New Dover MP seeks urgent talks as 69 migrants picked up
The newly elected Dover and Deal MP is seeking talks with the home secretary after 69 migrants in five boats were picked up off the Kent coast.
Natalie Elphicke said she would be telling Home Secretary Priti Patel that the French needed to do more "to stop illegal departures from their shores". The migrants, including 10 children, have all been given medical checks. On 4 December, 79 migrants, including children, were intercepted in five separate incidents. Mrs Elphicke said: "The French have been given tens of millions of pounds of British hard-earned taxpayer money... I want to know where the money has gone. "Because while much has been done, it is clear there is more to do. "More to do tackling the people traffickers behind this shocking trade in people. "More to do making sure anyone found in the Channel is immediately sent back to France. "More to do by the French to stop these illegal departures from French shores." Five boats The migrants will now be interviewed by immigration officials, a Home Office spokesman said. More than 1,700 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats during 2019. Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram