Around half a dozen people were taken away by border force officers yesterday after a lifeboat brough them to shore.
Newhaven’s RNLI lifeboat was dispatched on Sunday afternoon (October 9) after reports of a small boat off the Sussex coast.
The coastguard and Sussex Police were also involved, however minimal information about exactly what happened has been made available.
The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but gave a prepared statement on incidents involving small boats.
“The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system,” the statement from January 2023 read.
“Our priority is to stop the boats, and thanks to the work of the small boats operational command alongside our French partners, crossings are down by more than 20 per cent compared to the same point last year.
“The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”
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