The first Channel migrants of 2024 have arrived in Dover, after they were picked up by a Border Force vessel early this morning, GB News can exclusively reveal.
The Border Force catamaran Defender arrived at Dover harbour around 7am.
GB News Kent producer counted around 50 migrants, who were taken off the Defender and transferred to the Border Force processing centre in Dover.
This is not only the first Channel migrant arrivals of 2024, but the first small boat intercepted since 16 December, the longest period without migrant arrivals, for almost four years.
GB News can reveal that a second small migrant boat is also attempting to cross and is being escorted by a French border vessel out in the Channel.
That boat has not yet made it to UK The waters.
Weather conditions in the English Channel have been bad for weeks, with winds making the journey impassable for the relatively flimsy small migrant inflatables.
However, overnight, winds dropped to under 10 knots, making weather conditions calm enough for people smugglers to attempt the illegal crossing.
A Border Force catamaran Defender arrived at Dover harbour around 7am
GB NEWS
The migrants were transferred to the Border Force processing centre in Dover
GB NEWS
UK authorities were alerted in the early hours today, after the French patrol vessel Armois reported that it was escorting a migrant boat.
The French spotted the boat around 3.30am, off the coast near the French coast at Wissant.
The small boat crossed into UK waters just before 6am and was picked up by the Defender near the Varne light ship.
The migrants, who have now arrived in Dover, are being medically assessed and are undergoing other checks at the main Border Force processing centre inside Dover harbour.
Home Office figures show that the last migrant boat to make it to the UK arrived 27 days ago, when a boat carrying 55 people made it across.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the small boats one of the government’s key priorities.
Official figures reveal that 29,437 migrants crossed the Channel in 2023, a drop of almost 36 per cent on the almost 46,000 thousand who crossed the year before.
However, official assessments by the Border Force Union, the Immigration Services Union (ISU) suggest the numbers arriving could increase again this year.
The union estimates around 35,000 migrants could cross the Channel in 2024, with a worse case prediction of 50,000 arrivals, depending on weather conditions.
