More migrants have been picked up in Dover this morning after being rescued from the Channel.
On Saturday, 337 people reached the UK in 10 small boats, bringing the total number of people brought to the UK so far this year to 18,108.
Last night, MPs called on ministers to redouble their efforts to deport migrants to Rwanda following a surge in Albanians using small boats to enter Britain.
Those making the perilous journey are being warned a new Prime Minister will halt all crossings with patrols, while also dropping their charges from £10,000 to £2,000.
Leaked figures have revealed migrants from the Balkan country – a Nato member that wants to join the EU – now make up four in ten arrivals from northern France.
The escalation saw 1,075 Albanians arrive in the UK aboard dinghies and small boats in the six weeks to July 12.
They made up 37.5 per cent of all migrants trafficked to the UK in small boats by gangs during the period – eclipsing all other nationalities including Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis and Syrians.
More migrants have been picked up in Dover this morning after being rescued from the Channel
Last night, MPs called on ministers to redouble their efforts to deport migrants to Rwanda following a surge in Albanians using small boats to enter Britain
A group of up to 87 migrants are brought into Dover marina by Border Force
A member of the military carries a baby ashore as other migrants arrive at Dover Docks after they were rescued in the English Channel overnight
On Saturday, 337 people reached the UK in 10 small boats, bringing the total number of people brought this year to 18,108
Leaked figures reveal 1,075 Albanians arrived in the UK aboard dinghies and small boats in the six weeks to July 12. They made up 37.5 per cent of all trafficked migrants during the period
It comes as more than 18,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, Ministry of Defence figures revealed yesterday.
The milestone was broken just five days after 696 people were rescued by Border Force and brought to shore on Monday, the busiest day for Channel crossings so far this year.
Analysis of the MoD’s provisional figures shows 1,709 people have been brought to the UK so far in August.
The Rwanda scheme was championed by Home Secretary Priti Patel
That is more than half of the 3,053 people rescued in August 2021.
The vast majority were brought to shore in Dover, however many were taken to the Port of Ramsgate due to concerns about congestion around the Dover port caused by freight and holidaymaker traffic.
The busiest week for crossings so far in 2022 was the week to April 19 when 2,076 people made the dangerous journey across the Channel.
However, it is likely crossings will continue this week, with the Met Office confirming that warm weather and calm winds are set to continue in the south east of England.
Tory backbenchers called on the next prime minister to act urgently. Natalie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: ‘It’s clear many Albanians coming to the UK in small boats are not fleeing from war or persecution – they are economic migrants. This is blatant criminality and it underlines the urgency of getting on with Rwanda and similar schemes.’
Elsewhere, the charge for hiding inside a lorry is as high as £22,000, although it carries a much high risk of being caught, The Sun reports.
A source said: ‘Albanians are being told hundred of people will be patrolling the Channel, fences will guard the coast and they will be sent back and lose their money.
‘It’s coming from the gangsters so they can cash in by creating a real influx.
Police officers near the Boeing 767 aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, which failed to take off to Rwanda on June 14
‘When there is a PM, a new lie will be created – whatever it takes to keep this evil trade going.’
Tom Hunt, the Tory MP for Ipswich, said the ‘truly eye-opening’ figures ‘underline why it’s so critical that the Government gets on and introduces the Rwanda scheme’, adding: ‘We need to bring this farce to a close. Legislation to bring the Rwanda scheme to fruition should be top of the ‘in tray’ when Parliament gets back after summer recess.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘No-one should question this government’s determination to break the gangs’ business model.’
A source in Liz Truss’s leadership campaign said: ‘Liz has a plan to expand border force, ensure the European Convention on Human Rights works for Britain, and reform modern slavery laws which are being abused. The need for deterrence is key, which is why we will ensure the migration deal with Rwanda works, and look to strike other deals.’
A spokesman for Rishi Sunak’s campaign said stopping crossings would be a top priority for him, adding: ‘It is wholly unacceptable that migrants from peaceful countries, like Albania, are trying to enter the UK illegally.’
The number of Albanians who arrived by small boat in the six-week period, latest official data places the country much further down the league table of arrivals.
