Channel migrants: Home secretary declares major incident
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46705128
The rising number of migrants attempting to cross the Channel in small boats has been declared a "major incident" by the UK home secretary.
Bridget Chapman, from the charity Kent Refugee Action Network, said the situation was in part a result of UK measures to "beef up the security around Calais".
"We've put a big fence up to prevent people from accessing trains and lorries and people are resorting to other methods to get here," she told the BBC.
"It's winter, but the weather has been quite good. And I expect people traffickers are exploiting people, saying, 'You know, things are going to tighten up after Brexit, you need to go now.'"
Many of the migrants are Iranian or Syrian.
More than five million Syrians have left their country since its civil war started in 2011, and in the past two years, Iranian citizens have made more UK asylum applications than any other nationality according to Home Office figures.