Over 300 migrants were brought into Dover today as the calm weather has allowed the Channel crossings to resume.
The number rescued or intercepted by UK authorities has exceeded more than 3,000 so far this year, averaging over 1,000 per month.
Three migrants were rescued by the RNLI from a rubber dinghy as groups of men and women were picked up by Border Force and taken to Dover Marina, Kent. The three young men ditched the engine of a small dingy vessel to be helped from the Channel.
Another group of 20 young men arrived around 12pm after being rescued by Border Force. 30 more migrants including women then arrived before a further 50 people were intercepted, all before around 1pm.
A discussion of amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill, which will give Border Force more powers to stop and redirect vessels suspected of carrying irregular arrivals, is scheduled to be debated today.
Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, Tom Pursglove MP, said ‘The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough’.
Migrants continue to come to the UK as they know, that even if refused leave to stay, they can disappear and work in the black-economy. Unless the Border Force do a stop check, which is extremely rare, there is only a small chance they will be found. It is impossible to do so in France or other European countries, which is why the UK is so attractive.
Until the Government employ people to perform proper searches to root out illegal immigrants, especially in London, they will continue to come to the UK.
