Tear gas deployed against migrants in Calais
Hundreds gathered on the dunes before making dashes towards the Channel at Gravelines beach, north east Calais, all intent on boarding a single dinghy on Tuesday morning.
Migrants of all ages who made it to the sea had to wait in waist-deep water for almost an hour before any of them were able to board the small boat.
An older man on crutches had to be carried out of the water by two others, who then ran off to re-join the crowd.
Many others did not make it to the water, raising their arms in surrender under a thick blanket of tear gas fired by the French Police Nationale.
Police Nationale officers were trudging the sands at Gravelines beach before the sun had risen on Tuesday morning, armed with riot shields, tear gas and batons.
Pictures taken by the PA news agency show a cloud of smoke as migrants ran from the dunes.
A warning cry of 'baby, baby' was heard as a man carrying a tiny child sprinted out of the smog.
Those who made it to the water bunched into three groups and waited for the dinghy to collect them, watched by the French police from the shoreline.
While they waited, an Afghani migrant who wished to remain anonymous told PA that he was seeking a better life in the UK.
'Just I want to go for a good life, I have a situation bad in my country,' he said.
Well over 50 migrants made it aboard the small black dinghy before it finally took off into the channel.
Others were left to watch as it floated out to sea.
Pictures from the morning show a woman sitting dejected on the sand after chasing the dinghy as it left the beach.
She and her friends, thought to be Ethiopian, complained that it was mostly men who had managed to get on the boat that morning.
They had been hit by tear gas when the migrants were making their initial sprint to the water.
The police present on Gravelines beach would not confirm whether the use of tear gas had now become common practice during these clashes.
A beach comber who has begun to document crossings was watching events unfold on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old said of French police: 'I think they show them that they tried to stop them but they're happy if a few hundred or thousand are away because the camps are more empty.'
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed to focus on migration at a July summit given the 'deteriorating situation in the channel', No 10 has said.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'They looked ahead to the upcoming UK-France summit in July and agreed that their teams should pursue high-ambition outcomes that deliver for the British and French people.
'Migration should be a key focus given the deteriorating situation in the Channel, they confirmed – adding that they should continue to work closely with other partners to find innovative ways to drive forward progress.'
The dinghy which had originally come to shore around 7am local time (6am BST) headed out to sea at 9.30am.
The boat was thought to be overloaded and witnesses saw it was eventually brought back to shore at around 11am local time (10am BST).
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Daily Mail
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EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Sister of 'feral' e-bike rider whose goading of police officer led to veteran officer being hauled into court is also a serial criminal - as neighbours reveal 'hell' of living next to pair
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It emerged in court that she was following in the footsteps of her older brother with a lengthy criminal record of her own. Magistrates heard that she already had nine convictions for 16 previous offences including robbery, using a stolen bank card, burglary and attempted robbery - all committed when she was 17 years of age. Neighbours of the McGarry family home in the Aldwick area of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, today told MailOnline of the 'hell' of living alongside them. One near neighbour said: 'I think they'd been through a lot but they were a bit of a nightmare. The police were coming out day and night to speak to the kids. 'People were getting sick of the noise as well. It was out of control at some points, and it wasn't fair on other residents round here.' Another said: 'Everyone has their problems, but they made their problems our problems and it stressed both me and my wife out. 'They were off the rails and didn't mind who they upset. It was a right pain.' 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Miss Taylor-Hall added: 'Police intercepted the vehicle at Southwick in Brighton, 25 miles away and the defendant was found in the driving seat, and he was in the passenger seat.' Describing how Miss McGarry had already been banned from the road, the prosecutor said: 'The defendant had decided to get behind the wheel of a car again. She was not nipping round the corner.' Rachel Roberts, defending, said Miss McGarry had been in a controlling relationship with her former boyfriend, and felt she had to get him out of the house. She added: 'This has been a salutary experience for her. It is the first time she has appeared in the adult court. 'She knows it could result in custody. She is fearful of going into custody because of her previous convictions which are serious.' Miss Roberts said: 'She was in flight or fight mode that morning. Her brother turned up very early that morning along with her former boyfriend. 'She wanted to get him out of the house. 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Daily Mail
an hour ago
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The following morning Aurman got up for work and drove 45-miles north from his home to his DPD depot in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. As normal he loaded his van with packages and then started out on his round. But unbeknownst to him a colleague at the depot - Sukhmandeep Singh, 24 - had passed on details of his delivery route to his killers. Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh drove to Shrewsbury from their homes in Tipton, West Midlands, in a white Mercedes Benz. With them were Harpreet Singh and Harwinder Singh Turna, both of whom remain at large. Four other men - Arshdeep Singh, 24, Jagdeep Singh, 23, Shivdeep Singh, 27, and Manjot Singh, 24 – followed in a grey Audi. They carefully tailed Aurman through the historic Shropshire county town to a quiet suburban area in Coton Hill, where he pulled up just before 1pm and got out of his van to start unloading the packages. 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Harpreet is said to have withdrawn cash from various cashpoints before the trail to catch him likewise went cold. Sehajpal and Mehakdeep, meanwhile, lay low for a couple of weeks before booking flights to Austria, where they were both arrested last May. Footage released by West Mercia Police shows the moment they were caught during a sting by armed cops in the Austrian village of Hohenzell, about 44 miles north-east of Salzburg and 146 miles west of the capital of Vienna. The pair denied Aurman's murder but were found guilty by a jury on Tuesday. Their convictions follow that of Arshdeep Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Shivdeep Singh, and Manjot Singh, who were each jailed for 28 years for murder in April 2024. Their inside man, Sukhmandeep Singh, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 10 years.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Labour warned that failure to tackle small-boats crisis risks fuelling further grooming gang cases
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