Another 75 migrants streamed into Dover today as people smugglers urge hundreds to make the Channel crossing now before Brexit ‘closes the door’.
Pictures show men wearing masks and lifejackets being brought into the Kent port of Dover on a Border Force speedboat.
The Coastguard said it was dealing with ‘multiple incidents’, though an official figure is not yet known.
So far this year, 3,510 migrants have made the illegal crossing from France, compared to around 1,850 in 2019.
Border Force officials seen this afternoon after an estimated 75 migrants arrived at the Kent coastline. Footage shows some of the men being towed ashore at the western docks in Dover
A Border Force vessel brings a group of men thought to be migrants and wearing face masks into Dover, Kent, following a number of small boat incidents in the Channel this morning
Video stills of suspected migrants being brought into Dover today by Border Force officials on another busy day for crossings. The Coastguard said it was dealing with ‘multiple incidents’
Border Force sent out vessels Seeker and Hunter from Dover to deal with the small boats crossing the busiest shipping lane in the world.
It is understood one boat was carrying around 50 people including men, women, children and elderly migrants.
The suspected migrants were then seen boarding a coach at the port, supervised by officials in yellow vests.
Numbers of small boats making the perilous journey have spiked in recent weeks during favourable weather.
A search and rescue operation was launched off the coast of Kent today in response to ‘multiple incidents’, the coastguard said.
A spokesperson added: ‘We are committed to safeguarding life around the seas and coastal areas of this country.
‘HM Coastguard is only concerned with preservation of life, rescuing those in trouble and bringing them safely back to shore, where they will be handed over to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities.’
Border Force vessels Seeker and Hunter have also been active in the Channel today.
Border Force officers escort a group of men thought to be migrants and wearing face masks onto a waiting bus after they were brought into Dover, Kent, earlier this morning
A Border Force vessel brings a group of men thought to be migrants into Dover, Kent, following a number of small boat incidents in The Channel today
A video still of suspected migrants being brought into Dover by Border Force officials today. It is understood one boat was carrying around 50 people
A video still of suspected migrants being brought into Dover today. So far this year, 3,510 refugees have made the illegal crossing from France, compared to around 1,850 in 2019
Footage aired on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday showed a packed boat headed towards the UK.
At one point, one of the migrants aboard was seen bailing out water as the small inflatable boat made its way across the Channel.
On Sunday a former Border Force chief said that a failure by the UK to reach a new agreement with France on how to deal with migrant crossings could lead to numbers reaching ‘crisis’ levels.
Tony Smith said the UK and France need to agree a treaty with a joint patrol whereby migrants picked up in the Channel can be returned to France to have asylum claims considered there.
A Coastguard spokesman said: ‘HM Coastguard is today coordinating search and rescue responses to multiple incidents off Kent, working with Border Force and other partners.’
A group of people thought to be migrants being brought into Dover today by Border Force officials. Numbers of small boats making the journey have spiked in recent weeks
One of the small dinghies, pictured. Border Force vessels Seeker and Hunter have also been active in the Channel today
The Home Office said: ‘Border Force is currently dealing with ongoing small boat incidents off the Kent coast. Further details will be provided after the initial response and once the situation has been resolved.’
The latest life-risking Channel crossings – the second of this month – follow a record-breaking 1,075 refugees who made it to Kent in July.
And they come after a migrant was airlifted to hospital with hypothermia on Sunday after reaching Britain on a small boat.
The Sudanese man was picked up off Ramsgate, Kent, at 10.30am after making the perilous 21-mile journey across the Channel with two others.
He was flown to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford by the Coastguard’s search and rescue helicopter – which plucked him from a lifeboat in the sea.
Last Thursday, a single-day record of 202 people in 20 boats landed.
It follows the general secretary of the Immigration Service Union, Lucy Moreton, saying earlier this year that people smugglers and traffickers are using Brexit as a ‘driver’ to encourage people to make the crossing.
Border Force officials pictured at the port of Dover in Kent earlier today. It comes after a migrant was airlifted to hospital on Sunday after reaching the UK on a small boat
Border Force officers escort a group of men thought to be migrants onto a waiting bus after they were brought into Dover, Kent, earlier this morning
The suspected migrants were seen boarding a coach at the port, pictured above, supervised by Border Force officials in yellow vests
One of the small boats, pictured. The latest life-risking Channel crossings – the second of this month – follow a record-breaking 1,075 refugees who made it to Kent in July
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme in January: ‘One of the drivers, we’re being told, is that people smugglers and traffickers are telling these folk that after Brexit Britain will close in some way.
‘In practice, of course, this is illegal anyway, and it will be as illegal on 31 January as it is on 1 February. Brexit doesn’t make a difference, but we do know that the criminals are using this to try to drive more business.’
Chris Philp, the Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts, said: ‘We are seeing an unacceptable number of illegal small boat crossings. Migrants continue to flock to Calais to make these illegal crossings.
‘The French Government must urgently review its handling of this situation and take tougher action, including stronger enforcement measures and adopting interceptions at sea and the direct return of boats.
‘We are pressing the French authorities to adopt these measures. Our Government continues to go after the criminals who facilitate these crossings and we are returning illegal migrants who have come to the UK in this way.’