Calais police pose for a selfie after they slash people smugglers' dinghy... before letting the gang saunter away
The officers made no attempt to follow despite the intense focus on their president's new deal with Sir Keir Starmer to stop the boats.
Instead, minutes earlier, the same policemen – in full riot gear – had fired rounds of tear gas to disperse at least 50 migrants, who had emerged from the sand dunes to try to board the vessel at Gravelines beach to make their way to Britain.
At the same time, a police drone hovered in the sky overhead as a few more officers monitored the situation from a nearby lighthouse.
As if to drive home the farce of the dawn spectacle, witnessed by The Mail on Sunday, three officers then amused themselves by slashing the inflatable dinghy to make it inoperable – before taking selfies.
It is thought around 200 migrants had slept in the dunes overnight, hoping to be lucky.
Among them was a 26-year-old Bangladeshi man, Shahin, who admitted he had planned to seek asylum as soon as he reached England – by claiming he was a minor. He had even shaved for the occasion to make himself look younger.
The Mail on Sunday's reporter caught up with him as he hurried back to Calais with a group of ten Vietnamese nationals, many still clutching their life jackets, to catch a bus back to their camp in Dunkirk, 18 miles away.
Migrants sit on a dinghy in Gravelines, France, as they prepare to sail into the English Channel on May 31, 2025
Begging us not to film or photograph him, Shahin said he had been living in Britain until three months ago, having arrived on a domestic work visa and had claimed asylum while working in the construction industry.
When his asylum claim was rejected, he said he then married a woman in London, living in Whitechapel until the marriage broke down and he decided to leave for France.
Shahin said he had reconciled with his wife and paid a Kurdish people-smuggler £1,730 to take him to the UK, and had already tried twice in lorries, but was caught both times.
Speaking in his native Bengali, he said, laughing: 'This is why I have shaved. I am actually 26. When I finally get there I will say I am underage.'
Meanwhile, three boats carrying dozens of migrants successfully left from other destinations along the coastline and were intercepted by Border Force cutters mid-way in the English Channel and brought to Dover.
On Friday, 353 boat migrants arrived in Dover in ten boats, bringing the record tally this year so far to 22,043.
French Police enter the water to try and stop migrants boarding small boats that had come to collect them from further down the coastline on June 13, 2025 in Gravelines, France
French police officers watch a group of people thought to be migrants board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, on May 31, 2025
Last night, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'After Keir Starmer's posturing and fake bonhomie with Emmanuel Macron last week, The Mail on Sunday has uncovered the reality of what is actually happening on the ground in France.
'Far from smashing the gangs, brazen people-smugglers are allowed to walk free.
'And now we learn that a 26-year-old Bangladeshi plans to pretend to be under18 in order to get special treatment in the UK.'
Mr Philp added: 'Since we're the only country in Europe not to use scientific age-assessment methods and activist lawyers help the illegal immigrants fake their age, he will probably get away with it and may pop up in a classroom near you soon.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Reuters
Violent clashes erupt between far-right groups and migrants in Spanish town
MADRID, July 13 (Reuters) - Violent clashes erupted between far-right groups, local residents and North African migrants in a town in southeastern Spain late on Saturday following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week. Five people were hurt and one was arrested during the unrest in Torre-Pacheco, local officials told Reuters, in one of the worst such episodes in the country in recent decades. The town was quieter on Sunday, but government sources said more arrests were expected. Videos posted on social media showed men dressed in clothes bearing far-right symbols and migrants carrying Moroccan flags hurling objects at each other in Saturday night's violence, which followed several days of lower intensity unrest. Tensions flared up between local residents and migrants after the elderly man was attacked in the street on Wednesday, causing injuries from which he is recovering at home. The reasons behind the assault are unclear and no one has been arrested. The central government's representative in the area, Mariola Guevara, told Spanish public TV the attack was being investigated. She also denounced "hate speech" and "incitement to violence," as far-right groups moved into the town, and said additional Guardia Civil officers would be deployed to deal with the violence. Nearly a third of Torre-Pacheco's population is of foreign origin, according to local government data. The area surrounding the town, which is located in the Murcia region, also hosts large numbers of migrants who work as day labourers in agriculture, one of the pillars of the regional economy. Less than two weeks ago, Murcia's government had to backtrack on a proposal to buy housing to accommodate unaccompanied migrant minors as the ruling conservative People's Party (PP) was threatened by far-right Vox, whose support the PP needs to pass laws. In 2000, violent anti-immigration protests broke out in the Almeria town of El Ejido in southern Spain after three Spanish citizens were killed by Moroccan migrants.
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
Inmate escapes from French prison by hiding in bag of released cellmate
An inmate has escaped from a French prison by hiding in the bag of his cellmate who was being released, according to reports. The 20-year-old prisoner fled from Lyon-Corbas prison in south-east France on Friday, BFMTV reported. The prison service has reportedly now launched an internal investigation into the incident, with its director, Sébastien Cauwel, admitting to an 'accumulation of errors' that led to the incident. He told the broadcaster: 'This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration and which clearly reveals a whole series of serious dysfunctions.' The inmate, who is still on the run, managed to hide in his cellmate's bag when he was released at the end of his sentence on Friday, BFMTV said. However, his escape was reportedly not noticed by staff for another 24 hours. It has been suggested that the delay was due to overcrowding at the prison. 'This facility has an occupancy rate of 170 per cent. This clearly makes working conditions more difficult for our staff,' the prison service head told BFMTV. French media have reported that the escaped prisoner was serving several sentences and was also under investigation in a case connected to organised crime. The BBC added that a judicial investigation probing the possibility that the escape was 'part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy' has been opened.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Britain on verge of signing returns deal with Iraq to thwart small boats crisis
BRITAIN is on the verge of signing a returns deal with Iraq to thwart the small boats crisis. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to be in the final stages of negotiations to help break up people smuggling gangs. 1 Iraqi Kurds have been one of the biggest obstacles to tackling the problem which has seen numbers continuously ramp up since 2018. The proposed deal comes after Sir Keir Starmer struck a ' one in, one out ' deal with France last week to help reduce numbers. But more than 22,000 migrants have already made the perilous journey this year. The deal will help return the number of migrants making the C hannel crossings and failed asylum seekers back to Baghdad. It had been hoped that the deal could have been signed off this month but an Iraqi delegation has delayed their visit, the Sunday Times said. The agreement, expected to be finalised at the end of the summer, would allow UK authorities to detain and then send migrants back to Iraq more easily. The National Crime Agency has been drafted in to try and stop the bosses of the smuggling gangs from bringing migrants to Britain. Bosses from Britain's so-called FBI are understood to have established a presence with the Kurdish authorities. Boats and engines are also been closely monitored with sniffer dogs from the UK being deployed between Turkey and Bulgaria to find rubber dinghies being used in the crossings. Rob Jones, the NCA boss head of operations, said he was targeting areas where kingpins thought they were 'untouchable'. But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told Sky News that it was 'absolutely ludicrous' to think the deal with France would have any impact. He said: "This deal will only see about 6% of illegal immigrants who arrive in the UK getting returned to France, and the idea that therefore 94% can stay here is going to have any effect is absolutely ludicrous.' "Of course, if 94% of illegal immigrants who cross can stay in the UK, that is no deterrent whatsoever.' The Prime Minister will hold talks this week with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he called illegal migration "a global problem".
