French warship escorts 13 migrants in overcrowded boat before handing them over to GMB news

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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.

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. 

It is thought that hundreds of migrants will be making the treacherous journey by boat from Europe today after at least 430 migrants sailed across the Channel yesterday in a new single-day record. Monday’s figure passes the previous daily high of 416 set in September last year, official figures show. 

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. 

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.’ 

MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for further information. 

Yesterday a group of more than 40 people including women and young children were seen walking ashore after one beach landing in Kent, while another 50 migrants arrived elsewhere. Video filmed by shocked beachgoers shows migrants sprinting off in different directions after their vessel managed to arrive at Oldstairs Bay in Kingsdown without being intercepted by Border Force. 

It comes as:

• Union officials said Border Force staff are ‘stretched’ and ‘working excessive hours in unsuitable conditions’; 
• Ex-prime minister Theresa May sounded warnings over the prospect of the UK sending asylum seekers to Australia-style offshore processing centres;
• Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney said ‘unacceptable’ rise in small boat crossings was caused by ‘surge in illegal migration across Europe’;
• Detention Action charity said the Government’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’.

Speaking to MailOnline, 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.’

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’. 

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.

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. 

‘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.

Border Force and Kent Police were in attendance at the scene as they awaited the arrivals on Monday afternoon. The black dinghy came ashore on Dungeness Beach, around 30 miles along the coast from the port of Dover. 

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.

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. 

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.

More than 1,850 people have succeeded in reaching Britain on board small boats in July so far, according to data analysis by the PA news agency, more than the total for the whole of 2019.  

And yesterday at least five boats were brought into Dover Marina, Kent, according to eyewitnesses, with the first vessel intercepted around 12pm.

Three young girls were on board the first boat brought into Dover Marina, Kent around 12pm. Two of them were sitting on the knees of men believed to be their fathers.

They were helped out of the Border Force vessel by Immigration Enforcement officers and escorted up the gangway for processing. The youngest girl, aged around three, was carried in the arms of an officer.

Two Border Force officers used jet skis to bring the red rigid hulled inflatable boat with outboard engine which they used to cross the Channel into harbour. They were followed by about 50 men who were brought to shore in separate Border Force vessels.

The huge new cutter Hurricane was used to bring dozens more in shortly after 2pm in what proved to be a busy afternoon of crossings. They were among the first arrivals since 10 migrants made the journey in one boat last Tuesday.

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.

Have you seen any migrant boats arriving on the south coast? Email jack.wright@mailonline.co.uk.