Mum finds 3 migrants outside her door
SAJID Javid pledged a crackdown last night on migrants who cross the Channel in small boats.
The Home Secretary told MPs those who arrived on our shores would not be able to claim asylum here if they had already passed through France.
His Commons statement came hours after eight migrants who crossed in an inflatable dinghy were arrested in Kent.
Three of the men were caught after they were seen hanging around outside the home of a young mother.
Five more were found nearby and a ninth man was arrested on suspicion of helping them cross the Channel.
Under the EU’s Dublin Convention, those fleeing war or persecution must apply for asylum in the first safe country they reach.
Mr Javid said: ‘If you have passed through a safe country, and that of course includes France, then we would seek to make your claim inadmissible.
‘Do not give your money to these people smugglers and do not take this dangerous journey. Seek protection in the first safe country that you can.
‘Following recent events, I have instructed my officials to look at how we can tighten this further and ensure these provisions are working effectively. While we have obligations to genuine asylum seekers we will not allow reckless criminals to take advantage of vulnerable people.
‘Encouraging people to cross the Channel is not an act of compassion. I will continue to do all I can to stop these dangerous crossings.’
Mr Javid has already declared a ‘major incident’ over the rising number of migrants trying to arrive by sea and the Royal Navy has deployed the patrol vessel Mersey to the Channel.
Yesterday’s arrests followed the 8.10am discovery of an abandoned dinghy on a beach at Dungeness, Kent. Kimberly Addy was feeding her two-week-old son at her home in Lydd, three miles away, when she saw three men outside.
Minutes later, they were seized by Border Force and police officers.
‘They seemed so normal,’ said Miss Addy, 31, who also has a three-year-old daughter. ‘Then suddenly there are police and Border Force outside.’ The men looked to be in their 30s and were wearing wet coats and woollen hats. ‘When the police came, they took their jackets off and police gave them foil blankets,’ Miss Addy said.
A further five migrants were held between Lydd and Dungeness. A ninth man found in the area was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry into Britain.