Boris Johnson warned today that migrants would be sent back if they crossed the English Channel to the UK.
The Prime Minister’s comments came after a surge in attempts – with nearly 100 people taking to small boats to try to make the crossing from France to the UK in one day.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is to seek talks with her French counterpart, the Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, to address the crisis.
But the Prime Minister’s comments have been branded ‘inflammatory’ and ‘misleading’ by campaigners.
Mr Johnson told reporters: ‘Clearly the most important thing is to stop them coming across from France, so we are working very closely with the French authorities.
‘The point I would just make to people thinking of making this journey – one, it is very hazardous, you may think the weather looks great but it’s a very, very dangerous thing to do.
‘The second thing is – we will send you back. The UK should not be regarded as a place where you could automatically come and break the law by seeking to arrive illegally.
‘If you come illegally, you are an illegal migrant and I’m afraid the law will treat you as such.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured today on a visit to a hospital) warned migrants they would be sent back if they crossed the Channel illegally
The UK has a legal obligation under what is known as the Dublin Regulation to ensure asylum applications lodged are examined and considered.
Campaigners said it was important applications were not ‘pre-judged’.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said: ‘The UK is perfectly capable of providing safety and a well-functioning, dignified welcome for desperate people trapped in limbo across Europe.
‘Those who are forced to take dangerous means of reaching our shores have a legal right to have their voice heard and we should be creating safe and legal routes for vulnerable people to come.
‘Johnson’s comment is misleading, designed to inflame tension and, if put in practice, would violate international law.’
Annette Elder, a partner at human rights law firm Elder Rahimi and a member of the Law Society’s immigration committee, told the PA news agency: ‘Clearly it’s not possible to say that everyone who crosses the Channel in small boats from France is going to be sent back.
‘The UK is bound by legal obligations.
‘This is another example of the way asylum seekers are criminalised. To talk about people illegally crossing the Channel – it’s inflammatory.
‘It misrepresents the situation. Everyone has a right to seek asylum.’
One way Mr Johnson could seek to tackle the crisis was by resolving problems with legal processes so they worked more effectively, she added.
A group of 11 people, including two women, who say they are from Iran and Niger were picked up in dinghy off the coast of Dover this morning
Dr Lisa Doyle, director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, said: ‘The fact that people are attempting to cross one of the world’s busiest and most dangerous shipping lanes highlights the sense of desperation that is gripping so many of the people stuck in northern France.
‘It is vital that all governments in Europe work together to ensure that people do not feel forced to take such extreme and desperate risks, rather than threaten those who do.
‘If the UK offered more safe and regular routes by which people can reach safety and be reunited with their loved ones here, they would not be forced to take these risks. This requires action by the Government, such as widening the definition of family members eligible to reunite under refugee family reunion rules.’
Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Christine Jardine branded the comments ‘unlawful and inhumane’, adding: ‘It is just plain wrong for Boris Johnson to label refugees crossing the Channel as ‘illegal migrants’.
‘Quite apart from the dehumanising language, there is nothing illegal about seeking sanctuary in the UK and it is shameful that we have a Prime Minister who says it is.
‘We know that many of these people have fled persecution in Iran. For the Prime Minister to casually dismiss their rights to asylum with no evidence whatsoever is unlawful and inhumane.’
She said the way to stop the crossings was through an ‘an effective and compassionate response’ with safer legal routes to sanctuary and a ‘stronger’ Border Force.
Downing Street refused to comment further and a spokeswoman said ‘we cannot elaborate’ when asked by PA if the Prime Minister was proposing the UK breached its legal responsibility in this matter.
Border Force officials were seen dealing with a group of migrants at the Port of Dover today
The row came after a boat carrying 11 migrants is intercepted off the coast a Dover the morning after a day in which more than 50 others were intercepted trying to reach Britain on small boats.
The group, made up of nine men and two women, arrived crammed in a small boat and have been taken in for quizzing by immigration officials.
They all presented themselves as either Iran or Niger nationals after arriving at 9am.
They were picked up by a Border Force coastal patrol vessel and brought into Dover. All of them were medically assessed and found to be well.
An onlooker said: ‘I saw this tiny little dinghy coming in and I thought that is tiny for a fishing boat.
‘I got out my telescope for bird watching and realised it was clearly migrants coming in about a mile off shore.
‘They suddenly cut the engines and stopped and waited. I saw from one direction a life boat coming and the other side a border force boat.
‘They threw out life jackets and people got onto the Border Force boat.’
Authorities were yesterday warned the situation is descending into a ‘summer of chaos’ as migrants were rescued off the Kent and Sussex seaside towns of Deal, Dover, Rye and Hastings.
Border Force officers intercepted the first boat attempting to cross the Dover Strait yesterday at around 4am and brought it back to Dover.
