How to stem the tide? Priti Patel talks tactics with hardline anti-migrant officers patrolling the waters off Greece as number of people illegally crossing into Britain this year reaches 10,000

The Channel migrant crisis reached new heights yesterday as the number reaching Britain this year topped 10,000.

More than 260 are thought to have arrived aboard a dozen boats yesterday. They were brought to Dover Marina in Kent for processing by immigration officers.

The milestone was reached while the Home Secretary was in Greece to visit an asylum reception centre.

Priti Patel sailed on the Aegean with the Hellenic coastguard, who have been accused of deploying hard-line tactics against migrants attempting to reach Europe. Her fact-finding mission to the Greek government's recently completed processing centre on the island of Samos is expected to feed into Home Office plans to build similar facilities here.

Miss Patel is also introducing powers to allow Border Force to turn migrant boats around in the Channel.

But France has so far refused to allow similar tactics, claiming it is in breach of international maritime law. Yesterday's total of Channel migrants had not been confirmed by the Home Office last night. 

But there had been 9,740 confirmed arrivals by the end of Tuesday, plus an estimated 269 yesterday. By comparison, there were 8,500 arrivals across the Channel in the whole of last year and 1,850 in 2019.

The Home Secretary's official visit to Greece will allow officials to gather information on how 'turnaround' tactics are currently deployed at the EU's external border so similar methods could be used in the Channel.

The Home Secretary's official visit to Greece will allow officials to gather information on how 'turnaround' tactics are currently deployed at the EU's external border so similar methods could be used in the Channel 

More than 260 are thought to have arrived aboard a dozen boats yesterday. They were brought to Dover Marina in Kent for processing by immigration officers 

A group of migrants are brought into the shore at Dungeness Lifeboat station on the Kent coast on Wednesday

Miss Patel said: 'We have seen a surge in illegal migration across Europe, and we must continue to work closely with our Greek partners to tackle this challenge that both our countries face.

'Only by working together can we break up these crime gangs that extend throughout Europe and beyond and stop the horrific trade in people across the Continent.

'Inaction is not an option whilst people are dying across Europe making these dangerous and illegal journeys. The Government continues to take steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration through the Nationality and Borders Bill which will protect lives and break this cycle of illegal migration.'   

Yesterday's arrivals included a group of 55 aboard the RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness. Some flopped exhausted on to the shingle beach after disembarking the lifeboat down a ladder.

UK Border Force vessels brought in groups numbering 80, 40, 38 and 26 throughout the day, and the RNLI brought in a further 30. Last month Miss Patel announced she had agreed to give France an extra £54million in UK taxpayers' money to increase security patrols on the other side of the Channel.

Dan O'Mahoney, the Home Office's clandestine Channel threat commander, said: 'There is an unacceptable rise in dangerous small boat crossings across the Channel because of a surge in illegal migration across Europe. We have signed a strengthened agreement with our French counterparts to increase police patrols on French beaches and enhance intelligence sharing.'

Greece is thought to have deployed several hundred 'pushback' operations since March last year to deter migrants attempting to reach their territory from Turkey. In some cases, the engines of migrant boats are alleged to have been disabled by Greek security patrols.

In April, the Greek organisation Legal Centre Lesvos lodged a claim at the European Court of Human Rights alleging tactics used against 200 migrants in an incident last October were illegal.  

Onlookers monitoring activity off the Kent coast said that Wednesday was been another 'very busy' day for crossings with more than a dozen boats spotted in the Channel.

Young children were spotted on boats while a group of around 40 men were brought ashore by the RNLI on Wednesday morning. 

Very young children were spotted coming ashore with what appeared to be family members

A group of around 40 migrants arrive via the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) on Dungeness beach on Wednesday

A group of migrants lie down and sit on the beach after arriving on Dungeness beach on Wednesday afternoon

The group of migrants were corralled by police officers after arriving on Dungeness beach earlier on Wednesday

RNLI workers are seen helping migrants off one of their lifeboats 

A group of mostly male migrants are seen walking up the beach in Dungeness after arriving via an RNLI lifeboat on Wednesday

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution brought the migrants to the beach at Dungeness 

At least 269 more migrants were counted by observers at the Dover Marina in Kent on Wednesday

The first boat group of eight men and two women wearing orange lifejackets were brought into Dover Marina, Kent shortly after 9am on board a black Border Force RHIB.

A grey inflatable boat and a khaki dinghy were towed into the docks before the Border Force vessel returned with another 16 male migrants.

The vessels they used to cross the Dover Strait - a white inflatable and a black RHIB - were brought in afterwards.

Border Force coastal patrol vessel Hunter brought around 40 migrants into harbour around noon.

One woman, wearing a headscarf, blue dress and wrapped in a red blanket, appeared very uneasy on her feet and held her back as she disembarked before being put in a wheelchair by medics to be pushed up the gangway for processing.

The rest of the group were men who appeared to be from the Middle East. One was wearing a black Armani jacket with its hood up while another wore Nike tracksuit bottoms.

The RNLI's Dover Lifeboat Daniel L Gibson was tasked to rescue around 55 migrants for the second consecutive day.

