Thousands of asylum seekers are waiting in northern France for a chance to cross to Britain amid record arrivals on small boats.
According to Home Office figures, at least 2,000 migrants are currently massing around the Calais area.
Overall asylum applications to the UK have fallen, but small boat crossings have risen dramatically after the coronavirus pandemic caused a decrease in the freight and passenger traffic.
Almost 9,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year - more than the total for 2020 - and almost 400 asylum seekers were detained by British authorities on Sunday alone.
Authorities are concerned about a potential shift in tactics that may have been sparked by enforcement efforts around Calais, seeing migrants attempt longer and more dangerous crossings from areas including Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Recommended Record number of migrants cross English Channel in one day Priti Patel still isn’t dealing with the root causes of Channel crossings Home Office plan to imprison asylum seekers arriving by boat would cost ￡412m a year, analysis shows UN: Migrant deaths on sea routes to Europe more than double Migrants who steer dinghies across English Channel to claim asylum will no longer be prosecuted
Officials have also been documenting the arrival of much larger inflatable boats than the small dinghies previously used, with a vessel landing last week carrying an unprecedented 83 passengers.
Some asylum seekers have said they were forced into flimsy boats with the threat of violence, after being promised safe passage by smugglers, while others have been exploited or made to work for gangs in France.
The government has been criticised for its response to the record crossings, with charities calling for it to set up more safe and legal alternatives while critics call for tougher action to stop the boats.
Priti Patel has announced an agreement to more than double the number of police patrolling French beaches, with the government to give France ￡54m.
“We are utilising all aspects of government to tackle this issue and our significant actions are having an impact,” she said on Sunday.
”French authorities have already prevented over 7,500 migrants entering the UK this year, nearly treble the number for the same period in 2020, and earlier this week we signed a strengthened agreement to increase police patrols on French beaches, improve surveillance technology and enhance intelligence sharing.”
Priti Patel previously vowed to make Channel crossings ‘unviable’
(Home Office)
Of the migrants prevented from reaching the UK this year, 2,700 were intercepted at sea and returned to France according to Home Office figures.
The government is looking at the legality and safety implications of pushing boats back towards France itself, but has not reached a decision.
French authorities do not forcibly intercept migrants at sea who refuse to be rescued or resist, and monitor the vessels’ journey into British waters and notify the coastguard in those circumstances.
The Home Office has been pushing to jail asylum seekers who steer small boats as “people smugglers”, but prosecutions have been limited by new Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance.
The Nationality and Borders Bill, if enacted, would criminalise any migrant who reaches the UK on small boats by creating a new offence of knowingly arriving in the UK without valid entry clearance.
It would also make it easier to prosecute people for steering boats or assisting asylum seekers who arrive via irregular routes.
It is not possible to claim asylum in the UK from abroad, or apply for entry clearance overseas with the purpose of claiming asylum.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel
PA
UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main
PA
UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families
PA
UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk
PA
UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer
PA
UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London
PA
UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England
PA
UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave
Getty
UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a ￡7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe
PA
UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the world’s first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July
PA
UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford
PA
UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match
Pool via Reuters
UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova
Reuters
UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday
PA
UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London
AP
UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament
PA
UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds
PA
UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
PA
UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyoncé Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London
Getty for UK Black Pride
UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 England’s Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his side’s fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome
AP
UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their men’s singles third round match at Wimbledon
Getty
UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London
AP
UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London
AP
UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London
Getty
UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the government’s perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic
PA
UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena
PA
UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London
Bank of England via Reuters
UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022
AP
UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall a’Bhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice
PA
UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Women’s International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground
PA
UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw
Getty
UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre
PA
UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park
Reuters
UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring England’s first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley
Reuters
UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall
EPA
UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 10 June 2021 A woman walks her dogs as the incoming tide begins to wash away the heads of G7 leaders drawn in the sand by activists on the beach at Newquay, Cornwall
AP
UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend
Tom Maddick / SWNS
UK news in pictures 8 June 2021
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London
AFP/Getty
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned that the bill “would create a discriminatory two-tier asylum system violating the 1951 Refugee Convention and target bona fide refugees”.
“The right to seek asylum is universal and doesn’t depend on the mode of arrival,” said UK representative Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor last week. “Under the Refugee Convention, states must grant asylum-seekers access to their territory and refugees access to their rights.”
The government has repeatedly claimed that refugees should seek asylum in the first safe country they reach, but that is not a requirement under international law.
The UNHCR said refugees “should not be denied access to the rights in the Convention just because a country thinks that asylum should be sought elsewhere”.
Recommended UK dog surfing championships take place after year off due to Covid
Last week, Ms Patel announced “strengthened” plans to resettle refugees from countries including Greece and Turkey, but it does not apply to those who have already reached France.
The UNHCR, which identifies people to be resettled, said resettlement was “only open to a tiny minority of eligible refugees” and “doesn’t absolve the UK of its obligations towards those arriving spontaneously”.