Dozens of migrants have been intercepted crossing the Channel as a “surge” of boats from France continues.
The Daily Express witnessed the French navy ship Ridens escorting the inflatable – packed with scores of men – to the median line of the Channel on Wednesday before Border Force’s Typhoon collected the asylum seekers and took them to Dover.
Some 326 crossed the Channel on Tuesday, adding to the 182 on Monday and 592 on Sunday, Home Office figures show.
More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in the first four days of the month, figures show.
Some 1,168 people made the journey from March 1 to 4, bringing the total number of arrivals for the year so far to 3,224.
This is the first record of more than 1,000 arrivals in four days so far this year, according to analysis of Home Office figures.
The number of arrivals is 8% higher than the same point last year (2,983) and also 9% up on 2023 (2,953), but it is a further jump of 46% compared with 2022 (2,212).
At least five people are thought to have died while attempting the crossing this year, with French mayors calling for more help to deal with the bodies washing up on their shores.
Border Force vessel Typhoon and French vessel Ridens with a migrant dinghy (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Border Force vessel Typhoon rescues migrants from the Channel (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Smugglers are exploiting improving weather conditions to launch more boats this week.
Former Border Force director-general Tony Smith told the Daily Express this week that the Channel migrant crisis and people exploiting “weaknesses in our visa system” to “dupe” officials into letting them into the UK should be triggering more alarm bells in Whitehall.
Mr Smith, head of border control in the UK Immigration Service between 2005 and 2007, said: “Notwithstanding measures by successive governments to reduce asylum intake, we are back where we started. In fact, it’s got worse.”
He added: “It is no surprise that Stéphane Pinto, the mayor of Ambleteuse, just south of Calais, has called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to ‘come and look at our beaches’.
“Hundreds of migrants are in unsanitary camps without running water in and around the French port waiting to get over here.”
Border Force’s Typhoon pulls alongside the migrants (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Dozens of migrants were seen crossing the Channel (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Border Force approach the migrant vessel (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Yvette Cooper has confirmed migrants face up to five years in prison if they refuse to be rescued in the Channel by the French authorities.
The Home Secretary said a new offence will be created to target those endangering another life during a small boat crossing.
This means anyone fighting with French police on the beaches, holding children over the edge of a small boat or “rushing” vessels as they try to launch could all be prosecuted, with a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.
Criminals caught selling or handling small boat parts, such as engines or lifejackets, could also be jailed for up to 14 years as the Home Office will make it “illegal to supply or handle items suspected of being for use by organised crime groups”.
Officials believe they could even extradite criminals operating in countries such as Turkey and prosecute them under this new law.
Ms Cooper has outlined Labour’s plan to end the Channel migrant crisis, insisting giving Border Force counter-terrorism-style powers will allow the UK to “identify, disrupt and smash people smuggling gangs” faster.
Former police chief Martin Hewitt, who took up the role of border security commander just three months ago, will be able to call meetings with other law enforcement agencies to order more action on Channel crossings.
Immigration officers and police will also be able to seize phones, laptops and other electronic devices before they arrest anyone if they are suspected of “containing information about organised immigration crime”.
Home Office sources warn Border Force officers often face “floating crime scenes”, with traumatised migrants unable to speak about the horrors of the fatal crossings.
