Portsmouth councillor George Madgwick reveals possible destination for migrant boat crossing the English Channel
The vessel is being escorted by French coastguards
A Portsmouth councillor has revealed where a migrant boat might be headed after a 24 hour journey in the channel.
Councillor George Madgwick said in a Facebook post: “CONFIRMED. Migrant boat is heading to England, right this second. It’s been guided by a French vessel and looks to be heading towards Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Looks sizable with many people rather than a small vessel.
“It’s been escorted by the French since the early hours. This may be the second vessel to arrive, outside Kent, this month - following the Portsmouth arrival a few weeks ago.”
He later edited the post to include that he had “just been informed it could be brought into Sussex”. RNLI craft from Eastbourne and Hastings have been launched today and appear to be heading towards the migrant boat.
A suspected ‘small boat’ is being shadowed by a French coastguard vessel, thought to be the Abeille Liberte.
Anti-migrant campaigner Daniel Thomas has taken a vessel out into the channel to try to film the boats, and is conducting a YouTube live-stream video from the sea.