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A series of extraordinary images has revealed French border guards escorting a ship full of 16 migrants to British waters and ‘dumping’ them there.
The incident was witnessed yesterday morning from a fishing boat about 12 miles from Folkestone, near the Franco-British maritime border.
The images capture the moment when a French rigid inflatable boat or RIB, carrying two border guards, was dispatched from a larger naval vessel to control the migrants.
But instead of preventing them from entering British waters, they allowed the illegal crossing to continue.
Most of the 16 on board the small inflatable were understood to be Afghan nationals, including two children and two women.
A passenger on the fishing boat said they called the UK Border Force shortly after 7.45am because it looked like the overloaded boat was about to sink. The migrants were using cut plastic bottles to rescue him.
Migrants packed into a small boat were forced to draw water after the raft began to sink while trying to cross the Canal.
The Border Force cutter Hunter then collected them before bringing them back to Dover.
A witness on the fishing boat said: ‘We thought the French guards in the inflatable were going to take them back, but they continued to escort them down the northeast channel of the Channel and into British waters. They practically left them there.
‘We called the Border Force because it looked like they were going to sink. It was very very hectic and windy.
Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who sits on the parliamentary home affairs committee, said: “This is further proof that the French are happy to provide an escort service to people trying to enter Britain illegally instead of flip them over. “
He said more evidence that the French are not doing enough to ensure that migrants make asylum claims in France, rather than making dangerous Channel crossings, comes from witnesses working with migrants in France and surrendered yesterday. to the select committee.
The boat was carrying more than a dozen migrants trying to reach the UK despite strong winds at sea.
The boat, carrying men, women and children, was intercepted by Border Force officers off the Kent coast.
A second ship is believed to have landed on Kingsdown Beach near Deal in Kent.
He added: “It is clear that the first priority of the French is to make their problem our problem.”
Natalie Elphicke, a Dover MP, told the Mail: ‘Safety at sea starts with stopping the small boats leaving the French shores in the first place. They must be turned around as soon as possible, closer to land.
France’s border forces stop some ships, but it is often only a small proportion compared to the number that manage to cross.
For example, on Tuesday 151 immigrants reached British shores in 11 ships, compared with 36 in three ships stopped and sent back by the French.
They were seen using plastic bottles to desperately dispose of the water that was flooding the boat.
So far in September, 1,464 migrants have arrived, including a one-day record of 416 on 28 ships on September 2.
So far in September, 1,464 migrants have arrived, including a single-day record of 416 on 28 ships on September 2.
It was understood that the UK Border Force was dealing with three other ships that arrived last night. It means that the total that has successfully made the crossing to the British coast this year has exceeded 6,500. Another 168 made it across Monday.
Interior Minister Priti Patel has called on the French authorities to return more boats.
But French officials are demanding that the UK pay £ 30 million to help fund patrols on the beaches of northern France.
In July, Ms Patel met with her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, and they agreed to establish a new Franco-British unit in Calais aimed at curbing the crossings.
Wearing a face mask, padded jacket and Adidas tracksuit, a migrant father was photographed walking with his wife and two children along the coastal path at Kingsdown Beach in Deal yesterday.
Interior Ministry officials are said to be considering plans to curb human rights laws to make it easier to stop illegal boat arrivals.
Charities have warned that trying to make the crosses “unworkable”, which Ms. Patel has promised to do, could lead to more deaths. Maddy Allen of the Help Refugees charity told the home affairs committee that this could lead to immigrants spreading further along the French coast before crossing.
She said: ‘That will directly result in an increase in deaths in the water because you are crossing a larger body of water.
Around 400 people, including families, believed to have crossed the English Channel in small boats, will be housed in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, starting next week.
Ms Allen said she expected the crossings to stop as it was an ‘incredibly dangerous journey’, adding: ‘As the Home Office and their French counterparts strive to make this route unfeasible, blocking access to the beaches, increasing securitization, making investments, I think There are probably a number of options that could work.
‘People will start making these crosses from further afield, we are already seeing it.
And it will spread further up and down the coast. And that will directly result in an increase in deaths in the water because you are crossing a larger body of water to make that trip. ‘
Beth Gardiner-Smith, CEO of Safe Passage UK, said: ‘I hope they can (make the route unviable). We don’t want to see people crossing by boat.
‘I’m not sure it’s realistic without serious investment in more support on the ground in northern France, more support for people to get into the system and more safe and legal options for people to come to the UK under circumstances limited.
“So no, I don’t think it’s realistic at this point.”
Charities told the committee that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have triggered the recent surge in crossings and also warned that migrant children in northern France who have relatives in the UK are being pushed into the hands of gangs. traffickers amid delays in processing requests to join their families.
The hearing came about when it emerged that the migrants from the English Channel will be housed in military barracks while their asylum applications are processed.
Around 400 people, including families, will be temporarily housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, starting next week.
The Home Office is also considering a barracks in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the Palestinian Authority news agency understands.
