More than 2,600 Channel migrants have arrived in UK in May: Border Force has intercepted 87 boats so far this month – as total making crossing since start of year hits 9,439
- More than 2,500 migrants have landed in the UK by small boat this month so far
- Around 250 men, women and children made the Channel voyage yesterday
- So far today it appears that none have crossed the sea from Europe
More than 2,600 migrants have landed in the UK by small boat this month so far, with 252 men, women and children making the perilous journey across the Channel yesterday.
Official figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reveals that 2,637 have reached British soil in 87 boats so far this month. So far today it appears that none have crossed the Channel.
While bad weather out at sea saw a temporary break in crossings between May 9 and May 14, migrant numbers are on the rise again as the Spring months bring calmer skies and waters.
The first arrivals reached Dover, Kent in the early hours of yesterday at around 1.10am. A second group was intercepted and escorted to shore on a Border Force rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) around 8.30am.
UK officials could be seen helping them off the vessel – with one member of staff carrying a young girl, aged around three or four years old, to safety. At least three more, mostly male, groups could be seen arriving on board Border Force RHIBs over the following hour.
A young child among a group of people thought to be migrants is carried by a member of the military as they are brought in to Dover, Kent. Monday May 23, 2022
According to the MoD, 9,439 people have arrived in the UK in 291 small boats this year. In 2021, 28,526 people crossed the Channel – significantly higher than the 8,410 who arrived in 2020
A group of people thought to be migrants are boarded onto a bus after bring brought in to Dover, Kent. Monday May 23, 2022
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel. Monday May 23, 2022
Migrants are brought ashore by a RNLI lifeboat in Dover, UK on May 23, 2022
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel. Monday May 23, 2022
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel. Monday May 23, 2022
Asylum seekers are abandoning their attempts to stay in the UK because they are afraid they might be sent to Rwanda , The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Up to ten migrants have already asked to be returned home rather than risk having their claims for refugee status assessed in the central African nation.
They had begun the asylum process here but withdrew their applications after the Government announced the controversial new policy last month.
The news is a boost to Home Secretary Priti Patel as it offers the first sign that her plan – aimed at deterring migrants from making the perilous journey across the Channel – is beginning to work. This newspaper can also reveal that almost 100 migrants have now been given notices that they will be transported to Rwanda.
Home Office officials hope the number abandoning their claims will increase rapidly once the first flights to Rwanda begin – possibly as early as next month.
‘It’s a positive start,’ said a Government source. ‘We always said we need to get the flights going before it becomes a deterrent, but this shows the direction we’re heading and why we introduced the policy.’
A further 100 migrants reached the harbour in the afternoon. Approximately 70 people were brought to shore on board Border Force catamaran Typhoon just after 1pm yesterday.
They could be seen wrapped in warm jackets and with red blankets draped over their heads and shoulders after battling cold and wet conditions in the Channel.
A second group of at least 30 people was escorted to the port on board Border Force cutter Vigilant around 3pm. One migrant could be seen giving a thumbs up to onlookers as the vessel approached British soil.
More migrants were brought into land by UK officials on a Border Force rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) around the same time. The group of four men in red life jackets kept their heads lowered and hoods up to shelter from the rainy weather, but one migrant waved to bystanders on their approach to the harbour.
Border Force officials were later seen towing a small white speedboat – which is believed to have been used to cross the Channel by migrants into the harbour at Dover.
According to the MoD, 9,439 people have arrived in the UK in 291 small boats so far this year.
In 2021 a staggering 28,526 people crossed the Channel – significantly higher than the 8,410 who arrived in 2020.
Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration Tom Pursglove 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.
‘Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we’re cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.’
Despite the increased crossings, Channel migrants are said to be abandoning their attempts to stay in the UK because they are afraid they might be sent to Rwanda.
Up to 10 migrants have already asked to be returned home rather than risk having their claims for refugee status assessed in the east African nation, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
They had begun the asylum process here but withdrew their applications after the Government announced the controversial new policy last month.
The news is a boost to Home Secretary Priti Patel as it offers the first sign that her plan – aimed at deterring migrants from making the perilous journey across the Channel – is beginning to work.
Home Office officials hope the number abandoning their claims will increase rapidly once the first flights to Rwanda begin – possibly as early as next month.
Migrants are brought ashore by a RNLI lifeboat in Dover, UK on May 23, 2022
A small group of migrants, including young children, arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in calm weather conditions on May 23, 2022
Migrants are brought ashore by a RNLI lifeboat in Dover, UK on May 23, 2022
Migrants are brought ashore by a RNLI lifeboat in Dover, UK on May 23, 2022
It emerged Saturday that some asylum seekers will be put up at the three-star Rouge by Desir hotel in the Rwandan capital Kigali, which has a swimming pool, tennis court, gym and access to a golf course.
Those notified of the Home Office’s intention to remove them to Rwanda have seven days to submit a legal challenge. It is understood that at least 20 appeals have been lodged, although only two cases have been made public.
Lawyers are expected to fight the removals with the same determination they use to challenge the deportation of foreign criminals.
Dominic Raab this week admitted that the number of migrants deported to Rwanda is likely to only be in the ‘hundreds’ per year, despite Boris Johnson claiming tens of thousands could be sent.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister said he wanted to ‘manage expectations’ about the plan to give people deemed to have arrived in the UK illegally a one-way ticket to the east African nation.
When announced last month, Boris Johnson said tens of thousands of people could be flown there under a five-year deal costing taxpayers £120million.
But asked on Friday on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how many were likely to be sent, Mr Raab said: ‘I would have thought it was more likely to be in the hundreds.’
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