Firebombing at Dover migrant centre as ‘two or three devices thrown by man in car’

A man has firebombed a reception centre for small boat migrants in Kent.Police said up to three incendiary devices were thrown at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover, where asylum seekers are processed after being rescued in the English Channel.A witness from the Reuters news agency said the perpetrator drove to a nearby petrol station and killed himself but police have not confirmed the suspect’s death.The man was photographed launching the firebombs from inside a white Seat Police said two or three devices were thrown One minor injury was reported at the centre, where almost 1,000 people were brought to shore on Saturday.A spokesperson for Kent Police said the force was called at around 11.20am on Sunday.’Officers established that two to three incendiary devices had been thrown into a Home Office immigration premises,’ a spokesperson added. ‘One minor injury has been reported. The suspect has been identified and located. Enquiries into the incident remain ongoing.’A Reuters photographer captured the moment the suspect, a middle-aged white man wearing a checked shirt, pulled up outside Western Jet Foil in a white car and launched the petrol bombs out the window.Members of the military and UK Border Force extinguish a fire at the Border Force centre in DoverThe homemade devices, which appeared to be attached to fireworks, hit barriers surrounding the facility and burst into flames.Photos later showed the same white Seat being examined by police officers at a BP petrol station on the nearby A20.Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, called the incident ‘deeply shocking’.’Thank you to the emergency services for responding,’ she wrote on Twitter. ‘Thoughts with all those affected by this.’Western Jet Foil is one of two processing centres for Channel migrants in KentImmigration minister Robert Jenrick said he is being kept updated on the situation.’Earlier today there was a serious incident at Dover,’ he tweeted. ‘I am being kept regularly updated by the police.’My sympathies are with those involved and my thanks and admiration are with Kent Police and Border Force officers as they go about their essential work to keep us safe.’There has not yet been any comment from the home secretary Suella Braverman, who has been accused of worsening conditions at migrant processing centres by refusing to sign off on new hotels where asylum seekers can be housed.A record of more than 38,000 migrants have arrived in England on small boats so far this year, despite the government attempting to use punitive laws and policies including the Rwanda agreement as ‘deterrents’. Police said inquiries into the incident were ongoing Over 90 per cent have claimed asylum, and 85 per cent of the applications processed for small boat migrants who arrived in 2021 were granted.It follows a series of far-right arson attacks and firebombings targeting refugee facilities across Europe, with numerous incidents in Germany in recent years.Western Jet Foil is one of two processing centres for Channel migrants in Kent. It is used to carry out immediate welfare and safety checks, with officials giving people medical care and dry clothes.They are then taken to a former RAF base at Manston for full security checks. Manston was set up earlier this year as a short-term proceeding facility intended to hold people for 24 hours.But because of a lack of Home Office accommodation and hotels for asylum seekers to be moved to, up to 3,000 people are now being held there – with one Afghan family detained in a tent for over a month.Cases of diphtheria and scabies have been spreading, sparking calls for urgent action by the borders watchdog and MPs.