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- The videos filmed in Oct 2023 show police try to force the small boat around
- They ram the dingy, threaten the migrants with pepper spray and flood the boat
The two videos filmed in October 2023, were obtained during a joint investigate by the Observer, Lighthouse Reports, Le Monde and Der Spiegel, and shows the officers trying to physically force a small boat to turn around.
The aggressive tactics, used by British funded French police, including circling a migrant boat, creating waves to flood the dinghy; ramming into a small boat while threatening passengers with pepper spray; and puncturing boats when they are already at sea.
Now experts have warned that these 'pushback' tactics could cause a mass casualty event.'
The two videos filmed in October 2023, were obtained during a joint investigate by the Observer, Lighthouse Reports, Le Monde and Der Spiegel, and shows the officers trying to physically force a small boat to turn around. One officer holds a large tank of prepper spray (above)© Provided by Daily Mail
The aggressive tactics, used by British funded French police, including circling a migrant boat, creating waves to flood the dinghy and ramming into a small boat© Provided by Daily Mail
An anonymous search and rescue expert, spoke to the Observer: 'This is a textbook pushback – exactly the same as we see in Greece.'
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The Princess of Wales has announced tonight that she has been diagnosed with cancer aged 42 and is undergoing 'preventative' chemotherapy. In a deeply emotional video message, filmed at Windsor on Wednesday, Catherine revealed the news had come as a 'huge shock' and that she and William 'have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family'. It came days after she was seen smiling with Prince William as they left their favorite farm shop close to their Windsor home. Speaking from a bench surrounded by daffodils and spring blossom, she said: 'It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.©BBC Studios
READ MORE: More than 500 migrants reach the UK in small boats on busiest day of Channel crossings so far this year
'That one manoeuvre alone could cause a mass casualty event. The water is deep enough to drown in. I've seen this in the central Mediterranean many times, but this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this happening in the Channel.'In 2020 another video was leaked of Greek authorities performing similar tactics. A coastguard officer was seen prodding a large dingy full of migrants repeatedly with a large stick before shots are later seen hitting the water around the boat.
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Senior UK Border Force sources confirmed that these dangerous methods could likely lead to death: 'If the blades [of the French boat] make contact with the vessel, it will slash right through it.'
'The other thing is a collision. The weight and the force of that vessel could ride straight over the top of the rib. It would knock the passengers out, knock them unconscious and into the water. It could potentially lead to death. I can't believe any mariner could condone that.'
![Senior UK Border Force sources confirmed that these dangerous methods could likely lead to death: 'If the blades [of the French boat] make contact with the vessel, it will slash right through it'](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fimg-s-msn-com.akamaized.net%2Ftenant%2Famp%2Fentityid%2FBB1ksctY.img%3Fw%3D634%26h%3D1127%26m%3D6&hash=428c964d88c80760b491e4e6115bc16d "Senior UK Border Force sources confirmed that these dangerous methods could likely lead to death: 'If the blades [of the French boat] make contact with the vessel, it will slash right through it'")
Senior UK Border Force sources confirmed that these dangerous methods could likely lead to death: 'If the blades [of the French boat] make contact with the vessel, it will slash right through it'© Provided by Daily Mail
READ MORE: Dozens of migrants take advantage of the spring weather to cross the English Channel - as the number of asylum seekers illegally reaching Britain tops 3,200 this year
The second video allegedly shows members of the French gendarmerie drive alongside a dinghy and threaten the passengers with a large tank of pepper spray, before ramming their boat into the dingy.
France and Britain signed a declaration in November 2022 that saw then-home secretary Suella Braverman and French interior minister Gérald Darmanin commit to improving their cooperation in tackling illegal migration.
France has been tasked with stepping up efforts to prevent Channel crossings in recent years by deploying more police and drawing on extra equipment and facilities in the wake of deals with the UK worth £191.3 million between 2018 and 2022.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has also promised to spend £480 million on policing the border between 2023 and 2026, which includes a contribution towards the creation of a detention centre in France.
Rishi Sunak's Rwanda deportation plan has been hit by further delay after defiant peers dug their heels in and inflicted fresh defeats on his flagship immigration policy earlier this week.
