British vessel takes Channel migrants back to France

The Border Force boat Ranger helped with the rescue operation in the Channel

The Home Office has confirmed that a British Border Force vessel which was assisting with a French search and rescue operation has returned migrants to France for the first time.

One migrant died and a further 71 were rescued after their boat deflated in the English Channel on Wednesday, the French coastguard has said.

Patrols off the coast of Gravelines in northern France saw people in the water, sparking a rescue operation aided by the British Border Force and RNLI.

During a press conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there had been “no change of policy” and taking people back to Calais had been “an operational decision for those that are carrying out the exercise”.

The maritime prefecture in France said 59 people were brought on board the French ship Cormoran, including an unconscious person who could not be resuscitated by the medical team.

A British vessel, the Border Force Ranger, also saved 13 people from the water, and both ships took the group of people to Calais.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: "A Border Force vessel was sent to support French vessels in the operation, co-ordinated by French authorities."

Tom Pursglove, the former illegal immigration minister, said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter: "The credit for this must go to Michael Tomlinson and James Cleverly who did so much in just a few months to drive this ops initiative."

More than 15,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year as more people made the journey on Thursday, according to new Home Office figures.

Some 317 people travelled across the busy shipping lane in six boats, in the first recorded arrivals since Monday when 427 people made the crossing in seven boats.

This brings the provisional total of migrants arriving via the English Channel in 2024 so far to 15,076.

This is 9% higher than the number recorded this time last year (13,774) and 0.2% down on the same period in 2022 (15,106).

Responding to the new numbers, Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal, told the BBC: "Establishing the new border security command that will bring in MI5 to take on the gangs will not happen overnight."

He added that "securing our border is a top priority for the Labour party".