Petrol bombs thrown at migrant centre in Dover
Emergency services are attending the Border Force migration centre in Dover, Kent, following reports a man was seen throwing petrol bombs at the perimeter fence.
A witness from the Reuters news agency said the attacker, a white man in a striped top, drove up to the centre in a sports utility vehicle.
The witness, a photographer, said he saw the man get out and throw three petrol bombs, one of which did not go off.
Video posted on social media by a GB News journalist showed staff putting out a small fire on the centre's exterior wall.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident at about 11.25 on Sunday morning, and confirmed a fire was put out.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the attacker killed himself a short time after the incident.
Kent police would not confirm the fatality but issued a statement:
"Officers established that two to three incendiary devices had been thrown into a Home Office immigration premises.
"One minor injury has been reported.
The suspect has been identified and located. Enquiries into the incident remain ongoing."
The incident came after almost 1,000 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel on Saturday.
Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, said people at the Border Force migrant centre are being “looked after” following the “dreadful” attack.
She told LBC radio: “I understand that the Dover immigration centre that is at the Port of Dover was firebombed with the number of devices before an individual then committed suicide.”
She said the motivation of the perpetrator is so far unknown, but the centre is “a well-known facility” where small boats arrive before people are taken to the Manston asylum processing centre in Kent.
“It’s an absolutely dreadful situation that we have now at Dover,” she added. “I understand that all the people who are at the centre are being looked after and precautions are being made for their safety”.
Ms Elphicke added “tensions have been running high” over immigration and that she would not use some of the Home Secretary’s language on the issue.
She said: “I think it is fair to say that tensions have been running high over the last period. And indeed, I’d raised my concerns about that with the immigration minister earlier this week.”
She mentioned a case a week ago when people who had arrived on the Dover beach in small boats across the Channel entered a house nearby, with someone “eventually apprehended in a woman’s bedroom”.
Asked about potentially incendiary language by Suella Braverman, who suggested it was her “dream” to deport people to Rwanda, Ms Elphicke said: “I don’t use and I wouldn’t use language such as that.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident at Western Jet Foil, Dover, and police are in attendance.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Kent Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its crews had put out fires.
A Home Office spokesperson told us: “We are aware of an incident at Western Jet Foil, Dover and police are in attendance.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”