British rescue boats sent out to collect Normandy migrant dinghy heading for UK
British rescue boats sent to collect migrants
British rescue boats have been sent to collect the passengers of a migrant dinghy which has spent around 30 hours at sea.
The boat, which is being shadowed by a French coastguard vessel, left the Normandy coast on Monday morning. The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency have said the migrants will be transferred to Border Security Command.
Two RNLI lifeboats are believed to be on their way to meet the dinghy.
A spokesperson said: “HM Coastguard is responding to a report of a small boat in the Channel, south of the UK central south coast. Rescue vessels have been sent, supported by an HM Coastguard aeroplane, to collect the people and safely transfer them to UK Border Force.”
The dinghy is close to the Channel boundary line, according to ship tracking data, and appears to have set off from close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux.
The last time a migrant boat left Normandy it was landed at Eastney after Southampton and Portsmouth harbours denied access. The arrival saw protests in Ferry Road in Eastney on September 6, which have led to several court appearances. That boat was met by the RNLI, having set off from near Cherbourg. There has been no indication where this boat may land.
It is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat in the Channel. Officials said at the time they believed it was a one-off rather than a sign of new tactics. Departures as far west as Normandy are rare.
Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, shared a YouTube livestream of the boat from the Channel.
Mr Thomas – founder of anti-migration group Patriot Platform and an associate of political activist Tommy Robinson – was a leader of recent protests in Portsmouth and organised demonstrations in Dover.
UK authorities are understood to have plans to deal with small boat arrivals further along the coast.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
Earlier on Tuesday, a minister insisted the UK’s borders are secure after a migrant boat reached the Kent coast without being intercepted. Five people were detained and passed to Border Security Command after the dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday – the first undetected landing for a year.
Defence minister Luke Pollard dismissed suggestions the Government had lost control of the border.
“Our borders are secure, but we want to make them stronger,” he told LBC Radio.
Asked how the boat slipped through, Mr Pollard said a Home Office investigation was under way to determine what had happened, without going into detail.
The thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats. No small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort have been officially recorded since September 6 last year.
Some 17,480 migrants have arrived after crossing the Channel by boat so far this year, including 5,011 since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. The total so far for 2026 is down 46% on the same point last year.