Boatload of 13 migrants are intercepted in the Channel just days after Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed to halve illegal crossings
- Boatload of migrants from Iraq and Iran has been intercepted in the Channel
- Men, women and children were picked up by a Border Force on Sunday morning
- Home Secretary Priti Patel pledged to halve illegal crossings by November
A boatload of migrants has been intercepted in the Channel just days after the Home Secretary pledged to halve illegal crossings.
The 13 migrants were found heading toward the UK coast on Saturday morning.
A Border Force cutter picked up the men, women and children, who said they were from Iran, Egypt and Iraq.
French interior minister Christophe Castaner agreed to ramp up patrols along the northern French coast, with beaches under constant surveillance. A British border force boat is pictured above
They will be medically assessed and handed over to immigration officials.
Last Wednesday Home Secretary Priti Patel and her French counterpart said they would halve illegal crossings by November.
French interior minister Christophe Castaner agreed to ramp up patrols along the northern French coast, with beaches under constant surveillance.
Patrol teams were doubled at the end of last month.
The joint project is also deploying new detection equipment so that the French authorities can intercept boats before they even leave the shore.
Under European law, migrants who want to claim asylum must lodge an application in the first safe country they reach.
Suspected illegal immigrants are pictured above coming ashore on Folkestone beach earlier this month. Last Wednesday Home Secretary Priti Patel and her French counterpart said they would halve illegal crossings by November