Three more migrant boats cross Channel
... so where IS the Border Force you promised, Mr Javid?
‘At the mercy of people smugglers’
SAJID Javid faced renewed criticism over his handling of the migrant crisis yesterday after three more boats crossed the Channel.
At least 16 suspected migrants arrived in open dinghies – raising questions about how effective Britain’s response has been.
The Home Secretary declared the crossings a ‘major incident’ last month after 139 migrants were caught over Christmas. He vowed to escalate patrols in the Channel, which has the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
But last night there was still no sign of the two extra Border Force patrol boats he promised, three weeks after they were ordered back from the Mediterranean. HMC Seeker remained docked in Gibraltar, and according to the ship’s locator beacon HMC Protector was in Malta.
Meanwhile plans for aerial surveillance were said to have been scrapped as ‘unnecessary’ – leaving one Royal Navy ship and four civilian ships to patrol Britain’s coastline unaided.
Dover MP Charlie Elphicke said he would demand answers from Mr Javid during Home Office Questions in Parliament today. He said: ‘The Home Secretary pledged to bring the two cutters that were cruising in the Mediterranean back to protect our borders.
‘They don’t appear to have moved far and we need to know when they will be arriving in the English Channel.
‘The best way to stop these crossings would be for migrants and traffickers to know they won’t succeed in entering the UK. Round-the-clock aerial surveillance would ensure the French authorities were alerted to any small craft leaving the French coast, so they can pick them up and return them safely to France.’
There have been repeated warnings that deaths are inevitable if migrants continue to make the dangerous Channel crossing in small dinghies with low- powered engines. Witnesses said the latest arrivals were suffering from the cold after seven hours at sea in sub-zero temperatures.
David Warren, 71, invited six ‘freezing and bedraggled’ men into his home in Kingsdown, near Dover, after spotting them on the beach next to an abandoned dinghy. He said they spoke almost no English, appeared to be in their 30s, and waited in his house until Border Force officials arrived.
Other witnesses said a Border Force cutter could be seen in the distance as the men landed just after dawn, but failed to intercept them.
Local Harry Paice, who spotted the men on the beach, said: ‘What a ludicrous situation that immigrants can speed across the Channel under the eyes of our patrol vessel. We are totally at the mercy of the people smugglers. It’s about time the Government got a grip.’
The six men who landed at Kingsdown later told Border Force officials they were Iranian and Iraqi.
A second abandoned dinghy was found near Folkestone and two men went to the town’s police station, saying they were from Iran. Border Force intercepted a third boat after it was spotted by fishermen, and escorted it into Dover. Photographs showed eight people on board, including at least one child, who were also said to be Iranian.
All 16 suspected migrants from the three crossings have been handed over to immigration officials for interview.
The Mail revealed earlier this month that the Home Secretary had signed off a £20,000-a-day bill for the use of HMS Mersey to patrol Britain’s coastline until the extra Border Force cutters arrive back.
HMC Seeker was expected in the English Channel by the end of the month, but the 140ft-long cutter has been moored at the Queensway Quay in Gibraltar since mid-December.
HMC Protector was in the Aegean when she was recalled and has since been moored in Valletta, Malta, according to her locator beacon. French authorities
said Britain had agreed to pay for drones to patrol the coast of France and was committed to helping to police the border.
Funding for the drones and other security measures was pledged a year ago when the UK promised a further £44.5million for fencing, CCTV and detection technology in Calais and other ports.
Despite the high-profile closure of the so-called ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais, migrants have remained in makeshift camps along the north coast of France.
Traffickers have hidden lifejackets and outboard engines at beaches between Calais and Boulogne in readiness for more Channel crossings. Official sources claim no migrants have died during the Channel crossings.
But Gerard Barron, president of the Boulogne lifeboat society, said earlier this month that he believed ‘dozens’ may have died already but their deaths went unreported because currents swept their bodies up into the North Sea.
French authorities have built a 10ft wall in Calais to stop migrants getting to Britain.
The barrier has gone up next to a petrol station that had become a magnet for people smugglers. Migrants were using the area to try to hide on UK-bound lorries.