More migrants have crossed the Channel illegally this year than the whole of 2019, as a record 166 arrive on nine boats

Migrant boat - Steve Finn
Migrant boat - Steve Finn

More people have crossed the Channel illegally and reached Britain in the first half of this year than in the whole of 2019, as a record 166 migrants were picked up in one day.

Young children, teenagers and women were seen being processed by immigration officials at Dover after Border Force, the Coast Guard, the RNLI and the French Navy dealt with a flotilla of around nine vessels on Wednesday morning.

One boat used by smugglers to ferry people across the busy shipping lane was thought to be 30ft long and carrying as many as 60 people. Home Office sources said that the vessel was first spotted just off the French coastline, but was shepherded by their Navy all the way to English waters.

“British officials are raising this as a matter of urgency with the French government. The Home Secretary is not impressed,” said the source.

So far this year, 1,929 migrants have reached the UK in this way, compared to 1,890 for the whole of 2019.

This 30ft boat is understood to have brought 60 people across the Channel on Wednesday - Steve Finn
This 30ft boat is understood to have brought 60 people across the Channel on Wednesday - Steve Finn

The sharp rise in numbers comes as diplomats in Brussels warned that European Union governments will refuse to negotiate an agreement to take back illegal migrants crossing the Channel to Britain if the UK does not back down in the Brexit trade talks.

Currently, Britain is locked into the Dublin agreement, which makes the EU country where any migrant first applies for asylum responsible for processing the claim, but next year it will not be bound to the same rules and will have to renegotiate terms.

British negotiators have put two replacement agreements on the table. One would allow the swift return of illegal migrants who have arrived in the UK from the EU. The other allows unaccompanied migrant children to be reunited with families in either the UK or EU.

EU diplomats warned that Brussels was under no obligation to negotiate the agreements because they were not part of Michel Barnier’s mandate or the Political Declaration setting out the goals of the negotiations.

Only 155 migrants who arrived on small boats between January 2019 and early April 2020 were returned to France despite about 2,500 detected arrivals. That represents six per cent of the total.

A migrant boat is watched by a border force vessel and the French Navy - Steve Finn
A migrant boat is watched by a border force vessel and the French Navy - Steve Finn

Historically, the vast majority of migrants in small boats have been adult males from Iran and Iraq, but recently there has been a rise in the number of Africans and children, as more traditional smuggling routes - in lorries and cars - have slowed down because of coronavirus.

Last month, a record 741 people made the dangerous crossing, while 559 did the same in April. Some 1,562 people have arrived since lockdown on March 23. The previous record for the most people crossing in one day was 145 on May 8.

Critics including Nigel Farage have accused the government of not addressing the problem quickly, and warned that the numbers will only grow.

“If the UK does not act there will be an invasion of people this summer, and there are likely to be many casualties,” he told the Telegraph.

“In order to deter people, there is only one thing the government can do. There needs to be a clear message that anyone who comes by this route will not be allowed to stay.”

This week, Australia’s former Prime Minister Tony Abbott wrote in the Telegraph: “As long as “to arrive is to remain”, people smugglers will have a business model and those countries that lack the will to say “no” are at risk of peaceful invasion.

“This is the prospect that faces Britain, if swift action is not taken to stop people coming illegally by boat.”

He faced a similar situation when Prime Minister in 2013, and took a hardline stance against illegal immigration, turning boats around and leaving them with just enough fuel to make it back to Indonesia.