Migrants are phoning police to collect them from Channel boats

A Border Force vessel arrives at Dover with migrants yesterday
A Border Force vessel arrives at Dover with migrants yesterday
PA

Illegal migrants are ringing police to collect them from boats in the Channel because they are so sure of avoiding being returned to their countries, MPs have been told.

It is part of a shift in the “business model” of organised criminals, with the emphasis now on people seeking out the authorities rather than being met at departure points and smuggled into the country undetected.

Steve Rodhouse, director-general of operations at the National Crime Agency, said that about 40 per cent of those who arrived had paid an average of £5,000 each to “facilitators” who often started arranging the journey to Europe in Iran.

His comments came as 13 migrants, including two children and a baby, were found yesterday on a small vessel. They were