Another 40 migrants try to cross Channel
After a record 86 arrivals reach Britain by boat in a single day...
MORE than 40 migrants tried to cross the Channel on small boats yesterday.
They are thought to have made the perilous crossing on three rigidhulled inflatable boats, with one carrying up to 25 people.
The migrants were intercepted by Border Force officers off the Kent coast. The Home Office said it was dealing with ‘ongoing small boat incidents’ and the coastguard was assisting.
At least two Border Force vessels, carrying about a dozen migrants in orange life-vests, were seen pulling into Dover yesterday morning.
It comes after the Border Force intercepted 86 migrants – the highest number in a single day – on Tuesday. Some of them managed to land on beaches before being detained.
Refugee charity Care4Calais are warning that the imminent closure of a gym in Dunkirk, where up to 1,000 migrants are living, is likely to encourage more
‘For them, the UK is the answer’
attempts to get into Britain. The number of migrants taken in by UK authorities so far this year is thought to have already passed 1,000.
Border Force cutters are patrolling the Channel, while drones, CCTV and night vision goggles are being used.
In December, Sajid Javid, the then home secretary, promised a crackdown on migrants by signing off a £20,000-aday bill for the use of two Navy vessels to patrol the Channel. But critics at the time warned this would only encourage more to make the crossing in the belief they would be rescued and brought to the UK.
The Calais Jungle had more than 6,000 migrants living in it at its peak in 2015. The camp was cleared in October 2016 but this did not solve the problem. Clare Moseley, from the charity Care4Calais, said: ‘The problem is that people are now wandering around Calais with nowhere to go. All the people are still trying to come to Britain.
‘For them, the UK is the answer so, if you take them away on buses or trains, they are just going to come back.’
Last night, the Home Office confirmed that 41 individuals had arrived from France. A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are working closely at all levels with the French authorities to tackle this dangerous and illegal activity.
‘In addition, Border Force cutters are patrolling the Channel and we have deployed equipment to detect migrant activity. Last month, the Home Secretary [Priti Patel] and her French counterpart [ Christophe Castaner] agreed to intensify joint action to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel. This includes drawing up an enhanced action plan to deploy more resources along the French coast to intercept and stop crossings.’