Migrants continue to cross Channel as Priti Patel meets counterpart

A packed RNLI boat brought migrants ashore at Dungeness in Kent on Monday

Migrants continued to arrive on UK shores after a steady stream of crossings since the weather conditions became more favourable.

Lifeboats from Hastings and Eastbourne were deployed to "incidents" off the Sussex coast, the coastguard said.

Eastbourne RNLI rescued 104 people from the English Channel, including a pregnant woman and 16 children.

It comes as the home secretary discussed the number of small-boat crossings with her French counterpart.

The Home Office said 301 people arrived in 9 boats on Wednesday, with the French authorities preventing 326 migrants from reaching the UK.

A Home Office spokesman said 458 people arrived in 17 small boats on Tuesday.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said on Wednesday it was "coordinating a search and rescue response to incidents off the East Sussex coast, working with Border Force and other partners".

The spokesman added: "Lifeboats from Hastings and Eastbourne have been sent."

A second search on Wednesday morning was carried out by Border Force, Dover RNLI lifeboat and the coastguard helicopter based in Lydd.

A lifeboat from Dungeness has also been launched, and migrants were seen being brought ashore at Dover, the BBC's Simon Jones has reported.

On Monday, 785 people arrived in 27 boats while French authorities stopped 378 people from making the crossing, the Home Office confirmed.

On Wednesday Priti Patel and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin held discussions on the situation in the English Channel during aa meeting of G7 ministers in London.

The home secretary has warned that Britain could withhold £54.2m it had promised to pay France to help deal with the problem, unless more boats are intercepted.

At the scene in Dover

Simon Jones, BBC News

The sea is flat and it's clear hundreds of migrants have made the crossing today.

From our vantage point on the cliffs above Dover we've seen scores of people being brought ashore by Border Force.

There have been incidents off the coast at Hastings, Eastbourne and Dungeness.

Although the sea is calm, the mood among MPs is not calm at all. They are demanding action, particularly from the French, to stop the crossings.

But, in reality the only thing that can really stop crossings in large numbers is the weather.

More than 14,100 migrants have made the crossing on more than 563 boats so far this year. Just over 8,400 arrived in 2020.

Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, has said: "This unacceptable rise in dangerous crossings is being driven by criminal gangs and a surge in illegal migration across Europe.

"We're determined to target the criminals at every level."

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