British and French border force boats stop ’40 illegal migrants’ in Channel dash to reach UK in early hours of this morning
- At least 40 suspected migrants have been brought ashore by British patrol boats
- The incident is understood to involve at least three small boats off the Kent coast
- The Home Office confirmed it is still dealing with the ongoing Dover incident
- Around 1,700 migrants are thought to have made the Channel crossing this year
At least 40 suspected migrants were brought ashore in Dover in the early hours of the morning following a Channel crossing.
The suspected migrants are thought to have attempted the crossing in treacherous weather conditions before they were intercepted by British and French patrol boats off the Kent coast.
The incident, understood to involve three small boats, brings the total number of migrants to have successfully made it to British shores this year to around 1,700.
The suspected migrants are thought to have attempted the Channel crossing in treacherous weather conditions before they were intercepted by British and French patrol boats off the Kent coast. The British patrol boat is pictured above
Images from the early hours of the morning shows a British patrol boat in Dover towing a small boat to shore, which was suspected to be carrying more than two dozen migrants to the UK
The Home Office told MailOnline that it is aware of ongoing ‘small boat’ incidents near the coast of Kent.
A spokesperson said: ‘Border Force is currently dealing with ongoing small boat incidents off the Kent coast. Further details will be provided once the situation has been resolved.’
The interception comes two weeks after nearly eighty migrants crossed the English Channel to Britain as authorities intercepted five boats.
Border Force boats, a coastguard aircraft and RNLI lifeboats were dispatched to the Dover Strait on December 4, as a number of small boats were seen floundering in the water.
Three of the boats had 20 people in each of them, another had 11 and another had eight.
Those inside had told officials they are from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.
Images from the early hours of the morning shows a suspected migrant wrapped in a blanket for warmth being escorted onto British shores after French and British patrol boats intercepted the crossing
Images from the early hours of the morning shows a Border Patrol official helping with the interception of a suspected 40 migrants. The Home Office confirmed it is aware of ongoing ‘small boat’ incidents near the coast of Kent
In November, at least 129 migrants made it into the UK by making the life-risking trip across the Dover Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Border Force officials intercepted four boats in one day carrying 39 Iranian migrants who were attempting to make it to the UK.
The migrant crisis erupted last year, with hundreds arriving in November and December 2018.
December 4: Migrants are given blankets as they arrive ashore in Dover earlier this month
December 4: An RNLI lifeboat seen towing a small dinghy into Dover docks earlier in the month
December 4: Migrant wrapped in a blanket after arriving ashore in Dover earlier this month
The above video, from December 4, shows Border Patrol officials shifting a dinghy ashore.
It prompted then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid to declare a ‘major incident’, calling in extra Border Force cutters and the Government spending millions of pounds to tackle the issue.
But the problem has worsened throughout 2019, and in August, Boris Johnson warned that the UK will send back migrants who sail across the Channel illegally.
The prime minister said: ‘The UK should not be regarded as a place where you could automatically come and break the law by seeking to arrive illegally.’
In October, Home Secretary Priti Patel revealed she had agreed an ‘action plan’ with France.
She said patrols across the French coast had been doubled to stop people smugglers, and the Home Office had already funded drones to scour France’s beaches – but the crossings have continued.