Unrepentant Nigel Farage breaks lockdown to watch migrants arriving at Dover as 11 more are picked up today taking total to 1,065 so far this year

An unrepentant Nigel Farage returned to the Kent coast today as 11 migrants were picked up - with more than 1,000 having now made it to Britain this year. 

On Monday Mr Farage appeared in Dover and said he 'witnessed first hand our Border Force acting as a taxi service for illegal migrants', adding that Britons have 'every right to be angry about it'. 

A total of 16 migrants including a baby were picked up off the Kent coast that day - as the figure of those coming to Britain rapidly creeps up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019. 

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The Brexit Party leader today told MailOnline police may turn up at his home again but said he won't be 'intimidated, so went back to the Kent coast for LBC

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More migrants arrive by dinghy this morning after 49 refugees reached the UK on Sunday, with another 31 also caught on the other side of the Channel and taken back to France

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The crossings mean more than 1,000 asylum seekers have made it to Britain this year - rapidly creeping up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019 (pictured: Dover this morning)

The following day Mr Farage said he was the victim of 'lockdown lunacy' after two 'sheepish' police officers turned up on his doorstep to chide him over his trip to Dover 

The Brexit Party leader told MailOnline police may turn up at his home again but said he won't be 'intimidated, so went back to the Kent coast for LBC today.

A group of 11 migrants - eight men and three women - were brought into the Port of Dover this morning after crossing the Channel in one boat. 

Mr Farage said: 'We have reporters out all over the country, covering Covid-19 and many other stories, and the imparting of information to the public by journalists is classified as a key worker's job'.

He was visited by two 'sheepish' Kent Police officers at 9.40pm on Monday night who warned him about the lockdown allowing only 'essential travel'.

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Mr Farage said that 3,200 people had come to the UK on dinghies and small boats since 2018 – but predicted 'at this rate it could be this much again by the end of the year'

Mr Farage said: 'I personally think that the police deeply mistaken by visiting me - by any definition what I did was perfectly within the rules.

'I would prefer they didn't [visit again] but I won't be intimidated by a knock on the door at the dead of night.

'That's partly why I went back today – but also to tell this important story. There is also a coronavirus element because there are known cases in the Calais Jungle.

'Before I left this morning one boat had been picked up by the British border force - and we suspect the French navy picked two or three more. We all know that Dover is the tip of the iceberg'.

Mr Farage said that 3,200 people had come to the UK on dinghies and small boats since 2018 – but predicted 'at this rate it could be this much again by the end of the year'.

It came after 49 refugees reached the UK on Sunday, with another 31 also caught on the other side of the Channel and taken back to France.

The crossings mean more than 1,000 asylum seekers have made it to Britain this year - rapidly creeping up on the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019. 

Last month, a record 523 asylum seekers arrived in the UK after making the life-risking boat trip across the Dover Strait shipping lane.

And it was revealed at the weekend that just five per cent of migrants who have crossed since January 2019 have been sent back to Europe. Around one in 20 - 155 of 2,839 refugees - were returned, Home Office data showed.

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Last month, a record 523 asylum seekers arrived in the UK after making the life-risking boat trip across the Dover Strait shipping lane (pictured: Dover this morning)

Chris Philp, Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts, had said: 'We are all working night and day to dismantle and arrest the criminal gangs who trade in people smuggling.

'Criminals are abusing vulnerable men, women and children by trafficking them across the Channel.

'This illegal and criminal activity is subject to heavy law enforcement activity by Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and French law enforcement.

'Over 1,100 migrants were arrested in France in the first quarter of this year and in 2019 Immigration Enforcement made 418 arrests, leading to 203 convictions for a total of 437 years.

'Our actions are focussed on going after the criminals perpetrating these crimes and prosecuting them for their criminal activity.'

Former MEP Mr Farage was seen at Dover on Monday, days after being slammed for travelling 100 miles during lockdown to make a video on migrant crossings in Hastings, East Sussex.

He said: 'Over 1,000 people have come in through Dover already this year.

'Unless we act, it will be many thousands more. Time for the Home Secretary to step up.

'I witnessed first hand our Border Force acting as a taxi service, this must change.' 

The issue has continued despite the Government pumping millions of pounds into security measures to patrol the French coastline.

Last week Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs about a new crackdown on migrant crossings - just months after she had outlined a plan which she claimed would all but eradicate them.