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43 suspected illegal immigrants detained in Kent after English Channel crossing

Children are among those on boats intercepted over two days as the Home Office warns they are risking their lives.

Sunday 7 July 2019 15:05, UK

Patrols have been stepped up on the Kent coast since a major incident was declared by the home secretary. File pic
Image: Patrols have been stepped up on the Kent coast. File pic
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More than 40 suspected illegal immigrants have been detained by border officials in Kent in the space of two days after crossing the English Channel.

Eleven men aboard a small inflatable boat were intercepted while on the water on Saturday and brought to Dover, before another 10 people were found in the nearby village of Kingsdown.

None of their nationalities have been confirmed.

A Border Force vessel arrives at Dover Marina after the incident
Image: Border Force officials were involved in both incidents. File pic

The Home Office said coastal patrol vessel Speedwell and Border Force cutter Seeker were scrambled to deal with the first incident of the day, with the 11 men "transferred to immigration officials for their cases to be dealt with".

In the second incident, Kent Police and Border Force officials were called to Kingsdown and found the group, who all presented themselves as Iranian.

They have been medically assessed and are believed to be well, and have been given to immigration officials.

Tory leadership contender Sajid Javid arriving for the Conservative National Convention
Image: Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned people not to try and cross the Channel

The detentions come after 22 people were transferred to immigration officials following two other incidents on Friday - one just off Shakespeare Beach in Dover, and another at St Margaret's Bay between Dover and Deal.

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The former involved a boat carrying four children, five women and seven men, while the boat intercepted at the bay between the two towns held four adults and two children.

Dover MP Charlie Elphicke tweeted a video from the scene at St Margaret's Bay, where a purple inflatable boat was found and seized by Border Force.

In a warning to anyone else considering making the journey from the French coast, a Home Office spokesman said they would be "taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children".

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It came just over a month after a record number of boats landed off the Kent coast in a single day.

Eight boats containing a total of 74 migrants were intercepted on 1 June, which led to a criminal investigation.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said at the time that the situation was "deeply concerning" and that those who had made the journey had put their lives on "grave danger".

Mr Javid - who in December declared a major incident over the number of migrants crossing the Channel - has not commented on the latest landings.

The Home Office said two cutters had returned to UK waters from overseas operations since then, and that a "joint action plan" had been agreed with France to "cut down on illegal immigrants attempting the crossing".

Since January, more than 40 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.

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