(London) A British immigration reception center was targeted by incendiary devices on Sunday, according to media and local police, amid record numbers of Channel crossings in small boats .
Posted at 10:37 a.m.
Investigators were able to establish that “two to three incendiary devices were thrown at the premises” of the Home Office’s immigration services, according to Kent police.
According to British media, it is a center for migrants.
One minor injury was reported, according to police, who say “the suspect has been identified and located”.
The police, however, could not confirm the death of the suspect, who according to press reports would have ended his life.
Video posted by the Daily Mirror website shows large flames at a location which appears to be outside the reception centre.
Secretary of State for Immigration Robert Jenrick spoke of a “serious incident in Dover” and tweeted his sympathies to “those affected”, as well as “thanks” and “admiration” to the police force continuing their “essential work of keeping us safe”.
Brexit Promise
Local MP Natalie Elphicke said she was “deeply shocked by the events in Dover today”, saying she had spoken to the Secretary of State for Immigration about it.
The attack comes as nearly 1,000 migrants arrived on English shores on Saturday after crossing the English Channel, according to British government figures.
They are now nearly 40,000 since the beginning of the year – already far more than for the whole of 2021 – to have made the perilous crossing aboard small boats, in one of the busiest straits in the world. world.
A spokesman for the UK Home Office simply said the Home Office was aware of an incident and police were dispatched to the scene, declining “at this stage” to comment further.
Struggling to fulfill the promise of better control of immigration with Brexit, the government has the highly controversial project of sending asylum seekers who have arrived illegally to Rwanda.
Suspended in particular due to legal appeals, the project, designed under the mandate of Boris Johnson, is supported by the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Himself the grandson of Indian immigrants, he took a tough stance on immigration, and appointed ultra-conservative Suella Braverman to the Home Office, a move that appears to be a move towards the wing right of the Conservative Party.
“Discourage deadly crossings”
On Friday, Rishi Sunak pleaded for better cooperation with France during a call with President Emmanuel Macron.
“The Prime Minister underlined the importance for both countries of making the Channel route completely impassable for human traffickers. The leaders pledged to deepen their partnership to deter deadly Channel crossings that benefit organized criminals,” according to Downing Street.
The two countries have already agreed that the British government will financially help the French authorities to better monitor the French coasts to prevent departures.
But according to the newspaper The TimesRishi Sunak wants to go further and wants a global agreement with quantified targets of intercepted boats and British border police officers patrolling France.
He also wants to set targets for 80% of asylum applications to be processed within six months, against an average of 480 days, but also to tighten the conditions for granting asylum.
According to the British authorities, up to 80% of these new migrants are now Albanians.
The UK asylum system is completely overwhelmed by this influx.