Asylum seeker in Brit migrant camp poses with assault riles

Former Metropolitan Police officer Steve Morris said the asylum seeker’s claim should be “processed as an emergency” after photos surfaced of him in military clothing carrying what appears to be assault rifles. The images are thought to date from his time with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a group whose Peshmerga force has been fighting the Iranians for decades, and which is not banned in the UK.

Mr Morris told The Sun: “Anyone with paramilitary experience is a big red flag in my view.” Chakobi previously appeared as a victim in a court case, when fellow asylum seeker Rena Rasul was cleared of assaulting him in a spat over late-night noise at the Wethersfield camp.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “We conduct mandatory security and background checks on every asylum claimant. We will never hesitate to use the full range of powers and tools available to safeguard national security where it is lawful and appropriate to do so.”

It comes as recorded Channel crossings hit their lowest rate since 2021, with 20,935 arrivals so far this year. This marks a 42% decrease from this time last year, and 19% less than in 2023.

Tensions over small boat arrivals have heightened in recent months as migrants began appearing on Hampshire’s shores, more than 100 miles west of the narrowest Channel crossing point near Dover in Kent.

Reform UK has pledged to take drastic measures to curb crossings, including putting the Navy in the Channel and letting Royal Marines use “lethal force” against those arriving without permission. The party’s Treasury spokesperson said Britain has a “gaping hole” in its borders while announcing the plans earlier this month.

He told Talk: “We want to see these individuals picked up off the boats in a sensible and reasonable way and taken straight back to France. And I think the problem would come to an end very, very quickly, you know, within a matter of days.”

The proposal attracted criticism from Labour, with chairwoman Bridget Phillipson describing it as “disgusting and illegal”. She added: “Our armed forces are not going to start opening fire on unarmed civilians, and Reform are dragging their own reputations and credibility in the gutter by suggesting it.”

Pressed by former Tory minister Dame Caroline Dineage on the arrival of migrants in Hampshire, Mr Burnham told the Commons that people arranging small boats were “changing their tactics” because the Government’s co-operation with France had been a “success”. He said: “We will be relentless in changing [our tactics] to make sure that they don’t succeed. It’s precisely because we are succeeding in reducing the number of boat crossings that they are having to try different routes.”