Over 200 migrants crossed the Channel today after Monday 1,295 record
At least 200 migrants made the most of the weather to cross the Channel by boat today including an injured woman and several babies – after a record 1,295 asylum-seekers reached Britain on one day alone
- Border Force escorted the latest arrivals into Dover, Kent at around 10.20am on Wednesday August 24
- Over 22,754 people have traveled across the 21-mile Dover Straits so far this year with 6,355 in August alone
- The busiest day came on Monday August 22 when 1,295 people reached Britain in 27 boats
At least 200 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far today, including an injured woman and several small babies.
Border Force cutter Typhoon escorted the latest arrivals into Dover, Kent at around 10.20am on Wednesday August 24.
Among them was an older woman who was limping badly as she climbed down the steps of the boat.
Once she’d disembarked the vessel the older woman was passed into the care of a female soldier dressed in camouflage fatigues who propped her up by the shoulder.
Another migrant held on to her arm as they were led along the gangway to be taken for processing by UK officials.
Dozens of children could also be seen being escorted along the walkway by soldiers and Border Force staff.
At least 200 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far today, including an injured woman and several small babies
Dozens of children could be seen being escorted along the walkway by soldiers and Border Force staff. A female soldier carried another young child, wrapped in a blue blanket, in her arms, while her family followed behind with their belongings in bags
Border Force cutter Typhoon escorted the latest arrivals into Dover, Kent at around 10.20am on Wednesday August 24
One toddler gave a thumbs up to onlookers as he was carried off the boat barefoot on his dad’s shoulders.
A female soldier carried another young child, wrapped in a blue blanket, in her arms, while her family followed behind with their belongings in bags.
They were closely followed by two women who had sleeping babies strapped to their backs in slings.
A further 20 were brought in on an RNLI lifeboat around 1pm followed by another two Border Force vessels – Ranger coming in at 1.30pm with at least 40 and then Defender an hour later with 50 people.
This comes after 187 people reached the UK in four inflatable dinghies or other small crafts on Tuesday August 23.
The French coastguard prevented a further ten migrants from crossing the Channel.
On Tuesday morning, the regional operational surveillance and rescue centre (CROSS) in Griz-nez identified a boat in difficulty in the Calais Straits.
The rescue and assistance intervention tug, Abeille Normandie, which is chartered by the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, was tasked with rescuing 10 stranded people.
This comes after 187 people reached the UK in four inflatable dinghies or other small crafts on Tuesday August 23. The French coastguard prevented a further ten migrants from crossing the Channel
According to official government data, a total of 22,754 people have made the perilous journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits so far this year – with 6,355 of those arriving in August alone
They were dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-mer, where they were taken care of by the departmental fire and rescue service and the border police.
According to official government data, a total of 22,754 people have made the perilous journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits so far this year – with 6,355 of those arriving in August alone.
The busiest day came on Monday August 22 when 1,295 people reached Britain in 27 boats.
MAJORITY OF MIGRANTS CROSSING CHANNEL ARE ALBANIAN
The majority of a record-breaking number of migrants who arrived in the UK were from Albania, according to reports from Border Force officers.
The ISU union, which represents staff working for the Home Office’s law enforcement body, said its members had seen an increase in people from the south-eastern European country making the Channel crossing in the last few months.
Government officials believe around 60% of migrants making the crossing each day now are Albanian, although figures fluctuate, the PA news agency understands.
More than 700 out of the record total of almost 1,300 migrants who were brought ashore on Monday were Albanian, the Daily Mail reported.
It is thought crime lords in the country could be sending people with no criminal record to the UK aboard migrant boats to join organised gangs, the newspaper said.
Lucy Moreton, from the ISU union, said: ‘ISU members have seen and reported this increase (of Albanian arrivals) over the last few months.
‘Reports from the staff involved on Monday suggest the majority of those arriving were Albanian.
‘There were other nationalities; but not that many.
‘The precise nationality breakdown of immigrants using this route does shift from time to time and often reflects the nationalities of those seeking to facilitate the traffic.
‘Members report the working hypothesis that the recent increases in Albanians is to replace those who have been arrested, imprisoned and/or deported as a result of increased police activity in the organised crime sphere.
‘This is a hypothesis only, but does make sense.’
28,526 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2021 – compared to 8,410 who arrived in 2020, according to government figures.
Natalie Elphicke MP for Dover said: ‘France have a moral and international obligation to protect vulnerable people, save lives, stop people smugglers and tackle organised crime. They should not need to be paid to do their duty.
‘It is even more ridiculous that we pay them tens of millions of pounds and get so little in return. This is a shocking waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
‘Sorting out the small boats crisis must be a key priority of the next Prime Minister.’
Lucy Moreton, from the ISU union which represents Border Force officers, said yesterday that the weather was the short-term reason behind the high numbers of crossings.
She said: ‘It has been flat calm yesterday and is still fairly calm today.
‘However, autumn is approaching and although crossings do not stop they do become less frequent as the wave height increases.’
