'Anti-terror powers will make difference'

ADDITIONAL counter-terror powers for border security enforcement will “make the difference” in the number of attempted Channel crossings, a Labour MP has said.

Mike Tapp, MP for Dover and Deal, said the Government’s proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will allow “disruptive techniques” to tackle people smuggling but there is “no quick fix”.

French authorities confirmed three people died in the Channel on Sunday morning following an incident off the coast at Sangatte, near Calais, in which 45 people were rescued after struggling to board a small boat bound for the UK.

They are the first deaths in the Channel since October and take the total number of people who have died attempting the crossing this year to at least 53.