with France and stop being ‘fobbed off with excuses’ after a former Chief Immigration Officer said Border Force should call in the British military because the French are refusing to intercept the surge in Channel crossings.
Addressing the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Ms Patel this morning revealed that 60 per cent of illegal arrivals have come via Belgium and that migrants who have travelled across Continental Europe are amassing ‘along the entire French coastline’, not just in Calais.
When asked why French authorities were not stopping boats from crossing after the number of illegal crossings in 2021 hit a record annual high of nearly 8,500, Ms Patel insisted they are ‘doing their bit’ and told astonished MPs they ‘have a different interpretation of saving lives at sea’.
But Tory MP Tim Loughton interrupted her, saying: ‘Home Secretary, that’s an excuse from the French. The French having a different interpretation is the French giving you an excuse for not doing what they are not only able to do under international law but actually obliged to do under international law.
‘Because two crimes are being committed by the occupants of those boats: one is trying to enter the UK allegedly and the second is paying money to organised crime. Both of which provide grounds for those boats to be intercepted, the occupants apprehended in as safe a way as possible and returned to France. You are getting fobbed off with excuses.’
He added that the French ‘are not doing their part’ and that ‘giving them more money to carry on doing what they’re doing badly, it’s ridiculous’. Ms Patel last night agreed to pay France £54million to get policing numbers more than doubled to 200 – nearly double the £28million agreed with French authorities to achieve the same objective in November.
Retired immigration official Kevin Saunders told GB News that the military should be called in because Border Force is just ‘operating a collection service from the Channel’. He said: ‘We’ve got to do something. I think probably we’ve now reached the point where we need to bring the military in to help us.
‘All really Border Force are doing is operating a collection service from the Channel. We need to stop these people. We need the military to actually come and take over and help us to do this.’
This morning the MP for Calais, Pierre-Henri Dumont, rubbished Ms Patel’s latest £54million payment to France as pointless because migrants will ‘just find somewhere else to cross’. His remarks were echoed by Tony Smith, the former Director-General of Border Force, who said there is a ‘game of cat-and-mouse’ between French authorities and people-smugglers along the French coast.
There will also be an increased use of aerial surveillance, including drones.
The two countries agreed to draw up a long-term plan for a ‘smart border’ using technology to identify where crossings are being attempted. But the deal failed to impress critics, who accuse the French authorities of not doing enough to stop small boats leaving their territorial waters.
Mr Dumont told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The fact is, having more money, having more police, having more controls will not prevent more crossing attempts. We have too many kilometers of shore to monitor. They can hide in a lot of places, there are a lot of roads, woods and trees.
‘So even if you are monitoring 100 per cent of a small or large part of the French coast the smugglers will find somewhere to cross somewhere else. If it’s not Calais they will go to Normandy, if not Normandy then Belgium or the Netherlands.’
Mr Smith dismissed British plans for tough four-year sentences for migrants who entered the country illegally, arguing this would not work with people who have travelled from war-torn regions who were already desperate enough to risk the dangerous crossing.
‘It’s something I’ve advocated from the start – we could construct a treaty with them to enable that,’ he said. ‘But I’m afraid that seems to be a step too far for the French at the moment. The French position is that they are not prepared to intervene on the sea but only on land. We have no legal basis to intervene when they are in French waters.’
It follows claims that a French warship yesterday escorted a group of 13 migrants in a dangerously-overcrowded boat into British waters before dumping them with a baffled Good Morning Britain news crew reporting live from the Channel.
Early this morning, 13 men from Sudan and South Sudan were seen paddling across the Channel 10 miles off the coast of France. An image of the migrants, without lifejackets and an engine, was shared on Twitter by ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers.