Just 271 reached Britain by small boat in the first quarter of this year and 757 in the whole of 2021. However, there were a total of almost 5,000 asylum claims made by Albanians in the year to March, suggesting growing numbers may be switching to small boats from other methods of entering the UK, such as hiding in lorries.
The Home Office did not offer an explanation for the rise in Albanian asylum seekers last night.
Richard Tice, of Reform UK, who obtained the leaked report said: ‘If these people are not genuinely fleeing for their lives, then it is not up to the British taxpayer to support them.’
Clare Moseley, of refugee charity Care4Calais, questioned whether the Albanian surge could be an ‘anomaly’. ‘The evidence clearly shows that for the last few years the majority of people crossing the Channel were genuine refugees,’ she said. ‘If there has been a change, it seems that the success of small boat crossings is affecting the behaviour of smugglers.’
A government spokesman said: ‘The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. The Nationality and Borders Act makes it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and we have introduced life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.’
French police foil migrants looking to sneak across the Channel by puncturing their dinghy with a KNIFE and smashing its outboard motor
ByMax Aitchison For The Daily Mail
This is the dramatic moment French police foiled an attempted Channel crossing by a group of around 45 migrants by puncturing the boat and smashing up its engine.
Just after sunset on Saturday evening in the sleepy holiday resort of Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, migrants wearing red life vests emerged from the sand dunes and made a dash for the water.
Several women and men carried young children in their arms while a large group of mostly young men followed behind, hauling a black dinghy above their heads. But they were intercepted by a police car which raced across the beach, with officers bursting out to puncture the dinghy with a knife as the migrants scattered.
One fell to his knees with his hands covering his face as an officer appeared to use pepper spray. Police then smashed the outboard engine to pieces with a hammer and bemused holidaymakers looked on as the migrants walked dejectedly back to the dunes. No arrests were made.
This is the dramatic moment French police foiled an attempted Channel crossing by a group of around 45 migrants by puncturing the boat and smashing up its engine
Just after sunset on Saturday evening in the sleepy holiday resort of Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, migrants wearing red life vests emerged from the sand dunes and made a dash for the water
The migrants were intercepted by a police car which raced across the beach, with officers bursting out to puncture the dinghy with a knife as the migrants scattered
Despite their elation, it came on a day when 10 small boats carrying 337 migrants successfully launched from the French coast and made it to the UK – with the total number this year alone now surpassing 18,000, according to Ministry of Defence figures.
The grim milestone was broken just five days after 696 people were rescued by Border Force and brought to shore last Monday, the busiest day for Channel crossings so far this year.
It is likely crossings will continue this week, with the Met Office predicting warm weather and calm winds on the south coast.
The location at Gravelines has been used by at least five smuggling gangs in recent months who are seemingly becoming ever-more brazen by attempting dangerous night crossings.
Elia Carpentier, 20, who works in the tourist office on the beachfront, told how she had seen a boat full of migrants leave the beach at 7pm on Friday.
‘I was really surprised because normally they leave when the sun goes down or at dawn,’ she said.
An inflatable craft carrying migrants crosses the shipping lane in the English Channel towards the white cliffs at Dover earlier this month. the total number this year alone now surpasses 18,000, according to Ministry of Defence figures
‘The boat waited for them at the edge of the water. I’m not sure how many got on but there were men, women and children in the group.’
The French police operation was the culmination of a tense, three-hour-long game of cat-and-mouse between officers and the migrants hiding in the scrubland behind the dunes.
From 6.30pm until sunset, a reporter and photographer from the Daily Mail lay in the sand at the water’s edge, taking cover behind a pair of French bird hunters.
From that vantage point, it was possible to observe through binoculars two officers constantly monitoring a group of 18 young male migrants who kept moving through the scrubland.
Miss Carpentier, 20, who lives next to the beach at Gravelines, said it was an open secret where the migrants hid before attempting to cross the Channel.
‘At the far end of the beach there is a campsite and beyond that is a forest,’ she said.
‘They set up camp there for one or two nights before waiting for a boat. They just leave their stuff – I see it when I walk my dog.’
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