Huge security blunder that allowed migrants to land in Kent 'sums up' Home Office chaos

Migrants successfully landing on a Kent beach undetected "epitomises the delay, denial and chaos of Labour's failing Home Office", critics blasted.

Five people were detained on September 6 after they were found on a beach near Deal, Kent, making it the first uncontrolled landing in almost three years.

Home Office insiders confirmed at the time that an investigation had been launched - but stopped short of declaring an alarming security blunder.

But they have now concluded the migrants did reach the UK undetected.

And critics said the alarming revelations typify "the delay, denial and chaos of Labour's failing Home Office".

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "On Shabana Mahmood's first day in the job she presided over more than 1,000 illegal arrivals, including this shambles where the government didn't even know a boat had landed.

"We are paying the French hundreds of millions to stop boats leaving their shores, yet under Labour the crisis is spiralling into farce. If the government doesn't even notice landings, what hope do we have of stopping the tens of thousands crossing the Channel this year?

"This epitomises the delay, denial, and chaos of Labour's failing Home Office. They can sack their ministers all they like, but the truth is they've lost control of our borders, and the British people are paying the price."

Sources described it as "an isolated and rare incident", adding "there are significant arrangements and technology in place to prevent uncontrolled landings from taking place."

French vessels generally escort the migrants' dinghies once they are in the sea to the Channel median line before they are picked up by Border Force, RNLI or Coastguard boats to be brought back to Dover.

Chaos has erupted in the Channel over recent weeks, with smugglers launching boats with an average of 80 people destined for the UK.

Witnesses said some of the 13 boats detected on Friday - when 1,072 people arrived - crossed into ferry and shipping lanes, triggering fears of a disaster.

The French Coast Guard even called passenger ferries in UK waters "asking them to keep clear of oncoming migrant dinghies", the Daily Express understands.

In one alarming incident a Border Force vessel went to pick up dozens of migrants as a French rescue ship tried to alert the captain of the Côte Des Dunes about their presence.

But another group of asylum seekers were discovered nearby, witnesses said, meaning the Border Force boat had to be diverted.

The lifeboat then raced in and stayed with the dinghy to prevent an extraordinary catastrophe in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the World.

Migrant boats often lack the power to cut through the water, meaning they can veer off course at any moment.

And boats have been seen collapsing as they reach British waters, because they are crammed so full.

Channel smugglers have vowed to expand their networks and launch even bigger boats, with criminals believing they could send 2,000 people in dinghies every day.

Rob Lawrie, a former soldier who has been speaking to people smugglers for a new podcast, said the Home Office would have to deport 2,000 migrants a week for it to be a deterrent.

He said: "I was talking to a smuggler in Germany last week who said the UK needs to be sending back at least 2,000 a week - and even if that happened they could send 2,000 more a day the other way.

"It's that much money involved in the people smuggling network... I'm talking hundreds of millions.

"He also pointed out that down the line - ''next season'' he called it - they're introducing 18-metre boats. We've had one this year with 132 migrants on board.

"I understand this is a pilot scheme, but in order for this to be effective they need to have about two to three thousand migrants a week heading to France - and even that won't meet the number of migrants coming across the Channel."