British interior minister Priti Patel on Friday described the volume of migrants crossing the Channel as “appalling and unacceptably high” and called on France to help keep numbers down. France’s regional maritime monitoring and rescue operation said it acted “on several reports of small boats of migrants in difficulty in the straights” off Calais. About an hour later another boat rescued 16 migrants from another vessel in trouble off Sangatte, which used to host a makeshift camp for migrants heading to England. Since January 1, the French authorities have intercepted at least 810 migrants trying to cross the Channel to England, according to official figures tabulated by AFP. British interior minister Patel’s warning to France on Friday came with London under increasing pressure to tackle the migrant crossings.

Source: Punch August 08, 2020 20:37 UTC