A newborn baby girl has been rescued by the RNLI after surviving a nine-hour journey across the Channel with her mum in a migrant boat.
The tot called Ayyan was wrapped when she was handed to a police officer on the shore of Dungeness, Kent, on Saturday.
A man who made the treacherous boat journey with Ayyan was asked by Sky News if the French police had tried to stop them.
He replied "No, they don't say anything" before adding that the officers watched them leave.
The man also translated for Ayyan's mum who said her baby was "doing well".
The desperate mum also said she was was prepared to risk her own safety and that of her baby's to get to England for "the best life" and she was pleased to have made it.
Scores of people were filmed arriving in the UK on Saturday as the French interior minister Gerald Darmanin visited Calais to look at his nation's efforts to tackle illegal immigration in the Channel.
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On Saturday and estimated 70 migrants have been rescued by the RNLI and brought to Dungeness.
Last month the Home Secretary is believed to have given Border Force the green light to "push back" vessels carrying desperate people across the Channel.
It is thought the extreme tactics will only be used in limited circumstances - but they have enraged human rights groups and the French government.
Mr Darmanin tweeted: "France will not accept any practice that goes against maritime law, and will not accept any financial blackmail."
Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: "Turning boats around at sea in the world’s busiest shipping channel is dangerous and risks lives."
More than 17,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since the beginning of the year which is double the figure for 2020.
According to PA news agency data, more than 25,000 people have risked death crossing the English Channel on board dinghies, kayaks and other small boats since the beginning of last year.
RNLI was forced to defend its life-saving work in July after Nigel Farage accused it of being a “taxi service for illegal trafficking gangs”.
The charity went on to record a 2,000 per cent increase in donations in a single day in a surge of support.
