One person dies as illegal migrants aim to cross English Channel

One person has died after a boat carrying illegal migrants trying to cross the English Channel from France got into difficulties overnight, said a local French authority on Thursday.

The French local authority responsible for the North Sea and English Channel regions said 15 people had been rescued and brought back to shore at the port of Gravelines, near Dunkirk.

Both the British and French governments have made tackling migrants crossing the English Channel illegally - often in perilous conditions as they travel in dinghies or small boats - a high priority.

Data in January showed Britain's deeply unpopular Labour government had removed 16,400 illegal migrants since coming to power last July, marking the highest rate of such removals since 2018, although Labour's political opponents say the government needs to do more.

The rate of return remains a small fraction of the incoming numbers and total already living illegally in the country.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)