It comes as:
- Border Force officials intercepted 287 migrants in the Channel as number of annual arrivals breaks records;
- Ex-Border Force chief urged Britain and France to begin joint patrols to turn back migrants out at sea;
- Unions warned that Border Force officials are stretched as they struggle to maintain crisis in the Channel and process hundreds of arrivals in Kent;
- Downing Street attacked the ‘dangerous and unnecessary’ surge in migrants crossing the Channel;
- Some migrants have described how they paid people-smuggling gangs £3,000 per person for places on dinghies to make the crossing from France;
- Home Office blamed rise in Channel crossings on ‘surge in illegal migration across Europe’.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a border force boat following a small boat incident in the Channel
Migrants from mostly Sudan were pictured paddling across the Channel 10 miles off the coast of France, ITV reported
Up to 30 migrants are brought ashore by Border Force officials this morning as the crisis in the Channel continues
The number of migrants crossing the Channel between 2019-21 has been increasing year-on-year. The graph above shows how many have crossed each month. The red line for 2021 soars above the lines for previous years, showing the monthly total is now at its highest ever
Furious Tory MPs today ordered Home Secretary Priti Patel to get tough with France and stop being ‘fobbed off with excuses’
The number of migrants to reach the UK in small boats so far this year exceeded the whole of last year’s figures on Tuesday as 287 were intercepted by Border Force officers.
But before 8am today the Border Force patrol vessel Hunter brought in around 20 migrants – mostly wearing bright orange life jackets – were brought into Dover Marina and handed over to the care of immigration officers.
A French navy patrol vessel the Flamant was also seen positioned in the middle of the 21-mile wide Dover Straits this morning.
The weather in the Channel is expected deteriorate towards the end of the week giving smugglers a narrow window. Some migrants have described how they paid £3,000 per person for places on dinghies to make the crossing from France.
Border Force patrol boat Speedwell arrived around 11.20am carrying around 35 migrants at Dover marina including eight toddlers being carried by their parents.
Migrants on board the boat appeared to be a mix of men, women and children of African and Middle Eastern origin. They were wearing orange life jackets and face masks.
Young children, alongside their parents, were the first to be escorted off the boat. One girl, who was around four years old, was wearing a blue parka jacket and pink socks. She was carried off the boat by her father, who was wearing a red beanie hat.
Several families of African origin followed them off the vessel and into a fenced off area at Dover Port for registration. A dark grey motorised dinghy was being pulled behind the boat.
Around 12 immigration enforcement officers greeted the migrants as they disembarked the vessel. One man in a yellow and black check shirt was seen limping as he came off the boat.
All had their lifejackets removed before they were handed over to immigration officers.
At least a staggering 8,446 have now made the treacherous crossing so far this year, according to official figures – compared to the record number of 8,410 in the whole of 2020. The Home Office revealed 287 made the crossing in 12 boats on Tuesday.
The French authorities made just two interceptions, preventing 50 people from reaching the UK on the same day.
Responding to Mr Dumont’s comments, Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins told the BBC that she believes Ms Patel’s ‘very significant agreement’ with the French is likely to curb the number of migrants crossing the Channel from northern France.
She also told Radio 4’s Today programme that ‘developed economies around the world are facing issues with population movement’ but said that Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union had ‘enabled us to take steps’ to ‘really crack-down’ on people-smugglers.
‘Last night was a very significant agreement that the Home Secretary made with her counterpart,’ Ms Atkins said. ‘We know that the agreement that was reached in November has seen some 7,500 people being prevented from crossing the Channel, and so in doubling – as we have from last night – doubling the number of police officers that are patrolling the French coast, as well as investment, further investment in surveillance technology and other measures, we do believe that this will help to stem the flow of people seeking to make that very dangerous crossing.’
Pressed on the fact that the number of of illegal crossings has increased on Ms Patel’s watch, Ms Atkins said: ‘We are working both internationally and nationally to try to address this. It is incredibly complicated.
‘Developed economies around the world are facing issues with population movement, but what we’re trying to do internationally is work with other countries to ensure that when people arrive in a safe country that they remain there, they don’t try to make that hazardous journey across to the UK.
