Border Force officials escort 100 migrants to Dover docks

Border Force officials have escorted 100 migrants to Dover Docks - one day after Suella Braverman announced ammendments to the Illegal Migration Bill.

The Home Secretary said the changes proposed to her controversial legislation, designed to stop migrants on small boats crossing the English Channel, would help prevent 'last-minute, bogus claims'.

Photographs from today show migrants braving the wind and cold at sea before they are escorted off the boat by Border Force officials.

Last year saw a record 45,728 migrants cross the Channel - significantly more than 2021's total of 28,526.

More than 5,000 have crossed this year already, with 1,295 of those arriving in one day, according to official government figures.

The amendments laid on Friday are being seen as an attempt to appease Conservative backbenchers who were calling for more protection against interference by judges, including the European Court of Human Rights, in how the UK polices its border.

The Home Office said the amendments would 'make clear' the UK's domestic courts are restricted from hearing a legal challenge to deportation from someone who arrived unlawfully, unless the person is deemed to be at risk of serious and irreversible harm.

If the person arriving via an unauthorised route was not at risk of death, persecution, torture or degrading treatment by being deported, then any appeals would be heard remotely after the person had been removed from the UK, officials said.

Another proposed change will allow ministers to 'exercise discretion in relation to interim measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights'.

Further amendments proposed include giving immigration officers new powers to search for and seize electronic devices, such as mobile phones, from those arriving unlawfully to help assess whether someone has the right to be in the UK.

The Home Office also intends to bring in new regulations that will see age-disputed people treated as an adult if they refuse to undergo a scientific age assessment.

Last month 840 people arrived on the south coast after crossing the Channel - just over a quarter of the 3,066 recorded in March 2022 - and only slightly higher than the figure for March 2021 (831).

According to Home Office data, 1,180 people made the journey in January this year, followed by 1,773 in February.