Around 140 migrants in a single inflatable dinghy that launched from Normandy were rescued in the English Channel and brought ashore in the UK, following a 10-hour French shadowing operation.
The dinghy launched overnight from the Bay of the Seine on France’s Normandy coast, departing from a location roughly 170 miles away from the usual launches around Calais making the crossing significantly longer. French rescue boats shadowed the vessel for around 10 hours in case it got into difficulty, noting that it was not safe to attempt to stop the dinghy on water. Local officials previously told the BBC there has been an increase in people trying to depart from Normandy.
After entering UK waters at lunchtime, those on board requested help in UK waters and were picked up by two RNLI boats, with people on board met by lifeboats from Bembridge and Yarmouth to be taken to shore in the UK. On Sunday night in Portsmouth, protesters were involved in a stand-off with police near the Eastney Landing ferry port, where small boat occupants had been brought to shore. HM Coastguard confirmed RNLI lifeboats, a coastguard helicopter and a coastguard aeroplane were called in response to a small boat reported in the Channel heading toward the Hampshire coast, while Marine Traffic showed the Island lifeboats headed to Langstone Harbour. HM Coastguard also confirmed Border Force, Border Security Command, Hampshire Police and the South Central Ambulance Service were involved in the incident.
Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson stated that while there was no suggestion the migrants were destined for the Island, it was certainly worrying to see that sort of incident so far from where they usually cross where the channel is narrower. He added that he would be following up with the Home Office without delay because there should be no ambiguity about the incident and they needed to know exactly what had happened.
Shifting Tactics Among People Smugglers in Northern France
The departure from Normandy represents a significant shift as smugglers have started loading more people onto fewer, larger vessels dubbed mega dinghies. It is thought the people smugglers organising the crossings have been forced to go to much greater lengths to avoid detection following more robust policing in the Calais area. While the number of boat crossings over summer months has dropped to its lowest since 2019, traffickers have adapted. In August, a single small boat carrying a record 230 people successfully crossed the Channel.
The dangers associated with these vessels were underscored when a dinghy carrying 157 migrants caught fire and capsized in the English Channel on Tuesday morning. The overcrowded inflatable got into difficulty off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer after its engine caught fire during an attempted crossing to the UK, prompting a major cross-border rescue operation involving French and British emergency services. All 157 people aboard were rescued and returned safely to France, according to the French coastguard, with three coastguard vessels deployed alongside two vessels from the UK’s Border Security Command and an RNLI lifeboat. While most were returned to Boulogne-sur-Mer aboard French vessels, 54 migrants were transported back to France on British boats, and early reports indicate the blaze originated in or around the vessel’s engine after a small number of people had reportedly been rescued from the same boat earlier in the morning.
Political Fallout and Border Security Strategies
It comes days after Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron met to discuss how to scale up efforts to reduce small boat crossings, agreeing in bilateral talks that they were making headway but now needed to go further. Downing Street says 45 extra police officers are being deployed to French beaches in a surge team to tackle larger dinghies.
A Home Office spokesperson said on Sunday that the government was bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at their border, noting that joint efforts had seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election. The spokesperson added that they had to go further, which was why they had signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.
Contrasting Proposals and Political Debate
The rescue came just one day after Reform UK unveiled its latest immigration proposals under a plan it calls Operation Fortress. Party leader Nigel Farage said a Reform government would deploy the Royal Navy to intercept migrant boats and return passengers to France or Belgium before they reached British shores. Responding to Tuesday’s rescue, Farage said, ‘We must put a stop to this. Our plan will save lives.’ Reform argues its proposals would significantly reduce Channel crossings and make the UK’s borders impenetrable, though critics and opponents have questioned the practicality of the proposed measures.