‘And similarly here in the UK only last night, we passed the latest scrutiny stage of the Nationality and Borders Bill which is very much updating, overhauling indeed, our immigration system so that we provide safe routes for legal migrants but that we really crack-down on these people-smuggling gangs that are bringing people over.
‘In terms of asylum, we’ve accepted that this system needs to be overhauled, and our leaving the European Union has enabled us to take steps that we would not otherwise have been able to take.’
Downing Street attacked the ‘dangerous and unnecessary’ surge in migrants and hit out at people-smuggling gangs ‘who treat people like human cargo’. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘The current approach is not working.
‘The rise in dangerous and unnecessary small boat crossing is totally unacceptable – that’s why we are taking action to fix the broken asylum system.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a border force boat following a small boat incident in the Channel
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a border force boat following a small boat incident in the Channel
A migrant is seen being taken ashore by a Border Force official after their boat was intercepted in the Channel
Migrants are seen being taken ashore by Border Force officials in Dover Marina, Kent this morning
A group of migrants wearing lifejackets and facemasks are taken ashore to Dover Marina in Kent this morning
A group of migrants wearing lifejackets and facemasks are taken ashore to Dover Marina in Kent this morning
A migrant is seen being taken ashore by a Border Force official after their boat was intercepted in the Channel
The Home Secretary (left) yesterday confirmed a new agreement to strengthen UK-French cooperation on illegal immigration in the Channel. Pictured right is Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont
‘We are changing the laws through the Nationality and Borders Bill to help protect lives and break the business model of the smuggling rings. We are also targeting the criminal gangs responsible for illegal crossings at every level.’
Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, of the Home Office said: ‘There is an unacceptable rise in dangerous small boat crossings across the channel because of a surge in illegal migration across Europe.
‘Today we signed a strengthened agreement with our French counterparts to increase police patrols on French beaches and enhance intelligence sharing. This joint work has already prevented over 7,500 migrants enter the UK.
‘The Government continues to take steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration through the Nationality & Borders Bill which will protect lives and break this cycle of illegal crossings. The Government is also continuing to return those with no legal right to remain in the UK.’
The agreement comes as the Ms Patel’s New Plan for Immigration is debated in Parliament this week. The government’s Nationality and Borders Bill will crack down ‘on illegal entry and the criminality associated with it, rather than allowing people to undertake dangerous journeys to the UK as their preferred destination’.
The Home Secretary said: ‘The British people have simply had enough of illegal migration and the exploitation of migrants by criminal gangs.
‘Illegal immigration is driven by serious organised criminals and people smugglers. The public are rightly angry that small boats are arriving on our shores, facilitated by appalling criminal gangs who profit from human misery and put lives at risk.
Priti Patel has agreed to give French border authorities £54million to help stop migrants crossing the Channel – as the total of arrivals in Britain this year hit 8,000. Pictured: Migrants are escorted from the beach at Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers
The number of people to have made the perilous journey this year hit 8,452 – surpassing the figure for the whole of 2020. A record daily total of 430 landed in the UK after setting off from France in small boats on Monday – and 287 more arrived yesterday
A group of people thought to be migrants crossing from France are escorted by officials from the beach at Dungeness, Kent
Migrants wearing masks sitting on the beach at Dungeness in Kent this morning after they are brought ashore
A group of people thought to be migrants are escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
‘The Government is addressing the challenge of illegal migration for the first time in over two decades through comprehensive reform of our asylum system which will enable us to going after the gangs exploiting people, deter illegal entry into the UK, introduce new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally and strengthen our ability to remove those with no legal right to be in the UK.’
With UK support last year, France doubled the number of officers deployed daily on French beaches, improved intelligence sharing and purchased more cutting-edge technology.
This resulted in France preventing twice as many crossings so far this year than in the same period in 2020.
