LONDON — An attacker on Sunday threw
firebombs at an immigration office used to process asylum seekers crossing the
Channel in small boats as the government seeks to curb record arrivals.
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Kent Police said that on Sunday morning “two or
three incendiary devices” were thrown into a centre processing immigrants in
the Channel port town of
Dover in southern England, injuring one.
The BBC quoted the Home Office as saying the attack
took part at the Western Jet Foil Border Force center in the major Channel port
town, used to process asylum seekers.
Police said that “one minor injury has been
reported” and the suspect “has been identified and located”, without giving
further details.
Kent Live local news website posted photographs of
police and fire services at the scene near the Port of Dover, and the BBC
reported that a fire was put out.
Immigration Minister
Robert Jenrick tweeted that
there had been a “serious incident” and “my sympathies are with those
involved”.
Dover’s Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke tweeted: “I
am deeply shocked by the incident in Dover today. I have spoken to the
immigration minister (Jenrick) about the situation. My thoughts are with everyone
involved.”
Elphicke later told LBC Radio: “I understand that
the Dover immigration center that is at the Port of Dover was firebombed by a
number of devices before an individual committed suicide.”
Police have not confirmed reports that the attacker
killed themselves.
The local MP said that the attack took place at a
center where people arriving in small boats are initially taken before going to
Manston, another processing center in Kent.
Government figures showed that 990 migrants crossed
the Channel in small boats on Saturday, bringing this year’s record total to
nearly 40,000.
The issue has
caused a major political headache for the UK government, which promised tighter
border controls after leaving the EU.
UK Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak said Friday that in
his first call in office with French President Emmanuel Macron the leaders
agreed on greater cooperation to “deter deadly journeys across the Channel that
benefit organized criminals”.
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