Small boat carrying 32 migrants intercepted a mile from Dover after someone onboard calls 999

Published: 10:46 EDT, 7 October 2026 | Updated: 10:53 EDT, 7 October 2026 A small boat carrying 32 migrants was intercepted less than a mile from Dover today after someone onboard phoned 999.Border Security Command vessels and lifeboats were scrambled just before 9am, with the dinghy located off Shakespeare Beach just outside Dover Harbour.Footage show an RNLI lifeboat approaching the inflatable in misty conditions. Officials said all 32 migrants were brought ashore at Dover and taken for processing.However, the fact the dinghy was able to get so close to the British shoreline without being detected will raise fresh concerns over border security. Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced an urgent review after two boats made 'uncontrolled landings' on Kent beaches. In one incident, 21 migrants were arrested after landing at Samphire Hoe, near Dover.Just a day earlier, five migrants were arrested after arriving on a separate Kent beach.Further along the coast, in Hampshire, the landing of another group of small boat migrants sparked furious protests on Sunday. Photos taken at around 9am show an RNLI lifeboat coming alongside the inflatable in misty conditions Almost 150 migrants were brought ashore in Gosport, with around 350 anti-migrant protesters demonstrating in the town.A total of 11 men and one woman were arrested for offences including assaulting a police officer, possession of a 'pyrotechnic article' and obstructing an ambulance.Anti-migrant activists have now vandalised two coaches they claim were being used to transport migrants.Vandals threw paving stones at the vehicles during an overnight incident at Rownhams Services, on the M27 near Southampton.The yobs also punctured the vehicles' tyres and pulled off their wing mirrors.There has been no official confirmation that the coaches were ever used to carry migrants.The caption to a video circulating online showing the vandalism reads: 'If illegal immigrants were headed for Hampshire tonight. They ain't now!'Almost 1,300 small-boat migrants have reached Britain in just four days – the busiest period so far this year.The Home Office confirmed 609 migrants were brought ashore on Monday – pushing this year's running total past the 20,000 mark.It means the four-day period from Friday to Monday saw 1,282 arrive in total, beating this year's previous four-day high of 1,202, set in June.Since January 1, 20,478 migrants have now reached Britain by crossing the Channel illegally. There was a further unconfirmed number of arrivals on Tuesday, with Border Force vessels busy picking up migrants from early in the morning.Monday's departures from France saw tragic scenes as two men died and two women were injured as they attempted the perilous crossing.French authorities said the men, one in his 30s and the other in his 40s, died after leaving the coast at Berck overnight.The women were taken to hospital after suffering burns to large areas of their bodies, the authorities said.GB News first reported on the 999 call that sparked today's interception off Dover. A Home Office spokesman said: 'We have made progress tackling the small boats. Crossings are down significantly, and we have just recorded the lowest number of summer arrivals since 2020.'We are taking action, with joint efforts preventing over 48,000 crossing attempts and seizing 1,100 boats and engines since the election.'But we must go further, which is why we are boosting the number of officers on the ground in France and removing the pull factors drawing people here through illegal and dangerous routes.'