A boat carrying around 140 asylum seekers has reached Britain after setting off from Normandy in an unusual crossing that has raised fears people smugglers are opening a new route to the south coast.
The inflatable departed from the Baie de Seine, roughly 170 miles from Calais, before travelling towards Hampshire. It was later intercepted near Eastney in Portsmouth, where the passengers were brought ashore and taken for routine processing.
The crossing prompted a major French maritime operation after the vessel was reported in difficulty off the Normandy coast during the early hours of Sunday, September 6.
Five French rescue vessels were sent to monitor the boat, including the lifeboats Amiral de Tourville, Philippe Kieffer, President Jules Pinteaux and Jacques Armengaud, along with the high-seas tug Abeille Liberté.
A French Navy H160 helicopter and a civil security helicopter also joined the operation. French maritime authorities said the vessel was being monitored so that assistance could be provided if necessary, but those on board refused to transfer to the rescue craft.
The boat was reportedly suffering from engine trouble, but managed to continue after a second outboard motor was started. The French authorities decided against forcing the passengers aboard a rescue vessel, warning that doing so could have destabilised the overcrowded inflatable and increased the risk of it capsizing.
Concerns over a new migrant route
The vessel eventually completed a journey of nearly 70 miles towards Britain before being intercepted by British authorities off the Hampshire coast. Arrivals in Portsmouth are rare, with most Channel crossings traditionally setting off from areas closer to Calais and arriving near Dover.
The incident has prompted concern that smugglers may be using more distant launch points and larger inflatables to evade efforts to disrupt departures in northern France.
Hundreds of demonstrators later gathered near Eastney Marina as the migrants were being moved from the area. Police formed a cordon around coaches, while the Home Office condemned what it described as intimidating and disorderly behaviour.
Hampshire police and local authorities have also warned that Portsmouth is not equipped to deal with repeated arrivals on this scale, increasing pressure on the Government to prevent the emergence of a new route across the Channel.
