UK sees spike in illegal Channel crossings

Warmer weather in the United Kingdom has been accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of people attempting to enter the country illegally.

In the latest incidents, on Monday, rescue vessels operated by the Home Office and Royal National Lifeboat Institution intercepted three boats as they crossed the English Channel, which separates the UK from continental Europe and is 33 kilometers wide at its narrowest point.

The 36 people on board, Iranians and Iraqis, were given medical checkups and taken into the care of immigration officials.

A Home Office spokesman told the Guardian newspaper people attempting the crossing were putting themselves in danger.

"Anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children," the spokesman said. "Since the home secretary declared a major incident in December, two cutters have returned to UK waters from overseas operations. We have agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the joint coordination and information center in Calais."

The spokesperson said people wanting to claim asylum must do so in the "first safe country they reach" after leaving their homelands and added that, since January, more than 20 people who arrived in the UK illegally have been returned to mainland Europe.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared the major incident after more than 250 people were intercepted in the English Channel during the first 11 months of 2018.The Independent newspaper said more than 500 refugees tried to travel to the UK on small vessels during 2018, with the vast majority attempting the trip during the last three months of the year.

Javid has also suggested many of those attempting to illegally enter the UK are not genuine asylum seekers, and said the UK may make it harder for people to gain asylum in Britain in order to deter such crossings.

The latest rescues began early Monday when a Border Force cutter intercepted a small boat carrying 11 men and took them ashore at Dover in Kent. Soon after, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution rescued 15 people from a small boat close to the coast and took them to Dungeness in Kent. And later, a Home Office coastal patrol vessel found nine men and one woman, all Iranian,on a small boat and took them to Dover.

The Telegraph newspaper said nearly a dozen boats and 92 people were intercepted in British waters in the past month. The vast majority were Iranian or Iraqi men.

The French authorities, which intercepted 21 people attempting to cross the Channel earlier this month, said warm weather and a lull in maritime traffic during the Easter holidays likely triggered more people smugglers to attempt the crossing this week.