However, as French interceptions increased, the Home Office said that organised criminal gangs have changed their tactics, moving further up the French coast, and forcing migrants to take even longer, riskier journeys.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Thanks to support from the UK, the French will be able to respond by posting more security forces further up the coast, installing and utilising the latest surveillance equipment throughout northern France.’
Labour dismissed the latest move as ’empty promises’, saying the Tories are ‘letting down victims and allowing criminals to continue their evil trade’.
Charities branded the measures inhumane, while refugee rights campaigner Lord Dubs said Miss Patel’s plans were a ‘disservice to this country’s history’.
Tom Hunt, Tory MP for Ipswich, said: ‘We need to take control of this issue for ourselves and we shouldn’t be dependent on the French to sort it out for us. It is fair enough to work with the French but we should not be surprised if they continue to fall short.’
Miss Patel said last night: ‘Illegal immigration is driven by serious organised criminals and people smugglers.
‘The public are rightly angry that small boats are arriving on our shores, facilitated by appalling criminal gangs who profit from human misery and put lives at risk.’
Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said: ‘With today’s record this Government loses all credibility in managing a safe and fair asylum system.
‘Priti Patel can re-announce enhanced police cooperation with the French all day, every day, but until there is a political renegotiation to allow refugees safe passage to claim asylum at the U.K. border in France, this relatively small number of desperate people will continue risking everything for a shot at our protection.
‘Ministers should stop playing fantasy politics and step up to protect lives instead.’
Meanwhile, Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive at Refugee Action, said the growing number of crossings ‘shows the Government’s get-tough-quick schemes do not work’.
He added: ‘Criminal smugglers prey on refugees who have little choice than to put risk their lives in rickety boats because Ministers refuse to create more routes to reach safety here.
‘And the Government’s cruel anti-refugee Bill will do little to stop the boats. It is unworkable, unlawful and will end up an expensive disaster that criminalises people who are simply asking for our help.’
‘None of us can swim’: Kuwaiti girl, 12, whose family paid £8,000 to people smugglers for perilous crossing from Calais is among hundreds more arriving today as 2021 total so far eclipses the whole of 2020
ByJack Wrightand James Fielding For Mailonline
A 12-year-old Kuwaiti girl whose family paid people-smugglers £8,000 to make the treacherous journey from Calais to England is among an ongoing surge of migrants crossing the Channel today after a French warship escorted a dinghy containing 13 people into British waters.
Border Force intercepted what is believed to be the first boat of migrants taking advantage of the flat seas and clear skies and brought its occupants into Dover Marina at around 10am. Around 20 people were seen being escorted up the gangway by Immigration Enforcement officers.
A further 12 migrants – mainly men from Iran and North and Eastern Africa – were filmed landing their orange rigid hulled inflatable boat on the pebbles at Dungeness, Kent at 11.15am.
It comes after more than 430 migrants sailed across the Channel yesterday in a new single-day record. Today it was revealed 8,452 people have crossed to the UK on board small boats so far this year, eclipsing the total annual figure of 8,417 reached in 2020.
Sky News showed aerial shots of the men getting out and sitting on the pebble beach while some washed their feet in the water as a rubber ring brought as a makeshift safety aid floated up shore. One migrant told photographers on the beach the group had paid £3,000 each for the 10 hour crossing, while another was seen wearing a denim jacket with the slogan ‘live or die’ emblazoned on the back.
Kent Police found a three-inch Stanley blade discarded by a life vest on the floor, believed to have been carried by one of the men. As they prepared to board a coach to Dover, the migrants emptied their possessions into a plastic bag and were interviewed by officers to know how old they were and where they had come from.
Today a family-of-six from Kuwait – including children aged 12, 11, seven and one just 20-months old – told MailOnline how they paid people-smugglers thousands of pounds to travel from France to England.
As they were escorted to Dungeness lifeboat station after being brought ashore by Border Force, police and RNLI crews, the father said: ‘There are six of us, four children. We have come from Kuwait originally but have been in France for the last month. We paid £8000 to come here.’
