Tag: English Channel

The number of migrants arriving in Britain in small boats crossing the English Channel rose more than sixfold over the past year, according to estimates from the BBC and other news organizations, even as the government moved to step up enforcement. At least 1,892 people arrived by small boats crossing the Channel in 2019, according… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 9

Nearly 1,900 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats last year, prompting warnings from politicians that they would be sent back. But the figures suggest the reality is quite different. On 22 August last year, 94 people – including at least 10 children and one baby – piled into eight small boats on a… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 8

There have been cases where the migrants have reached halfway, often in flimsy dinghies, before calling the British coastguards so they can be rescued and brought to the UK. “If Border force cutters are to continue to be deployed, is it not logical that they should operate in French waters and having made an interception… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 7

British cutters should patrol the Channel in French waters and return all migrants back to France before they get anywhere near Britain, say two former heads of the Home Office’s immigration service. The two former top officials say the current approach where the Border Force cutters bring the migrants back to Britain after they reach… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 6

Thousands of migrants living in desperate conditions on the French coastline while they wait to cross to the UK are at high risk from coronavirus, a charity has said. Why don’t they go home then? Up to 1,000 refugees are living in Calais alone, with many seeking to try the dangerous crossing despite repeated safety… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 5

Sixty-three migrants were brought to Dover after trying to cross the English Channel in four dinghies. Three boats were met by Border Force and a fourth was intercepted by French authorities. A fifth boat, carrying nine people, was rescued and returned to France after being spotted by a cross-Channel ferry in the entrance to the… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 4

Two boats with 29 migrants on board have been intercepted in the English Channel. One boat broke down at about 01:00 BST and the 13 people on board were taken back to France by a Border Force vessel and a French warship. At about 06:30, another boat was intercepted off the Kent coast and 13… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 3

Five small boats carrying around 80 migrants on a desperate journey across the English Channel have been intercepted by the Kent coastguard, as the UK’s coronavirus lockdown entered its second day. A further boat, reportedly in distress and carrying a dozen adults and two children, was also rescued by French authorities at around 4am after… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 2

More than 50 people have been intercepted trying to cross the English Channel. The 49 men and four women were discovered by Border Force officials near Dover in the early hours of Saturday morning. The group – which was made up of Iranian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Syrian and Yemeni nationals – were found travelling on four… Continue reading Migrants from France Part 1