Over the past three months, some 450 refugees have attempted to cross The English Channel by boat and illegally cross the British border. The interior Ministry of the United Kingdom has requested the Ministry of defense to increase patrols of the Strait by warships.

British authorities have asked the Royal Navy to assist in patrolling The English Channel due to the increase in the number of migrants who are trying to enter illegally the country by boat. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing a statement by the British defense Ministry.

The Department reported a request from the home office, which reported that dozens of illegal immigrants from France tried to force The English Channel and land on the South coast of the United Kingdom. According to Scotland Yard, only in 2018 in this way in Britain intended to get 539 people, 434 of them— in the last three months. Also, the French police were able to detain another 227 refugees who planned to cross the Strait.

In addition on December 3 British police arrested 33-year-old Iranian and a 24-year-old citizen of the Kingdom on suspicion of organizing the illegal movement of migrants across The English Channel.

The representative of the Ministry of defense told the WSJ that the Department is working on how to help in solving this problem the best. Also, the British immigration service requested to return to the inland waters two specialized ships to strengthen patrols, which were used in the Mediterranean sea to protect the Maritime borders of the European Union.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that the authorities should pay attention to the problem of migration through The English Channel. “We must make it clear to people that if they go on such journey, their lives will be in their own hands,” the interior Minister said.

However, the Labour Party criticized Javid’s statement. Politicians believe that the British authorities should work together with their colleagues from the EU to ensure asylum and safe transportation to the country of refugees fleeing war or persecution.​

In late December, the Times learned of Javid’s intention to tighten the entry of migrants from the EU to Britain. According to the newspaper, by 2025 the number of refugees should be reduced to 10-25 thousand people, the number of highly skilled migrant workers will decrease from 15 to 11 thousand, medium-skilled workers — from 18.5 to 4.5 thousand, while the majority of low-skilled workers will be banned from entering the country.