French rescuers refuse to stop 120 migrants crossing Channel for Britain

Once the boat crossed into British waters, the 120 migrants were scooped up by RNLI lifeboats, which ferried them to Portsmouth.

Upon their arrival, hundreds of furious locals poured onto the streets in protest, blocking traffic while police carrying riot shields formed a blockade.

Four of the five vessels deployed to shadow the migrant mega dinghy belonged to France’s equivalent to the RNLI, the SNSM.

However, the French voluntary organisation refused to allow the so-called "asylum seekers" to leave the overcrowded dinghy and board the lifeboats after deeming it to be too risky.

A Prefecture of Manche spokesman said: “Determined to reach the United Kingdom, migrants making the crossing in makeshift vessels refuse the assistance offered by French services and only accept it when faced with situations of extreme urgency.

“Given the structural fragility of the boats, which are consistently overloaded, the decision has been taken not to force migrants to board state-run rescue vessels, so as to avoid putting their lives at risk in the event of a shipwreck.”

Every vessel and harbourmaster is bound by Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Safety of Life at Sea Convention to help those struggling in the water when their lives are at risk.

The convention outlines the meaning of distress as “a situation wherein there is reasonable certainty that a person, a vessel or other craft is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance”.

This means that lifeboats have a duty to to rescue the occupants from a vessel if there is any danger of a capsize.

Shadow Home Secretary Chirs Philp warned that France’s inaction to step in was "putting lives at risk".

The Tory frontbencher fumed: "Around 100 people have died trying to cross the Channel already. The French could easily end this - they could stop the boats as they embark in knee-deep water, or stop them at sea near the French coast.

“The Belgians do this, and the Australians have done it in the past, with no loss of life at all.

"Allowing this to continue simply puts more lives at risk and allows the illegal crossings to continue. Shabana Mahmood should not be paying £660million of our money while the French refuse to do what other countries will do.”

After picking up the migrants in the Channel, two English ports blocked the lifeboats from entering.

Southampton Vessel Traffic Service and the King’s Harbour Master Portsmouth harbourmasters threatened the charity with legal action if they approached, confirming the "asylum seekers" did not face any risk to life.

After being turned away, the lifeboats brought the migrants to Eastney, where masked demonstrators blocked the road leading away from the RNLI Portsmouth Lifeboat Station.

The dinghy in which the migrants were picked up from is thought to have made one of the longest journeys of any small boat.

The RNLI said it was "disappointed" to have been barred from entering the ports.

A spokesman for the charity said: “We are working with the relevant parties to understand the decision to deny access, and we are disappointed with the nature of the communication with our crews, who voluntarily give their time to save the lives of others at sea."