Ms Moreton said it was ‘possible’ the preceding three-day hiatus from crossings, thought to be down to unsuitable weather conditions over the weekend, could be behind the surge in numbers on Monday.
A government source told The Times smugglers may be trying to clear a ‘backlog’ of people who had been waiting to make the journey.
But Ms Moreton said the crossing had also become a ‘relatively safe and effective route of illegal migration into the UK’, adding: ‘It is far more certain that trying to hide in a lorry.
‘The prospect of being sent to Rwanda is not a deterrent at all; if anything it is encouraging crossings as smugglers encourage migrants to travel now before the policy comes in.’
Natalie Elphicke MP for Dover also added: ‘A key priority for the new Prime Minister will be to get the French to actually stop these boats leaving and arrest those responsible.
‘The Channel crossings can’t be allowed to carry on like this.
‘The French promised to bring this crisis to an end if we paid them millions of pounds. Yet it is plain to see that they have failed to honour their promises with more arrivals on our shores not less.’
Commenting, Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: ‘Enforcement of immigration laws collapsed as savage cuts in funding and personnel took hold. When will this mess be cleared up?
Mr Mehmet added that the next PM should think ‘hard’ about how to genuinely tackle the problem and avoid ‘meaningless babble’.
It comes as five African nations are now said to be in ‘advanced talks’ with UK over Rwanda-style deal.
Morocco, Nigeria, Namibia, Niger and Ghana are all in discussions with the government about receiving migrants rejected for asylum from the UK, The Times reports.
It is four months since Home Secretary Priti Patel unveiled plans to send migrants to Rwanda in a bid to curb Channel crossings.
Since then, 17,589 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey.
On April 14, Ms Patel signed what she described as a ‘world-first’ agreement with Rwanda under which the east African nation will receive migrants deemed by the UK to have arrived ‘illegally’ and therefore inadmissible under new immigration rules.
But the first deportation flight, due to take off on June 14, was grounded amid legal challenges.
Several asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union and charities Care4Calais, Detention Action and Asylum Aid are challenging the legality of the Home Office policy, with the next court hearings due in September and October.
The total number of Channel migrants who have made it to UK waters on inflatable dinghies or other small craft since January 1 has now surpassed 22,000.
Last week more than 600 hundred people arrived in a single day on Wednesday according to the official figures released by the Ministry of Defence.
There are also predictions that the numbers travelling to the UK could increase even further as the National Strategy for Maritime Security said up to 250,000 migrants will make come to the UK through the Channel by 2027.
Last week, Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both said the military would have a role in policing the Channel if they become Prime Minister.
The Royal Navy patrol the English Channel for small boat crossings by asylum seekers, but its command and control duties are scheduled to end in January, 2023.
Frontrunner Ms Truss told reporters in Scotland: ‘It is an absolute priority to make sure we deal with the issue of small boats and the appalling trade by people traffickers.
‘And I will use every tool at my disposal if I am selected as prime minister to make that happen.’
Asked if the Royal Navy would continue to play a role, she said: ‘Absolutely.’
The news comes as an FOI revealed that more than 50 migrants over 30 were registered as children in the last decade after lying about their age and officials fear migrants with no previous convictions are being drawn into serious crime to repay debts they owe people traffickers.
Channel migrants are now thought to be predominantly Albanians, with 5,000 having made the crossing so far this year.
Albanian drug lords are sending so-called ‘cleanskins’ with no criminal record to Britain to become embroiled in organised criminal gangs, reports the Mail+.
Last week, Conservative leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both said the military would have a role in policing the Channel if they become Prime Minister
An FOI revealed that more than 50 migrants over 30 were registered as children in the last decade after lying about their age and officials fear migrants with no previous convictions are being drawn into serious crime to repay debts they owe people traffickers
And checks on Channel arrivals are failing to pick up connections between some arrivals and human-traffickers in the Balkans, sources have said.
Lucy Moreton, a professional officer with Border Force workers union the ISU, says staff are facing ‘an increasing amount of violence’ from ‘a lot of young males’.
She said she two staff had been attacked in the past week and a further three bitten.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has been taking up the task of establishing a list of countries interested in agreeing a Rwanda-style deal.
An initial list of 20 countries was quickly reduced when ambassadors warned that seeking such agreements would damage relations.
Albania, North Macedonia and Moldova were among the initial list, but were removed following negative media coverage.
Tony Smith, former director general of Border Force, called the current migrant figures worrying, adding that it could lead to a reassessment of earlier estimates that 65,000 crossings would be made this year.
He said: ‘I still don’t see any end in sight. There’s nothing really that we can point to and say: ‘We are going to be able to stop this’. It is quite frustrating.’
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.
‘Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws, but they risk lives and hinder our ability to help refugees who come to the UK through safe and legal routes.
‘The Nationality and Borders Act will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
‘Under our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda, we are continuing preparations to relocate those who are making dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys into the UK in order for their claims to be considered and rebuild their lives.’
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