The Home Secretary was in Dover today to meet with the teams who deal with the ongoing arrival of small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel.

Priti Patel met with Border Force and immigration enforcement teams during the private meeting, the Home Office said.

Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, was also in attendance.

Ms Priti's trip to the port comes as it was confirmed she would remain in her role as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet reshuffle.

She tweeted: "A huge privilege to continue serving as Home Secretary under our Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"There is still so much more to do to deliver for the British people. Tackling illegal migration, cutting crime and continuing to keep our great country safe."

More people arrived in Dover today, as crossings continued for the fourth consecutive day this week.

UK authorities had to rescue 222 people as part of 10 events, while French authorities intercepted 95 people from two events.

The previous day (Wednesday), UK authorities rescued 85 people as part of four crossings.

A new record was set for the year so far when 1,959 people crossed the Channel from France in the week to September 10 - the highest total for any seven-day period in 2021, according to data compiled and analysed by the PA news agency.

At least 14,400 people have crossed to the UK on board small boats this year.

The total for 2021 so far is already just over 6,000 higher than the number of people who made the crossing in 2020.

To help accommodate the rising number of asylum seekers coming to the UK, the Home Office has extended the use of Napier Barracks in Folkestone for another five years.

Originally, the army barracks were only supposed to be used to accommodate adult, single men seeking asylum for 12 months following its transformation last September.

It has been plagued with issues since then, including arrests, a fire, protests, Covid-19 outbreaks and repeated calls for it to be closed.

This week it was revealed a woman is trying to raise funds to take the Home Office to court over its decision to keep the barracks open until 2026.

Mr O’Mahoney said: "This unacceptable rise in dangerous crossings is being driven by criminal gangs and a surge in illegal migration across Europe.

“We’re determined to target the criminals at every level, so far, we have secured nearly 300 arrests, 65 convictions and prevented more than 12,000 migrant attempts.

“But there is more to do.

"The Government’s New Plan for Immigration is the only credible way to fix the broken asylum system, breaking the business model of criminal gangs and welcoming people through safe and legal routes."

Asylum seekers arriving in Dungeness on Monday

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Read more: All the latest news from Dover

Read more: All the latest news from Folkestone