The Home Office has released dramatic footage of migrants being rescued from the Channel - as ministers sought to rebut criticism of the giant loophole in their new returns deal with France.
One video shows migrants jumping off an overloaded dinghy into the sea and swimming towards a lifeboat, while in a second a child is seen being loaded into a winch and pulled to safety.
Another clip shows rescue workers frantically pulling people onto a boat as dozens remain waiting in the water - with officials claiming the Anglo-French agreement would help prevent 'life-threatening scenes like this'.
The treaty has faced intense criticism for including an extraordinary loophole that allows small boat migrants who lodge human rights claims in Britain to evade being returned to France.
They will be ruled out of new deportation measures if legal claims are outstanding or if they claim to be under 18, it emerged.