His 12-year-old daughter added: ‘None of us can swim but everyone on the boat had lifejackets.’
A 12-year-old Kuwaiti girl whose family paid people-smugglers £8,000 to make the treacherous journey from Calais to England is among an ongoing surge of migrants crossing the Channel today
A group of people thought to be migrants crossing from France come ashore from the local lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent
Good Morning Britain journalist Pip Tomson told ITV viewers that the dinghy, which is made for just six passengers, was escorted by a French warship to the border before it left, apparently thinking that the team of reporters would then escort the migrants back to the UK
Natalie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, slammed the people-smugglers and migrants taking advantage of the flat seas. She told MailOnline: ‘Another day where small boats are brazenly crossing the English Channel and motoring onto our beaches.
‘That’s why I am backing the new powers being debated in Parliament to turn boats around and action to stop small boats leaving France in the first place.
‘Only when migrants and traffickers alike know that they will not succeed in breaking into Britain will the small boats crisis come to an end.’
Speaking on Times Radio, Immigration Minister Chris Philp called yesterday the ‘worst day ever’ for crossings and said it is ‘vital’ that action is taken. He said Ms Patel is close to reaching an agreement with France to boost co-operation and increase police patrols on French beaches.
Mr Philp also pledged that the controversial Nationality and Borders Bill going through Parliament ‘closes some loopholes’ and will reform the asylum system.
However, campaigners claim the Bill is inhumane and unworkable because it would make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally without permission to be here and could lead to four years’ imprisonment.
The boat carrying the family from Kuwait was one of three to land in Dungeness today. The first crossing had 30 men on board and the second had 13 people.
On the third boat – among the 42 migrants – were five children and six women. The migrants were from the Middle East and Africa. They were all given water upon arrival before being bussed to immigration centres. None needed hospital appointments.
One couple had made the journey from Syria via France. The man, who gave his name as Nada, said: ‘We are from Damascus but we want to be in England. I love England – it is the perfect country!’
Other migrants said they were from Kurdistan and Eritrea. Watching the migrants come ashore were locals Suzanne Wells and Jane Gane.
Suzanne, 61, said: ‘I’ve been living here for 25-years and this is the busiest it’s been for migrants coming to the UK. There were a lot of crossings last year but already I think the first seven months of 2021 have exceeded 2020’s total or at least must be close to topping it.
‘Yesterday there were reports that some boats were coming that had 70 and 50 people on board. At least three large coaches full of migrants passed me at lunchtime yesterday.’
Jane, 67, added: ‘I feel sorry for them, especially if they are genuinely escaping hardship or persecution. But there are some who are here just for economic reasons.’
A French warship escorted a group of 13 migrants crammed into a small boat into British waters before handing them over to a baffled news crew this morning, as hundreds are expected to cross today after more than 430 people landed in the UK yesterday in a single-day record.
Good Morning Britain journalist Pip Tomson told ITV viewers that the dinghy, which is made for just six passengers, was escorted by a French warship to the border before it left, apparently thinking that the team of reporters would then escort the migrants back to the UK.
Ms Tomson said GMB alerted Border Force to the small boat, but agreed to ‘observe’ the migrants because UK officials were so busy handling other crossings this morning. Around 20 minutes later, a Border Force jet-ski was filmed escorting the dinghy to the English coastline.
A group of people thought to have been migrants crossing from France are escorted by officials from the beach at Dungeness, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel
Migrants are seen crossing the English Channel this morning as the number of people making the journey to the UK surges
Kent Police found a three-inch Stanley blade discarded by a life vest on the floor, believed to have been carried by one of the men
A man thought to be migrant, is search by a Border Force officer after being escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent
Appearing on GMB this morning, Business Minister Paul Scully said the migrants were escaping war-torn countries and said ‘people should be claiming asylum in the first safe port’ they reach.
