Grinning Channel migrants pose for SELFIES on packed dinghy as total tops 170,000 since start of crisis - and expert warns French powers to stop boats will make no difference to illegal arrivals
By DAVID BARRETT HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
Channel migrants brazenly posed for a selfie aboard an overcrowded dinghy this morning as they headed for Britain.
One man seated on the bow of the inflatable held a mobile phone aloft as other occupants waved.
The group - though to number at least 60 - had previously been photographed wading into the sea at Gravelines beach, northern France, to board the dinghy.
It came as the Home Office confirmed there were 585 arrivals yesterday - bringing the total so far this year past the 19,000 mark.
It also means the total number of small boat migrants to have reached Britain has now topped 170,000.
There have been 170,241 since 2018 when the crisis began.
A migrant holds a mobile phone aloft for a selfie from the bow of a dinghy bound for Britain early this morning
The migrants, mainly young men, were seen boarding the inflatable off Gravelines beach in northern France
Migrants raced to board a smuggler's boat in an attempt to cross the Channel on the beach of Equihen, northern France today
In all, 19,103 migrants have reached the UK so far this year – up 42 per cent on the same period last year – after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scrapped the Conservatives’ Rwanda asylum deal as one of his first acts in power.
The totals do not include an unconfirmed number – thought to be several hundred - who arrived today.
Yesterday's arrivals also took the total to have come since Labour took office to 42,345 – 34 per cent higher than the same period in 2023-24 when the Tories were in power.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government has finally agreed to change its rules so gendarmes and other officials can intercept dinghies already in the Channel, and prevent them heading for Britain.
Migrants run along the beach at Gravelines, France, just after dawn today
In all, 19,103 migrants have reached the UK so far this year – up 42 per cent on the same period last year
A migrant dinghy is seen heading for Britain, with a roll-on, roll-off ferry in the distance
Migrants boarded the boat off the shore in a bid to evade French police
Migrants seen heading for the dinghy early this morning at Gravelines beach, France
But one expert warned the new powers - due to come into force in July - will have a negligible impact on illegal immigration.
Lucy Moreton of the ISU trade union, which represents Border Force staff, said migrants may simply switch to other modes of transport such as yachts and concealing themselves in the back of HGVs.
Ms Moreton said: ‘I don’t think stopping the boats in the water will have any meaningful impact on the number of people entering the UK illegally.
‘We have been working on the border for 10 years monitoring migration and the one thing we’ve learned in that time is when one route closes, another opens.
‘Typically, when one route gets more policed and becomes more difficult, people will find another, often more dangerous, method.
‘We saw it with the crackdown on lorries - that’s when small boats started, and we’ll see more methods emerge now the small boats route is becoming more dangerous.’
She added: ‘There is a risk of death with all of these things, and it does not stop people, so it follows that making small boat journeys harder will not stop people.
‘In many ways I feel sorry for the French police. The photos of them standing by and doing nothing look terrible, but the reason they don’t act is because they are not allowed.
‘And now they are allowed to act, I frankly don’t think it will make much of a difference to migrant numbers.
‘It’s likely lorries will begin gaining in popularity as a method again.
‘Smugglers will also start using yachts more and more to get people to the UK covertly.
‘The one thing our organisation is certain of is that this will simply move the problem along, rather than solve it.’
People traffickers have begun using ‘taxi boats’ which cruise along the French beaches, collecting waiting groups of migrants, in a bid to evade police.
This tactic could finally be addressed once French officials are allowed to stop boats in the water – which is likely to come into force in the next few weeks.
The new ‘maritime doctrine’ will allow French police to block small boat departures within 300 metres of the shoreline.
However, French police unions are understood to have concerns their members may be required to enter the water wearing ‘Kevlar’ body armour, which can weigh up to 6lbs and would put them at risk of drowning.
The Mail reported earlier this month how sources said French officers had also raised concerns about being unable to carry firearms if they are required to go into the sea, because salt water would damage the weapons.
French police colonel Olivier Alary told the BBC earlier this month his teams ‘will be able to do more’ once the 300-metre rule comes into force.
Illegal migration will be one of the key topics addressed by the PM with Mr Macron next week during his State visit to the UK.
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