Smuggler boats pick up Channel migrants ‘like taxi service’ while French police stand by, minister fumes
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French authorities criticised as daily migrant arrivals top 1,000
- Defence Secretary John Healey has criticised the French authorities for failing to intervene as small boats carrying migrants left beaches near Calais.
- More than 1,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats on Saturday, with French police reportedly watching as migrants boarded near Calais and Dunkirk.
- Healey described the scenes as "shocking" and stated that Britain has "lost control of its borders" over the last five years.
- Ministers are reportedly pressing the French government to implement an agreement allowing them to intercept the boats, not just prevent departures from the shore.
- A total of 1,194 people made the journey in 18 boats on Saturday, bringing the year's provisional total to 14,811, a 42 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.