66 migrants caught crossing Channel in a flotilla of boats
BORDER FORCE officials scoured the English Channel yesterday after a fleet of dinghies carrying scores of suspected illegal migrants was intercepted on its way to the Kent coast.
In all, 66 people were detained and were being dealt with by immigration officers. Some had been aboard vessels which were intercepted by Border Force officials while others were detained after managing to make it ashore.
One incident saw a boat carrying 27 adults and eight children intercepted. At the same time, another vessel carrying 16 people was escorted to Dover. One group aboard a dinghy came ashore on the beach at Kingsdown, three miles south of the town of Deal. Its eight male occupants – all Iranian – were detained by police and handed over to immigration officers.
Migrants aboard other vessels included Iraqi, Syrian and Kuwaiti nationals. Coastguard chiefs said alerts to search-and-rescue teams had gone out in response to a ‘number of incidents’.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Friday that urgent action was needed to tackle the Channel’s migrant crisis, adding that plans were being drawn up ‘immediately’ to deal with the problem. Her comments came after a meeting with French interior minister Christophe Castaner in Paris, during which the pair agreed to allocate more resources to intercept and stop the wave of crossings.
The prospect of British financial support for efforts to stem the flow of crossings from France was discussed at the meeting, according to the French AFP news agency. Mr Castaner said that money from London would ‘reinforce patrols and improve effectiveness’.
Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned migrants that they would be sent back if they risked crossing the Channel. He said: ‘If you are an illegal immigrant, I’m afraid the law will treat you as such.’
In June, eight boats with 74 people on board, including at least one child, landed on a stretch of coast between Dover in Kent and Winchelsea Beach in East Sussex over the course of a single morning.
Last year, 539 people attempted to travel to Britain on small boats, of whom 434 made their crossings in the last three months of the year, according to official figures.
The Home Office said: ‘Crossing the Channel in a small boat is a huge risk.
‘The criminal gangs who perpetuate this are ruthless and do not care about loss of life.
‘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 already deployed equipment including drones, CCTV and night-vision goggles.’