100 migrants cross the Channel in a day
As surge in Med sees 200 rescued in boats...
MORE than 100 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats yesterday as the crisis soared well beyond levels seen last year.
Groups including tiny infants reached the Kent coast as at least five vessels crossed from France.
Up to 120 were thought to have made it to British shores, although the Home Office had yet to confirm final numbers last night.
With yesterday’s tally, the total to reach the UK since January 1 is thought to have reached 1,253 – more than two-and-a-half times the 466 in the first three months of last year.
Warm temperatures yesterday also led to a surge in crossing attempts in the Mediterranean, where nearly 200 migrants were saved from two small boats off the coast of Malta.
The Channel vessels were accompa
‘Ignored tidal warnings’
nied into Dover Marina by UK Border Force from 7am onwards. The cutter alert unloaded one group at around 11am closely followed by sister ship Hunter bringing more.
a child aged around eight, wearing a fur-lined jacket and jeans, was among the first group brought ashore. The youngster appeared uneasy on their feet as they grappled on to railings after disembarking.
Immigration enforcement officers escorted the child and other migrants up the gangway for processing.
around nine men were seen on the back of another Border Force vessel wearing face masks, orange life jackets and winter coats. One large, grey rigid-hulled inflatable boat may have got into trouble at sea as it was seen with fishing line tied around its propeller.
The daily record for crossings so far this year is 183 on Tuesday last week – although last year’s daily record was set on September 2 with 416 arrivals.
The migrants ignored a tidal warning issued by French authorities, which was still in place yesterday even with warmer air temperatures.
The Mediterranean also saw numbers soar yesterday, with the Spanish humanitarian ship
Open arms discovering 181 mainly african migrants crammed on to two wooden boats near Malta after responding to several distress calls.
They saved 61 men and 23 children – including a ten-year-old travelling on his own – from the first boat, and on the second later in the day, 74 men, five women and 18 children including a one-year-old.
With others rescued earlier also on board, the Open arms is now carrying 219 migrants but has nowhere to dock. a spokesman from the group said: ‘ We have repeatedly requested a safe harbour in Malta, which was denied. We now await a response from Italy.
‘It is clear the youngest children cannot just stay on the deck of the ship, and we do not want them to have to suffer more than they already have.’
last week Home Secretary Priti Patel announced a range of new measures to reform the asylum system. They included new powers for the UK Border Force to turn vessels around in British waters, tougher sentences for people traffickers and measures to speed up the asylum process.
The package also proposes that asylum seekers who arrive by unauthorised routes, such as Channel migrants, will be entitled to fewer privileges than those through official schemes.
However, the consultation paper will take months to lead to proposed legislation.
In 2020 a record 8,410 migrants arrived by small boat, dwarfing 2019’s total of 1,850.
IN 2010, David Cameron launched a stinging attack on lobbying, branding it ‘the next big scandal waiting to happen’.
How those words must haunt him. For the former prime minister finds himself waistdeep in scandal after seeking a fast buck.
Not only did he unsuccessfully beg the Government to give taxpayer-funded Covid loans to Greensill Capital, the finance firm who paid him, months before it collapsed.
Whiffier still, Mr Cameron allegedly went on a potentially lucrative desert camping trip with his employer (who even had his own Downing Street business card) and the barbaric crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
If true, at best, this is naive. At worst, it raises questions about his integrity.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson wriggles over who funded his No10 home refurbishment. Both cases should be investigated. But is it too much to expect those who enjoy the privilege of holding the highest office to resist exploiting it for personal gain? n BorDer Force is collecting record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel in boats. Yes, genuine refugees should be welcomed with open arms; but most seek economic advantage. rather than operating a free water taxi to Dover, which encourages the people-traffickers, Priti Patel must press on with her asylum shake-up. Her actions must speak as loud as her words.