The UK response has been slammed after a motorcade was seen departing Gosport that would give the British soverign a run for his money.
Police vehicles at the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent (Image: PA)
A massive motorcade has been seen leaving Gosport in Hampshire tonight (September 22), with a string of vehicles heralded by blue flashing lights seen making its way along the motorway.
The fleet consisted of a number of police vehicles, ambulances, and several empty buses which had left passengerless after a migrant boat appeared to be headed for the seaside hamlet of Gosport.
According to the French coastguard, around 60 migrants on a small boat spent more than 33 hours at sea “in precarious conditions” and refused help as they were “determined to take all risks to reach the United Kingdom”.
They were intercepted by the RNLI, as per one MP, and were instead transported “to Dover by water”, meaning that the massive coaches already dispatched to the Hampshire seaside were no longer needed.
It has since been confirmed that the 60 or so migrants who refused help from the French coastguard, who then spent more than 30 hours at sea, have arrived in Dover.
British rescue boats were sent to collect the passengers of a migrant dinghy on Tuesday, and the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said they would be transferred to Border Security Command.
In Hampshire, local Reform UK leader councillor George Madgwick captured footage of the massive convoy leaving Gosport empty-handed, with the vision shared by GB News’ Patrick Christys, who said: “This is not the King’s motorcade. Or the Prime Minister’s. This is the police escort for a load of empty coaches that were due to collect illegal immigrants from Gosport”
Christys had earlier criticised both the British and French governments regarding Channel crossings.
“Absolutely insane day in the Channel – we have been treated to an absolute charade by the French and British authorities. It feels like the last week has been a big turning point in terms of what’s been happening in the Channel.”
The failed motorcade departed the region after police arrested six people as anti-migrant protesters “became hostile” in Gosport. – hundreds of protesters gathered in the naval town.
The vessel carrying the migrants instead headed east along the coast, arriving at Dover early on Wednesday morning.
Around a dozen protesters were spotted in the area, with local police having blocked off a nearby road.
At the height of the protest, around 200 people gathered in the town, with a legion of people donning masks in anticipation of the boat landing. Some were heard chanting “send them back” as the vessel approached.
The boat, which is believed to have around 60 people on board, was intercepted by the Border Force and instead ferried the migrants away from protesters to Dover. MP Dame Caroline Dinenage confirmed: “This is a good result. All day I have been making the case to the Home Office that this boat should not disembark in Gosport.”