A group of people thought to be migrants were rescued by a lifeboat crew on Tuesday afternoon after an “incident involving small boats” in the Channel.
Photos show an RNLI lifeboat carrying a group of about 20 people to shore at Dungeness, Kent.
It “has been co-ordinating a search and rescue response to an incident involving small boats off Kent, working with Border Force, Kent Police and other partners", a HM Coastguard representative said.
“We sent Dover and Dungeness lifeboats."
“HM Coastguard will continue to safeguard life around the seas and coastal areas of the UK, working with search and rescue resources in the area.
“If a vessel needs search and rescue assistance, HM Coastguard will continue to respond to all those in need.”
In Dungeness, a group wearing red life jackets disembarked the vessel by a ladder before they were led up the pebbled beach by Border Force agents.
They were then searched and their possessions were bagged before they boarded a coach, a photographer at the scene said.
In photos of those rescued, a man grins and later flashes a “V" sign, which can mean peace or victory, as the procession was led up the beach.
In another photo, a young woman huddled in a blue blanket pulled close to her face.
The latest Home Office data up to Monday shows that no small boat crossings had been recorded since March 29.
The total number of migrants who crossed the Channel to the UK in the first three months of this year was 17 per cent below the figure for the same period in 2022.
PA news agency analysis of government figures shows 3,793 migrants made the journey from France by the end of March 2023, compared with 4,548 in the first quarter of last year.
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. This is compared with 1,339 in January 2022 and 143 a month later.
UK government unveils 'robust' bill to stop migrant Channel crossings - in pictures
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The UK's Home Secretary Suella Braverman has unveiled new legislation to address small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel. AFP -
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled the plans for new laws to curb crossings. PA -
Migrants housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent. Almost 3,000 migrants have made unauthorised crossings of the English Channel this year. PA -
Ms Braverman said not responding to the problem would be to 'betray the will of the people we were elected to serve'. AFP -
Mr Sunak met teams at the Home Office Joint Control Room in Dover, Kent. Getty Images -
Critics have warned that the proposals are 'unworkable' and will leave thousands of migrants in limbo by banning them from claiming British citizenship. PA -
Inflatable dinghies and outboard engines, stored in a Port Authority yard in Dover. AFP -
People gather in central Dover to attend a 'Refugees Welcome' rally. AFP -
Ms Braverman said the UK's asylum system has been 'overwhelmed', with almost £7 million ($8.4 million) a day being spent on hotels to house people while their claims are processed. PA
Tory-run Dorset Council is opposed to the use of Portland Port as the site, and local Conservative MP Richard Drax was working to have the plan “consigned to the dustbin”.
The Bibby Stockholm vessel, which will reportedly cost taxpayers more than £20,000 ($25,000) a day, could accommodate more than 500 migrants.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick announced last week the proposals to house asylum seekers in disused military bases, with a third site in Bexhill, East Sussex.
Mr Jenrick said 3,700 people would be housed at RAF Wethersfield in Essex and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.
Ms Braverman has also faced questions about when flights sending migrants to Rwanda could take off.
On Sunday, she appeared to play down suggestions that the stalled policy of deporting asylum seekers could begin this summer.
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
