Another 50 migrants arrive in Dover as number crossing English Channel in small boats this year nears 2,000
- Border Force officials brought 50 migrants into Dover docks this morning
- The number to have crossed the Channel this year stands at nearly 2,000
- Officials predict the number could double this year compared to 2021
Border Force officials escorted 50 people into Dover this morning – as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats this year approaches 2,000.
More migrants made the treacherous journey across the Channel in the early hours of yesterday, despite below freezing temperatures and foggy conditions at sea.
The first group was intercepted by Border Force vessel Typhoon, which brought them into the port around 9am.
A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil.
By comparison, some 1,339 made the journey in the first month of 2022.
Border Force officials escorted 50 people into Dover this morning – as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats this year approaches 2,000
Some 45,756 migrants are reported to have crossed the Channel last year and nearly 2,000 have crossed this year already
A record 45,728 people arrived in the UK in 1,104 boats last year – dwarfing 2021’s total of 28,526.
Officials have predicted the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats could double this year – potentially reaching 80,000 in 2023.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.
‘Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our new Small Boats Operational Command – bolstered by hundreds of extra staff – is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.
‘We are also going further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and swiftly removed to another country.’
Yesterday, Merseyside Police arrested 15 people including one child after fireworks were thrown and a police car set on fire at an anti-immigration demonstration outside a hotel housing asylum seekers near Liverpool.
Merseyside Police said that ’15 people have so far been arrested following violent disorder’ in the Knowsley area in northwestern England, after initially reporting three arrests.
A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil
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Police said ‘missiles including lit fireworks were thrown at officers and one of our police vans was attacked by offenders, using hammers before setting it on fire’ during clashes outside The Suites Hotel.
One officer and two members of the public received slight injuries, police said.
The protest came amid heightened tensions as record numbers of migrants are crossing the Channel in small boats, prompting the Conservative government to come up with a controversial plan to send such asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Interior minister Suella Braverman condemned the ‘appalling disorder’ in a tweet, adding that the ‘alleged behaviour of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation’.
Police said those arrested ranged in age from 13 to 54 years, and included two women. They said they were examining footage to identify others.
The riot outside a migrant hotel last night was sparked by fury over an online video. A 15-year-old girl, wearing a school uniform, for her number
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Asylum seeker advocacy groups said the protesters were affiliated to far-right groups, while it was unclear who was behind the violence.
Police said that a group of troublemakers invaded a planned protest by another group in order to ‘carry out violent and despicable behaviour’.
The Home Office has been using the hotel to temporarily house asylum seekers since last year, according to local media.
The violence broke out as anti-immigration protesters crashed a demonstration outside the hotel by activists voicing solidarity with asylum seekers.
The anti-migrant protesters shouted slogans such as ‘Get them out,’ said the Merseyside Pensioners Association, whose activists were holding placards saying ‘Refugees welcome’.
Claire Mosely, founder of refugee charity Care4Calais, who was also at the scene, told Sky News that protesters ‘got to the police van and they set it on fire and it actually broke into a really big fire and exploded.’
A police van was destroyed during the riot outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, February 10 2023
A police van was set alight in Merseyside after protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers turned violent, February 10. 2023
Police detained 15 people following the violent scenes outside the hotel
‘Then they broke through again and they started fighting with the police,’ Mosely said. ‘I was really shocked… how quickly it got worse.’
The protest was fuelled by ‘rumours and misinformation’ in social media following an incident last week, police said.
A man in his 20s was arrested and released with no action after reports ‘inappropriate advances’ were made to a 15-year-old girl in the Knowsley area, police added.
They said the investigation was ongoing and asked for witnesses to come forward.
‘Violence is not the way to resolve this and we know that those involved in the violent activity last night used this as an excuse to commit violence and intimidate members of the public,’ police said.
Hope Not Hate, a group which campaigns against racism, said the protest took place ‘in a context of swelling anti-migrant hatred’.
White nationalist group Patriotic Alternative denied it was the organiser, after holding a protest outside the hotel last week and leafleting locally.
One of its campaigners posted a video showing he was at the scene on Friday, however.
‘Far-right groups like Britain First (BF) and Patriotic Alternative (PA) had made visits to the hotel in recent weeks, although the protest appears to have been largely locally-driven, rather than organised by far-right groups outside the area,’ Hope not Hate said.
Chantelle Lunt, chair of the Merseyside Alliance for Racial Equality, tweeted that the protest took place in one of the ‘poorest areas in the UK’ where far-right activist Tommy Robinson campaigned in 2019.
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