France struck a deal with the UK in November to tackle illegal Channel crossings but has so far resisted the idea of having dinghies sent back to its northern beaches.
In March, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced plans to overhaul Britain’s immigration regime by giving border guards patrolling the Channel greater powers to turn back migrant boats. The crackdown will be dependent on France and other countries accepting the return of migrants.
A police source told MailOnline: ‘The men were intercepted by the RNLI and brought to the lifeboat station where they were given water. There were a total of 30 young men, from Iran and Northern and Eastern Africa who had set off overnight from the French coast.
‘All of them are fairly healthy and nobody required hospital treatment. Officers found a Stanley knife blade which had had the base removed and was covered in silver duct tape. The blade is thought to have been discarded by one of the migrants as they came ashore before being searched by police.
‘The migrants will be taken to an immigration centre and be given food once on the coach. We are expecting another craft to land less than a mile away and that one, we believe, has 40-persons on board.’
Dr Ben Greening, Executive Director of Migration Watch UK, told MailOnline: ‘This was another daily record and we are going to see that surpassed time and time again going forward unless the Government gets serious.
‘Illegal crossings so far this year are now nearly 11 times the number recorded by this point in 2019, just before the Home Secretary promised they would become ‘infrequent’. This is not good enough and the public are fed up to the teeth with this debacle.’
As the number of people crossing in small boats rises, the number coming over to Britain in lorries or train containers through the Channel Tunnel has declined following high-profile incidents in which migrants smuggled onto lorries and containers have died en route.
Speaking to MailOnline today, furious union officials said that Border Force staff are ‘working excessive hours in unsuitable conditions’ as officials struggle to keep a handle on the numbers of migrants who are intercepted in the Channel and who need processing on land.
Sky News showed aerial shots of the men who were seen getting out and sitting on the pebble beach while some washed their feet in the water as a rubber ring brought as a makeshift safety aid floated up shore
One African migrant told photographers on the beach the group had paid £3,000 each for the 10 hour crossing
Male migrants are pictured walking on the beach at Dungeness in Kent this morning after they are brought ashore
Male migrants are pictured walking onto the beach Dungeness in Kent this morning
A police officer hands water to a group of people thought to be migrants as they sit in the shade following being escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent
A migrant is escorted by Border Force officers as he is brought ashore at Dover Harbour in Kent after crossing the Channel
A migrant family is escorted by a Border Force officer as they are brought ashore at Dover Harbour in Kent
Migrants are seen walking up the beach at Dungeness in Kent after they were intercepted by the coastguard
A man thought to be migrant smokes a cigarette after being escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel
‘We need a mechanism allowing refugees arriving at the UK border in France to be given safe passage, and until we have it, all else is noise and distraction.’
Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney said today: ‘There is an unacceptable rise in dangerous small boat crossings across the Channel because of a surge in illegal migration across Europe.
‘People should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives making these dangerous crossing. We are continuing to pursue the criminals behind these illegal crossings.
‘Police patrols on French beaches and enhanced intelligence sharing between our security and law enforcement agencies has helped to prevent crossings through a combination of inland and sea patrols.
‘The Government continues to undertake substantial steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration through the Nationality and Borders Bill which will protect lives and break this cycle of illegal crossings. The Government is also continuing to return those with no legal right to remain in the UK.’
In Dungeness in Kent, around 50 people were seen landing on a beach after crossing aboard in a single dinghy. Some raised their hands in celebration as they stood on the beach, while others sat down on the shingle shoreline amid 75F sunshine.
The large dinghy is believed to have left northern France or Belgium earlier on Monday before crossing the dangerous 21-mile Dover Strait.
The vessel had been watched by the RNLI as it got closer and closer to the coast before eventually landing on the beach at around 1pm. Among the arrivals were women and children, some too young to walk, and some people had to be supported as they walked on to the beach.
