First time more than 200 people have been crammed into a boat launched by people smugglers from France
A dinghy carrying 230 people was detected in the Channel (Image: SNSM)
This is the biggest migrant boat ever detected crossing the Channel.
Smugglers crammed a staggering 230 people into a single boat, prompting fears there will soon “be thousands coming every single day”.
And it follows an emergency in the Channel last week, in which 173 people were rescued from a vessel that caught fire.
Smuggling gangs have spread out towards Dieppe in a bid to avoid police patrols in Calais and Dunkirk.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “A mega dinghy is not a dinghy, is it?
“A boat carrying 230 people was taken into Dover docks at 2:30am this morning. That’s a record.
“And we are rapidly heading towards the Mediterranean – there will be thousands coming every single day. You can’t smash the gangs.
“It’s impossible. We can catch a gang leader, we can give him 20 years in prison, we can fine them millions of Euros, it doesn’t matter.
“The rewards are so great somebody else pops up. We’ve even got dinghies regularly leaving Dieppe, which is in Normandy.
“We’re now looking at a stretch of coastline 130 miles long from which these boats can leave.
“There is only one way to stop this – if you get to the 12-mile line, the Royal Navy using Border Force boats… to take them back to France.
“If we did that, within a couple of weeks there would be no more boats.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is now beyond a joke.
“The French authorities could easily have stopped a vessel this size from embarking in shallow waters. I recently saw for myself French Gendarmes shamefully standing by and doing nothing while illegal immigrants boarded in knee deep water.
A dinghy carrying 230 people was detected in the Channel (Image: SNSM)
“Shabana Mahmood is handing over £660 million of our money while this happens.
“It’s a disgrace. Out of touch Andy Burnham claims there is no problem. There clearly is. If he was serious he would adopt the Conservative plan to leave the ECHR and deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival. Then the crossings would soon stop.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This latest incident demonstrates the reckless and dangerous tactics employed by the criminal gangs facilitating these crossings, who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels.
“We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.
“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”
The Daily Express became the first UK news organisation to witness the moment a British vessel – BSC Contender – brought migrants back to France after being detected in the Channel last week.
The vessel is believed to have been in the water for 18 hours, after leaving Dieppe before picking up migrants from multiple beaches.
A maritime security source said: “Quite frankly, it’s miraculous that no one has died”.
There were so many people on board the latest mega dinghy that some of the migrants asked to get off within two hours.
“Five people had initially asked to be rescued, because the boat was in such a bad way,” said the prefecture spokesman.
“The rest told rescuers they wanted to continue, and this was permitted. Then, later in the morning, the engine caught fire.”
Those onboard then jumped into the water and the boat capsized.
It is thought that a fuel leak from the outboard motor caused the blaze, causing mass panic on board.