16 Tuesday May 24 2022 | the times
News
The number of migrants who have
crossed the Channel this year has
exceeded 9,000, government figures
have revealed.
More than 200 are thought to have
arrived yesterday after 234 in five boats
on Sunday, which took this year’s tally
to 9,075. It is almost triple the number
that had arrived by this time last year.
Last week 685 arrived in five days.
Approximately 70 were brought to shore
on board Border Force catamaran
Typhoon just after 1pm yesterday.
The mostly male group were
wrapped in warm jackets with red
blankets draped over their heads and
shoulders after facing cold conditions
in the Channel.
A second group of at least 30 was
escorted to the harbour by Border
Force at about 3pm. One migrant could
be seen giving a thumbs-up as the
vessel approached British soil.
Although the Ministry of Defence is
yet to release the official figures, it is
thought that between 230 and 240
migrants crossed the 20-mile Dover
Strait yesterday in about six boats.
The soaring number of crossings will
pile pressure on Priti Patel, the home
secretary, to deliver her policy to deport
illegal migrants to Rwanda, where theyChannel migrants total
exceeds 9,000 this year
will be offered the opportunity to claim
asylum. As of Friday there were more
than 50 migrants in detention pending
removal to the country.
Patel was hit with a fresh blow over
the weekend as the UN’s refugees
agency reiterated its opposition to the
policy. The home secretary visited the
UNHCR in Geneva last week with
Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan foreign
minister, as part of efforts to push the
plan’s legality and necessity.
In a post on Twitter the UNHCR
wrote: “Financial support abroad for
certain refugee crises cannot replace
the responsibility of states and the
obligation to receive asylum seekers
and protect refugees on their own
territory — irrespective of race,
nationality and mode of arrival.”
Campaigners who have lodged legal
challenges against the Rwanda policy
said they had received notice that
flights would not take place until at
least June 6.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, of Amnesty
International UK, reiterated calls for
the Rwanda policy to be scrapped,
adding: “Once again these figures show
that people seeking asylum will con-
tinue to make these perilous journeys
— whether by boat or other means — if
the government doesn’t provide safe
alternatives for them.”Matt DathanTwo Iraqi migrants are in critical con-
ditions in hospital after a shootout
between rival people-smuggling gangs
at a camp in Dunkirk.
Migrants and charity workers at the
Grande Synthe camp said fighting
broke out during the weekend in a dis-
pute over territory used by the gangs to
launch small boats.
The camp, the largest in northern
France, is controlled by Kurdish gangs.
Migrants stay there until allocated
space in a boat to cross the Channel.
A migrant, whom The Times met dur-
ing a visit last month, said he saw one
Arms deal These late 17th-century Italian flintlock pistols are expected to fetch at
least £50,000 at Bonhams’ antique arms and armour sale in London tomorrowIraqis shot in smuggler dispute at Dunkirk camp
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor man with a pistol and another with a
rifle during the fighting on Sunday.
Several 9mm and 5.6mm shell casings
were found at the scene. Gunshots were
also heard on Friday.
The Dunkirk public prosecutor’s
office has opened an investigation,
although there is likely to be a lack of
witnesses willing to give evidence. The
fluid population may raise further
difficulties. The victims are too unwell
to be interviewed.
Charities and volunteers who usually
visit the camp daily have stayed away
since Friday owing to safety concerns.
The witness said: “I saw men with
guns, one a pistol, another with a rifle. It
was many, many shots fired. Previously
we’ve had fights but it was very small.
This time there were a lot of gunshots.
The volunteers ran away.”
One volunteer who was at the camp
at the time, distributing hot meals, said
that she “heard gunshots”, which
resembled “bursts of Kalashnikovs”.
“Everyone got down on the ground,”
the volunteer, from the Adra associa-
tion, told Le Parisien.
Utopia 56, an association that mana-
ges volunteer workers, said “at least
three people” had been taken to hospi-
tal. Police, ambulances and firefighters
were called to the scene and a helicop-
ter was deployed.The number of people living at
Grande Synthe, which backs on to a
busy railway line, is estimated to be 500
but this changes depending on how
many manage to cross to England.
Increasing numbers of small boats
have been rescued by the French
authorities over the past month. Last
week 69 people were rescued and
returned to the French coast.
UK Border Force officials who have
worked undercover in northern France
told The Times this month that
migrants were often forced into the
boats at gun or knife-point if they
expressed concern about the vessels’
safety, the weather or conditions at sea.Richard Lederle, from the crime and
financial investigations unit in the
Home Office, said: “It often isn’t an
option of choosing to get into the boats.
It will affect their profit margins and
business models as gangs are
competing with each other.”
Christopher Tilley, chief of staff at
the unit dealing with Channel cross-
ings, said: “A lot of their business relies
on word of mouth — they don’t want
people saying, ‘Don’t go with that gang
because it’s unsafe’ so they force them
to board even when the boats are
unsafe. They are pushing people across
to maximise the profits. It’s ruthless and
cut-throat.”ELLIOTT FRANKS