More than 42,000 migrants have crossed the Channel by small boat so far this year after 400 asylum seekers reached the UK yesterday – when Suella Braverman signed a £63m deal with France to tackle the crisis.
According to official Government figures, 2,225 people have made the journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits in November alone, bringing the total for the year so far up to 42,128 in 1,035 small boats.
Monday saw 400 asylum seekers arrive on the Kent coast in eight boats – an average of 50 people per vessel.
At least 100 people were brought into Dover, Kent, on board Border Force ship Hurricane shortly before 11am.
They could be seen queuing alongside a white Mercedes-Benz coach to be taken for processing at Manston near Ramsgate.
The mostly male group were wearing hooded coats and white blankets after battling cold conditions at sea.
More than 42,000 migrants have crossed the Channel by small boat so far this year after 400 asylum seekers reached the UK yesterday and Suella Braverman signed a £63m deal with France to tackle the crisis
Monday saw 400 asylum seekers arrive on the Kent coast in eight boats – an average of 50 people per vessel
At least 100 people were brought into Dover, Kent, on board Border Force ship Hurricane shortly before 11am
Channel crossings continued throughout the day despite poor visibility and cloud cover of up to 100 per cent.
The French coastguard prevented further asylum seekers from reaching the UK after it noticed a boat in difficulty in the Calais Straits.
The customs patrol boat ‘Jacques Oudart Fourmentin’ was tasked with rescuing 10 stranded people, who were recovered from the water and taken to the Port of Calais.
Once on shore they were taken care of by the departmental fire and rescue service and the border police.
The total number of migrants who have reached the UK this year has already dwarfed 2021’s total of 28,526 and the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.
The latest arrivals came as the Home Secretary travelled to Paris yesterday to sign a new agreement with French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to try and stop migrants from crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies and other small craft.
They could be seen queuing alongside a white Mercedes-Benz coach to be taken for processing at Manston near Ramsgate
According to official Government figures, 2,225 people have made the journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits in November alone, bringing the provisional total for the year so far up to 42,128 in 1,035 small boats.
The latest arrivals came as the Home Secretary travelled to Paris yesterday to sign a new agreement with French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to try and stop migrants from crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies and other small craft
The expanded deal will see the number of officers patrolling the French coast rise from 200 to 300, while British police will work closer with their French counterparts to observe patrols.
It comes at a cost of £8million to the UK, as the amount paid to France to cover the cost of patrols increases from £55m to £63m.
Braverman yesterday warned there would be no quick fix to solve the Channel migrant crisis.
The Home Secretary said there was no ‘silver bullet’ in the new £63m agreement, which will see UK staff in French control rooms for the first time.
Writing for MailOnline’s sister site Mail+ she said that the flow of people from the continent, which has reached a record 40,000 this year, is ‘not a problem that can be solved overnight’.
It came as Rishi Sunak came under fire from his own MPs after refusing to guarantee small boat numbers will come down despite the new payments.
The PM dodged any firm promises as he hailed ‘progress’, with Ms Braverman sealing a pact that will see a 40 per cent boost in the number of patrols on beaches.
‘People smuggling gangs are increasingly sophisticated organised crime groups,’ Ms Braverman wrote.
‘The UK is an undeniably attractive destination. But we must distinguish between legitimate immigration and illegal entry.
‘Every sovereign country has the right to defend its borders and to choose who enters.
‘Contrary to arguments from some quarters, the UK does not have inexhaustible resources, nor an ability to offer an open-ended invitation to illegal immigrants.’
Further measures signed off in Paris include an investment in CCTV and dog detection teams to keep tabs on ports and plans to equip officers with drones and night vision capabilities.
Meanwhile, Britain and France have agreed to step up co-operation on the issue with European partners, with a meeting of the ‘Calais Group’ of neighbouring countries to be scheduled as soon as possible.
The expanded deal will see the number of officers patrolling the French coast rise from 200 to 300, while British police will work closer with their French counterparts to observe patrols
Ms Braverman conceded that the deal will not ‘fix the problem’, but insisted it is a ‘big step forward’.
However, despite the extra cash there will not be joint patrols between French and UK officers after Paris apparently vetoed the idea. And no targets are being set for reducing the flows across the border.
Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, described the revised deal as ‘falling short’ of what’s needed.
She insisted it does not match the urgency of the migrant crisis and the increased risk to asylum seekers crossing the Channel as the weather deteriorates.
Ms Elphicke urged the Government to consider implementing joint border patrols and a security zone across the breadth of the Channel.
She said on Monday: ‘The deal announced with France today falls short of what’s needed. It doesn’t match the scale or urgency of the small boats crisis, or the increased risk of loss of life as Winter approaches.
‘What’s needed is a step-change in approach with joint border patrols and a Channel-wide joint security zone.
‘It’s only when migrants and people smugglers alike know that they can’t succeed in crossing the Channel in a small boat that this crisis will come to an end.’
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