Channel migrants ‘so sure of staying they dial 999’

MIGRANTS crossing the Channel are so confident they won’t be sent back to Europe they are dialling 999 to get police to rescue them, MPs have been told.

Chief Constable Alan Pughsley, of Kent Police, told the home affairs committee yesterday: ‘They want to be found and helped. On some occasions, they are phoning 999 and asking for our help.’

His comments come as 13 migrants, including a baby and two children, were brought ashore in Kent yesterday. On Monday, 15 men were found on two boats – four suspected of people smuggling.

Steve Rodhouse, director-general at the National Crime Agency, confirmed the ‘business model’ for smugglers had changed, saying: ‘People are happy to be, and are seeking, being caught and engaging with UK authorities because, rightly or wrongly, they don’t fear being returned.’

Home Secretary Sajid Javid last month sparked debate by questioning if those crossing were genuine asylum seekers.

In December, he declared a ‘major incident’, ordering two Border Force boats to be redeployed to the Channel after a rise in crossings at Christmas. But Mr Rodhouse said the current fine weather had led to an increase in crossings, adding migrants were paying about £5,000 each to do so.

The Home Office said: ‘Those found to have no right to be in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them and, since January, over ten people who entered the UK illegally on small boats have been returned to Europe.’