A MIGRANT boat carrying 140 people to the UK was launched from the furthest ever point in the Channel yesterday.
It comes just days after Prime Minister Andy Burnham hailed a crackdown on crossings.
The mega-dinghy was launched from the Jobourg region in Normandy, 180 miles west of Calais.
Despite launching six boats and two helicopters to monitor the boat, French cops allowed it to carry on, noting in a press release on Sunday morning: “The vessel is currently continuing its journey towards the United Kingdom.”
They said that despite the departure location being “unusual for the area”, they were still available to provide “rapid and robust assistance”.
The boat was then met by two RNLI lifeboats with the migrants taken ashore at Portsmouth before being transferred to the processing centre at Manston.
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RNLI boats carrying migrants docked in Langstone Harbour near Portsmouth yesterday evening.
It comes after the PM met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron with the small boats issue a focal point of talks.
A new surge team of 45 officers has been deployed – but drew criticism as it emerged, they would have to seek permission in order to enter the water.
The crossings were the first in nine days after more than a week of no migrant dinghies, according to Home Office data.
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It comes after masked protesters chanting “stop the boats” were able to bring chaos to the Port of Dover on Saturday.
Cars were stuck in huge queues after the balaclava-clad group blocked off roads from 7am.
Kevin Mills, who leads Dover District Council, criticised Kent Police for being “slow” to react to the far-right group, who were “exceptionally well organised”.
He said the force “appeared to be quite slow to keep the roads and the networks open, which is disappointing”.
“The protesters knew what they were doing, I’m not sure the police did know what was going to happen.
“But then I accept that the police resource is stretched.”
Kent Police said no arrests had been made and labelled the demonstration as “spontaneous”.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds criticised the protest but declined to comment “on the security and policing side of it”.
He told Sky News: “I do think our police forces deal with a great deal across British towns and cities.
“And these days, people can use modern communications in ways that do make things happen quickly.
“I think on the whole, the police handle it very well. But look, peaceful protest, yes. Those kinds of scenes, absolutely not.”
Reform UK politician Robert Jenrick said he had “always hated people obstructing other people doing their daily life, whether it’s Just Stop Oil or whatever”.
He added: “And I don’t like people going around in balaclavas, which is obviously very intimidating. In fact, our party’s policy is to ban face coverings like that.
“But do I understand why people are extremely frustrated? Yes, absolutely. This needs to end. This farce of the small boats has been going on for far too long.
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“And in fact you saw at our conference Nigel Farage and (National Rally president) Jordan Bardella, the likely next Prime Minister of France, signing an agreement which has the prospect of ending this once and for all.”
A Government spokesperson said on Saturday that it condemned the behaviour in Dover and the travel disruption it caused.