A witness told the Sun that within five minutes a police car had arrived but all of the migrants had already disappeared. She added that two men, who appeared to be British, arrived with snacks and flasks of coffee before clearing discarded lifejackets.
A large inflatable was pictured on the beach at Dungeness in Kent where 88 people are said to have landed, according to independent monitors posting on social media.
Two coaches were pictured at the pebble beach as the group were detained by Border Force officers. It came after 241 people arrived in the UK on Sunday on board eight boats, as 2021 continues to see rising numbers of crossings.
Migrants are brought ashore at Dungeness in Kent after making the perilous journey across the English Channel
A group of people thought to be migrants crossing from France come ashore aboard the local lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent
A group of people thought to be migrants crossing from France come ashore from the local lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent, after being picked-up following a small boat incident in the Channel
A group of people thought to be migrants are escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers
Migrants are seen lying on the grass at Dungeness in Kent after they were brought ashore by UK authorities
A group of people thought to be migrants are escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers
A group of people thought to be migrants are escorted from the beach in Dungeness, Kent, by Border Force officers
Some people raised their hands in the air in apparent celebration at having completed the dangerous journey, while others had to be supported as they walked on to the beach.
Numbers of crossings have shot up in recent years, with last year’s total more than quadrupling the number of arrivals in 2019. Despite this, the UK continues to see far fewer boat arrivals and asylum claims than many of its European counterparts.
At least 44,230 people have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea so far this year, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Also, despite the sharp rise in small boats arrivals on the south coast, asylum applications in the UK fell in 2020 to 29,456. This was significantly lower than the 93,475 asylum applications made in France and the 121,955 made in Germany.
Her remarks came as MPs considered the Nationality and Borders Bill, which includes clauses to allow the UK to be able to send asylum seekers to a ‘safe third country’ and to submit claims at a ‘designated place’ determined by the Secretary of State.
Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union said: ‘To say Border Force are stretched is an understatement. Staff are working excessive hours in unsuitable conditions and at the moment in extreme heat. Not only are those working at sea seriously over capacity so are those on land.
‘From the Immigration Enforcement Officers who are tasked with screening and processing on arrival, to asylum caseworkers who have a 450 per cent increase in workload and the local authorities who have to find accommodation, support etc, in due course this pressure will also find its way through to the legal system as refused cases go through appeal.
‘Although we do see families with children the majority of migrants continue to be young men. Many have asylum applications already refused elsewhere in Europe.’ MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for further information.
A man gestures as a group of people thought to be migrants make their way up the beach at Dungeness yesterday
People though to be migrants are watched over by the RNLI yesterday as they make their way up the beach following arriving on a small boat at Dungeness in Kent
People thought to be migrants make their way up the beach after arriving on a small boat at Dungeness in Kent yesterday
A group of people thought to be migrants sit on the beach after arriving on a small boat at Dungeness in Kent yesterday
Plans for sweeping reforms of the asylum system, dubbed the anti-refugee Bill by critics and campaigners, were debated again in Parliament yesterday. Theresa May sounded warnings over the prospect of the UK sending asylum seekers to Australia-style offshore processing centres.
The former prime minister said she considered the idea when home secretary but rejected the option due to ‘practical concerns’.
Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said: ‘The Home Office’s anti-refugee Bill is political theatre that doesn’t even pretend to deal with the issue or make our system, safe, fair or efficient.
Among the arrivals were women and children, some too young to walk. More people are believed to have attempted the cross to the UK on Monday, with Border Force and French warships active in the English Channel.
French authorities intercepted an additional seven boats carrying 129 migrants – while also preventing a further 15 people from entering the water.
It comes as the Borders Bill is set to be debated in Parliament. The legislation looks to deter illegal entry and crackdown on people smuggling gangs by making it a criminal offence for migrants to attempt to enter the UK without valid entry clearance.
Home Secretary Priti Patel’s crackdown comes after June saw more migrants cross the Channel by small boat than in any month ever before.