Home secretary Suella Braverman offers 'heartfelt thoughts' after three people die crossing English Channel

Home secretary and Fareham MP Suella Braverman has paid tribute after three people died and 43 others were rescued after a small boat incident off the coast of Kent on Wednesday morning.

The Royal Navy, French navy, HM Coastguard and RNLI lifeboats are all involved in a major operation. RNLI lifeboats were launched from Dover at 3.07am, followed by vessels from Ramsgate and Hastings.

Ms Braverman said: ‘I am aware of a distressing incident in the Channel this morning and I am being kept constantly updated while agencies respond and urgently establish the full facts.

‘My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved.’

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The boat is likely to have been carrying migrants risking the crossing from France, a day after prime minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a package of new measures to ‘stop the boats’.

More than 44,000 people have made the dangerous crossing this year, government figures show.

It follows a fatal incident in November last year when at least 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK from France.

A government spokesman said: ‘We are aware of an incident in UK waters and all relevant agencies are supporting a co-ordinated response. Further details will be provided in due course.’

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke added: ‘I am very saddened to hear that lives are feared to have been lost following a small boat tragedy in the English Channel this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.’

It is understood the number of people confirmed dead so far could be likely to rise.

In Dover, a black body bag was brought to shore on a stretcher from the Dover RNLI lifeboat at around 11.15am. It was taken up to waiting forensics tents outside the RNLI headquarters.

There are likely to have been freezing temperatures in the Channel overnight amid a cold snap sweeping across the UK.

The temperature recorded at Dungeness overnight was somewhere between zero degrees Celsius and one degree Celsius, according to the Met Office.