A second boat, containing 11 migrants, was intercepted at 5am and a third arrived at around 10am. Migrants on those boats were also brought to Dover to be interviewed by Home Office immigration officials.
They were brought ashore and are now being dealt with by border officials
The men were taken to an office in Dover docks before being questioned by border guards
A further 16 migrants – including a child of around three and two women – were brought to shore at Rye Harbour in East Sussex at around 3.30pm.
On Wednesday, two boats carrying 21 male migrants, including one boy, were also intercepted.
More than 1,200 people have attempted the crossing since January this year and at least 845 have made it to the UK.
The dangerous crossings are continuing despite fears a second migrant may have died making the journey. Officials in France have said a male swimmer who tried to cross on Sunday night is ‘probably’ a migrant, according to reports.
If confirmed, it would mean two migrants have now died crossing the strait. A Belgian national who was sailing told officials in France he had seen a ‘man in the water calling for help in English’ with a belt and empty plastic bottles 13 miles off Dunkirk. A source told the France Info news website the man is ‘probably’ a migrant.
Last week, an Iranian woman was feared to be the first to die – she was presumed drowned after a boat carrying 20 migrants ran into poor weather conditions.
Yesterday, more than 50 people were brought in from channel after being found in at least three boats. The local MP says 2019 is turning into ‘a summer of chaos’ in the Channel
Charlie Elphicke, MP for Dover, said yesterday: ‘Day by day there are more arrivals from France by small boats across the Channel.
‘It’s clear it’s rapidly heading to a summer of chaos. Urgent action is needed by the French authorities to stop boats setting off from France before there is another tragedy.’
Retired coastguard Andy Roberts said weather conditions have been perfect for migrants to make the journey.
He added: ‘I’m bemused why this is not being stopped over in France. The gangs have got to be stopped.’ The Home Office was contacted for comment.
MIGRANTS CRISIS: A RUNDOWN OF THE LATEST INCIDENTS
There has been a fresh wave of attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel from France to the UK in small boats, with nearly 100 people involved on Thursday and more incidents taking place on Friday.
The Home Office said officials dealt with 64 people, including at least six children, who tried to reach England in small boats in six separate incidents on Thursday. While French authorities said they found 30 migrants, including 11 children, that same day.
– Thursday:
– At 2.30am, the Border Force was alerted to a small boat travelling across the Channel towards the UK coast. A group of eight men and one woman, who all said they were Iranian nationals, was found and taken to Dover.
– At 5am, a Border Force cutter intercepted another small boat and a group of 11 males was taken to Dover. The group, including two who said they were children, said they were nationals of Iran, Guinea, Kuwait, and the Ivory Coast.
– Two hours later, six men, who said they were Iranian nationals, were spotted on a small boat and taken to Dover.
– At 11.30am, the Border Force was sent out to a boat carrying 11 people, including four who said they were children, who all claimed to be Iranian nationals.
– At the same time, Border Force was called to Winchelsea beach in East Sussex and found 11 migrants.
– Around half an hour later, officials were alerted to another small boat crossing the Channel which was escorted to Dungeness by the Hastings lifeboat. Some 16 people – who said they were Iranian and Vietnamese – were handed over to immigration officials.
– French authorities said they found 30 migrants, including 11 children, attempting to make the crossing. The Home Office said that the 30 people picked up by the French were all taken back to the continent.
– Friday:
– Early in the morning, the French coastguard said 24 migrants, reportedly including seven children and a woman, were also found trying to cross the Channel.
– Shortly after 9am, a Border Force patrol boat intercepted a group of 11 people – nine men and two women who said they were nationals from Iran and Niger. They were taken to Dover and handed over to immigration officials, the Home Office said.
A Home Office spokeswoman said attempting such crossings was a ‘huge risk’ and ‘the criminal gangs who perpetuate this are ruthless and do not care about loss of life’.
She added: ‘We have three Border Force cutters in the Channel and a joint action plan with France in place, including a co-ordination centre in Calais which assists with preventing illegal attempts to cross the border.
‘We continue to monitor the ongoing situation and are working closely at all levels with French authorities on the issue.’
The Home Office said it was an ‘established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach’, with a spokeswoman adding: ‘We will continue to seek to return anyone who has entered the UK illegally.’
Last month, when questioned by the Home Affairs Committee, the then home secretary Sajid Javid said in 2019 up until July 21 there had been 1,150 attempted crossings, with 725 people arriving in the UK and 425 intercepted by France.
Since January the Home Office said it has returned ‘more than 65 people who arrived illegally in small boats’ to Europe.
UK and French authorities were called to at least seven incidents on Thursday involving 94 people – including several children – who were trying to cross the water from France to get to the UK. The wave of attempted crossings continued on Friday.
The crossings came as official figures were published on immigration to the UK from the EU – with data showing the number of people offered asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection by the UK has risen to its highest level since 2003.