A mum held the hand of her son, who appeared to be aged around four, as he wore yellow boots to walk up the gangway for processing.

Two more young boys wearing identical bobble hats raced up the walkway afterwards followed by their mum.

They were followed by a woman holding her young son's hand and two mums carrying their infant daughters, no more than two-years-old, in their arms.

The 16 women and children, who appeared to be from Africa, were followed by a Middle Eastern family, consisting of a mother, father, two sons and a daughter, and another mother with three daughters.

Onlookers monitoring activity off the Kent coast said that Wednesday has been another 'very busy' day for crossings with more than a dozen boats spotted in the Channel

So far in August, 325 migrants have been intercepted in eight boats though Tuesday's and Wednesday's figures are thought to have raised the total significantly 

Migrants from nations including Vietnam, Iran and Eritrea sit on a beach after being rescued by the RNLI in the English Channel

Police officers intercepted the group of migrants after they arrived on the beach in Dungeness

The migrants were mainly men and came from different countries including Vietnam, Iran and Eritrea 

Migrants are seen eating food and drinking water after arriving on the beach at Dungeness 

A police officer searches one of the migrants who arrived at Dungeness beach earlier on Wednesday

The migrants are herded onto a coach after arriving at the beach in Dungeness earlier on Wednesday

Police officers talk to migrants before they are transported from the beach in Dungeness 

A group of migrants walk through the shallows of Dungeness beach before being intercepted by police officers 

Migrants sit and lie down as they wait for transportation with police officers after arriving at Dungeness beach on Wednesday

One of the approximate 30 young Middle Eastern men who left the boat was wearing a Chelsea FC tracksuit top.

Around 60 Middle Eastern men aged in their 20s were brought in at 2pm on Border Force catamaran Hurricane.

It came after around 30 migrants were rescued by the RNLI off Dungeness. They were seen sitting on the shingle as they disembarked the lifeboat one by one while their grey RHIB with outboard engine was towed to shore. 

They follow Tuesday's arrivals which began shortly after 8am when search and rescue cutter Speedwell brought the first boat in containing around 25 men, mainly from the Middle East in their late teens or early 20s, wearing coats and hoodies.

Some were seen carrying their possessions in camouflage patterned rucksacks while one young man required a walking stick to make his way up the gangway.

The RNLI's Dover Lifeboat was also tasked to rescue a red rigid hulled inflatable boat off Capel-le-Ferne with around 35 migrants onboard.

A tiny toddler and a baby no more than a year old were among many young migrant children brought in later that afternoon.

Migrants arriving in Dover on Wednesday after being picked up in the Channel following another busy day of crossings

Some were seen carrying their possessions in camouflage patterned rucksacks while one young man required a walking stick to make his way up the gangway

Home Secretary Priti Patel recently said that the government would seek to criminalise irregular migration

One mother, wearing a head scarf, could be seen walking across the mooring. A female Immigration Enforcement officer held a baby wrapped in a light blue blanket in front of her while a male officer carried a young girl in his arms.

A male migrant could be seen carrying his young daughter up the gangway for processing behind a male officer who held the hand of a young boy aged around five who hesitantly approached the processing tent at Tug Haven.

The day's total soared when Border Force catamaran Hurricane, the latest vessel added to its search and rescue fleet off the Kent coast, brought around 90 men, women, and kids into harbour around 2pm.

A young boy around three years of age was lifted off the boat by a female Border Force officer wearing white PPE overalls.

He was followed by a slightly older girl and their mother wrapped up in a black Parka jacket and red blanket.

A girl aged around five then left the vessel followed by a two-year-old boy wearing a bobble hat covered in multi-coloured dinosaurs sucking his thumb as he held the hand of his mother aged in her 30s.

A huge black RHIB with items of clothing, a small pink children's backpack and multiple foot pumps discarded on its plywood hull could be seen floating in the harbour as they walked up the gangway for processing.

French authorities stopped just 20 people in one boat on Tuesday. They were spotted in difficulty off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer by a fishing boat who called the French Navy rescue tug Abeille Languedoc to return them to port.

It is a record-breaking year for migrants crossing to the UK - despite vows from the Home Office to make the route 'unviable' 

It comes after 44 migrants made the treacherous trip across one of the world's busiest shipping routes on Monday.

Speedwell brought the men, who appeared to be African, into port around 8.30am.

That was the first crossing since 160 migrants arrived in five boats on Monday July 26 as people smugglers took advantage of a break in bad weather.

So far in August, 325 migrants have been intercepted in eight boats.

Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said: 'There is an unacceptable rise in dangerous small boat crossings across the channel because of a surge in illegal migration across Europe.

'We have signed a strengthened agreement with our French counterparts to increase police patrols on French beaches and enhance intelligence sharing.

'This joint work has already prevented over 8,000 attempts by migrants to enter the UK - nearly treble the number for the same period in 2020.

'The Government continues to take steps to tackle the unacceptable problem of illegal migration through the Nationality & Borders Bill which will protect lives and break this cycle of illegal crossings. The Government is also continuing to return those with no legal right to remain in the UK..'