As dawn breaks, a dinghy slowly drifts into view, bobbing alongside a French Navy tug heading towards UK waters. Fifteen desperate migrants – men, women and a young child – are on board, and the Sunday Mirror has been tracking the vessel for an hour.
The fragile boat is escorted through a mile-wide “separation zone” 11 nautical miles off Dover. It distinguishes French and UK shipping lanes – but there is no attempt by the tug to intervene.
The migrants have, literally, been Channelled into the UK – paying up to £7,000 a head to people smugglers. And soon, against the backdrop of the White Cliffs of Dover, the Border Force intercepts them.
Read more on mirror.co.uk