Police detain two in connection with immigration law breach in East Sussex

Newhaven’s RNLI lifeboat was dispatched on Sunday afternoon after reports of a small boat off the coast.

In a statement Sussex Police said: “Police were called to Newhaven Port at 2.30pm on Sunday, October 8 over a report of a vessel in difficulty at sea.

"Eight persons were brought ashore with the help of the RNLI lifeboat team, HS Coastguard and the UK Border Force.

A 29 year-old man from Enfield and a 38 year-old man from Hertfordshire were arrested on suspision of doing an act to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national.

"They both remain in custody at this time.

The Home Office did not not comment on the incident but prepared a statement on incidents involving small boats.

The statement from January 2023 said: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

“Our priority is to stop the boats, and thanks to the work of the small boats operational command alongside our French partners, crossings are down by more than 20 per cent compared to the same point last year.

“The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”