Kent is braced for a new influx of migrant Channel crossings from mid-August after going a week without any arrivals.
Yesterday a boat carrying 44 migrants crossed the 21-mile stretch between northern France and the Kent coast — the first crossing recorded by Border Force since the previous Monday.
However, long-term weather, shipping and marine forecasts used by Kent county council, Border Force and the RNLI have shown that the conditions will make for an extended period of “red days” from next week, sources have said.
Red days signal to the authorities when conditions make it easier for small boats to cross the Channel. They do not only coincide with warm weather; people smugglers often take advantage of crisp, cold but calm days in winter months to ferry people across.
In summer months, red days often see crossing numbers in their hundreds.
Advertisement
Sources in Kent said the council was expecting more daily records to be broken in the last two weeks of this month. July 19 saw the highest daily number of crossings on record when 430 people reached the UK. Almost half of them landed on beaches in Kent, which is very rare as Border Force or the RNLI will intercept most boats in the ocean and escort or ferry them to Dover.
However, on days when crossings are high, such as July 19, Border Force does not have the resources to pick up every boat and some reach the coastline. The vast majority of migrants will claim asylum within hours of arriving.
A source said: “Kent is bracing itself for more daily records from mid-August. Long-term forecasts from mid-August shows there will be lots of red days.”
Nearly 9,300 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year — already beating last year’s annual record of 8,420.
Dan O’Mahoney, clandestine channel threat commander, said: “There is an unacceptable rise in dangerous small-boat crossings because of a surge in illegal migration across Europe.
Advertisement
“We have signed a strengthened agreement with our French counterparts to increase police patrols on French beaches and enhance intelligence sharing. This joint work has already prevented over 8,000 attempts by migrants to enter the UK — nearly treble the number for the same period in 2020.
“The government continues to take steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration through the Nationality and Borders Bill, which will protect lives and break this cycle of illegal crossings. The government is also continuing to return those with no legal right to remain in the UK.”
More migrants have been intercepted today as Border Force’s rescue cutter Speedwell brought the first boat in shortly after 8am.
About 25 men, mainly from the Middle East and in their late teens or early 20s, were seen wearing coats and hoodies after making the journey. Some carried their possessions in camouflage rucksacks, while one young man required a walking stick to help him up the gangway.
