102 migrants cross Channel in one day
... just hours after previous record of 90 was set
BRITAIN’S Border Force intercepted a record number of illegal migrants crossing the Channel by boat yesterday.
UK officials stopped 102 men, women and children as they made the treacherous journey from northern France in dinghies. Another 30 were detained by French coastguards.
The previous record of 90 was set just a day earlier on Thursday. Before this week the highest number of migrants to be stopped in one day was 86, in September.
One inflatable intercepted yesterday was carrying 32 people – double the usual number – as ruthless people smugglers overload boats to maximise their profits.
They are also now co- ordinating their efforts, sending fleets of flimsy vessels across the Channel at the same time to outmanoeuvre patrol boats.
The incidents will heap pressure on Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has pledged to virtually eliminate crossings by the spring. Recent calm weather has provided perfect conditions for traffickers, who are reportedly telling migrants that they should make the journey now as Britain has only just left the EU.
There are also concerns that the Home Office’s decision to deploy three cutters in the Channel encourages migrants to travel in the belief they will be rescued.
Immigration minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Not only are those making these illegal crossings and the callous criminals behind this trade breaking the law, but they are endangering the lives of vulnerable people on the boats.’
Mr Lewis said extra patrols on French beaches, drones and specialist detection equipment had been deployed. He claimed the measures – which have cost millions – were working because only 25 per cent of migrants have reached the UK this year, down from 48 per cent in 2019.
But questions have been raised about France’s determination to stop the traffickers. Tory MP Natalie Elphicke, who represents Dover and Deal, said: ‘We need an urgent explanation from the French as to what they are doing to get a grip on this situation.’
Mariam Kemple-Hardy, of the Refugee Action campaign group, said migrants were being forced to ‘gamble with their lives’, and added: ‘It is critical that the Government opens up more avenues for people to find safety.’ Yesterday, Border Force officials intercepted six dinghies carrying migrants who said they were from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The operation began at around 1am yesterday when 32 people were picked up off the Kent coast. The last vessel was discovered around 10.45am.
They have been handed over to immigration officials and, if classed as asylum seekers, will be sent to specialist accommodation, with instructions to report to authorities only sporadically.
Earlier this month, the Mail revealed how the number of migrants crossing the Channel illegally by boat has soared. More than 1,850 were intercepted and brought to Britain by the authorities in 2019, up from 297 in 2018.
‘Callous criminals endangering lives’