'Nothing will stop us': Defiant migrants vow to continue crossing the Channel ... trends now

Migrants determined to get to Britain vow 'nothing will stop us', despite the very real prospect of being deported to Rwanda or the serious risk of losing their lives in crossing the English Channel.

Their staggering defiance comes just days after Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill finally became law after weeks of parliamentary deadlock, paving the way for deportation flights to get off the ground.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill became an Act of Parliament after being granted royal assent on Thursday.

But for Maryam Shinwari, 24, the threat of being sent to Rwanda is a risk worth taking, having escaped from life under the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Maryam, who is living in a tent near Dunkirk with her husband and three children told The Mirror: 'We must get to London.'

She believes a better life awaits her in Britain.

Likewise, Danayet Abrha, 25, from Eritrea, says that she would have stayed in her birth country had it been safe to do so, but now she must travel to the UK. 

Speaking about her friends who have already come over, she said: 'They're doing well and tell us it's worth risking the journey.'

Teenager Rediet Achenef, 16, also from Eritrea, believes a safer life awaits her on UK shores, despite admitting being 'worried' about the Rwanda scheme.

She said: 'I have no choice. May God help us.' 

Their defiance comes in the wake of five migrants - including a seven-year-old girl - who were killed after a rival group armed with sticks and knives stormed their dinghy on Tuesday.

Just days later, a French policeman was seen slashing an inflatable dinghy filled with migrants in images showing a dramatic escalation of force against people smugglers.

French authorities have been increasingly accused of a soft-touch approach, fuelled by photographs showing officers standing by as heavily-laden boats enter the Channel.

But they have been told to significantly ramp up their efforts after the tragic migrant deaths.

'It's an impossible task - there are just too many boats now. It's like playing whack-a-mole. You stop one boat and then another arrives,' an officer told the Sun. 

However, despite attempts to stop the boat by slashing it open, the police ultimately failed, when another dinghy arrived just 15 minutes later. 

The migrants, who were mainly from Sudan and Vietnam, hopped into the new vessel after breaking through police lines and managing to push off to sea before cops could stop them. 

Meanwhile, French police reportedly deployed tear gas in a bid to try and stop the migrants from crossing the Channel. 

An Interior Ministry source based in northern France told the Mail: 'There have been accusations that the police have been holding back when dealing with the smuggling gangs.

'This is mainly because they don't want to get involved in violence with the migrants, but they must realise that this has to change.

'There was certainly widespread disgust across the various police forces about what happened last Tuesday – the thought that a gang could have used lethal violence to get a place on a boat is incredibly worrying.

'Something needs to change, and to change quickly, and the police believe they can do this.'

Photographs of an operation on Dunkirk beach show officers dressed in body-armour wading into the surf to foil an attempted crossing.

One officer is seen wielding a knife as he prepares to deflate a dinghy overloaded with dozens of migrant. Other policemen are seen dragging away the boat's motor.

Distraught migrants are seen collapsing onto the beach as they are prevented from making the dangerous journey, which some had paid up to £1000 each to attempt.

The dramatic change in tactics is understood to be a direct response to the tragedy that unfolded on Tuesday near the town of Wimereux in the early hours of Tuesday.

Three men, a woman and a seven-year-old girl died during the chaos after their dinghy, laden with 112 people, was stormed by a rival group of migrants as it prepared to set off.

An 18-year-old survivor, named only as Heivin, yesterday told how dozens of people were trampled as migrants armed with sticks and knives piled into the vessel.

The Iraqi teenager told Sky News: 'It was because of them that people died.

'If they hadn't come and started fighting, none of this would have happened.. People were fighting, people were getting stepped on, they were dying and being thrown off.'

Heivin said she fell into the water herself but was yanked back into the vessel by another passenger.

Two

read more from dailymail.....