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French officials dished out life jackets to Channel migrants who successfully evaded officers on a notorious beach, shocking images show.

Asylum seekers charged through the water in Gravelines and bundled onto a dinghy which had travelled down the coast.

Once they climbed on, a French speedboat pulled up alongside them and an officer started handing out inflatable safety aids.

This has led to claims Paris is running “lifejacket delivery service” as their warships were also spotted escorting more dinghies across the Channel.

And Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was warned war in the Middle East could fuel another surge in small boat arrivals from Iran.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Today’s flood of illegal immigrants shows Shabana Mahmood has no control of our borders.

“This year is already worse than last year, and illegal immigrants crossing the Channel are 42% up since the election.

“Meanwhile, French police stand around doing nothing. We must quit the ECHR and deport every illegal within a week of arrival – then the crossings would stop. It’s time to bring back Rwanda.”

Former Immigration Minister Kevin Foster told the Daily Express: “Whilst we hear tough talk about smashing the gangs, every day we see more examples of Labour facilitating the arrival of potential voters for them.

“This lifejacket delivery service is a symbol of this and shows how the gangs that organise these trips care little about the lives of those they simply see as human cargo.”

Young children were carried towards the vessels in Gravelines – but the majority of those bundling forward were young men.

As they reached the dinghies, the asylum seekers leapt on, with some having to be hauled up by the boat’s existing passengers.

Four are believed to have left the area on Tuesday morning.

But shocking images revealed a French patrol vessel was within touching distance, while officers were seen racing down the beach on buggies.

One alarming picture shows dozens of men crammed together, barely able to move, while another revealed how some were dangling over the edge, with other asylum seekers sitting in the middle of the dinghy.

It comes after 605 arrived on Wednesday, a record for January, February or March.

Shocking analysis revealed two thirds of crossings are successful, prompting calls for the Prime Minister to stop paying Paris.

New figures claim French authorities stopped 22,476 migrants from crossing to the UK last year.

But the vast majority of these are believed to be linked to dinghies sinking, their engines breaking down, overcrowding leading to chaos on the boats and bad weather.

Britain has given France £700 million to bolster police patrols, increase surveillance and purchase new drones to detect migrants since 2018.

France has finally given police officers to stop dinghies in the water. But they have only done so once.

And experts admitted the number of Iranians crossing the Channel could increase.

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “If there is another violent crackdown, this could push more people to leave.

“If there is a change in regime, some people who feared the previous government might feel safer, but instability and conflicts could emerge as new groups wrestle for power.

“This makes the situation for refugees unpredictable.

“Iran is one of the largest countries of origin for asylum seekers and small boat arrivals in the UK.

“So, it would not be surprising if unrest in Iran affected UK asylum trends, although how and how much remains unclear.”

Dr Ali Ali, an associate professor at the University of Sussex, said: “There is potential for a very protracted conflict and situation of generalised insecurity in Iran.

“The risk then being, the implications for people living there, is that they may be under the kinds of pressures that do produce sort of large numbers of exit, large sort of population movements.”

“I think it could be quite quick in terms of people moving within Iran, if this intensity of bombing is maintained.”

Ms Mahmood, during a visit to Denmark, revealed migrants’ right to permanent asylum will be scrapped.

Instead, they will be offered temporary status, which will be reviewed every 30 months.

If their country is deemed safe enough for them to return, they will be sent back. Only children who arrive in the UK unaccompanied will be exempt.

Until now, successful asylum seekers have been granted refugee status for five years and allowed to bring their families to the UK. They then got almost automatic fee-free permanent settlement with continued access to benefits and housing.

Refugees will also be required to “earn” their settlement rights by working and contributing to society.

They will have to wait up to 20 years before they can apply to settle in the UK – and up to 30 years if they arrived illegally via small boats across the Channel or by claiming asylum after overstaying work, student or visitor visas.

The right of refugees to bring over their families has been halted until a new system is introduced.

But Reform’s Zia Yusuf blasted plans to increase payments for migrants.

He said: “Labour’s mad asylum plan to pay illegal migrants up to £30,000 to cancel their claim would be a catastrophic mistake.

“We need to be reducing the pull factors for inward migration, not increasing them.

“This sort of money, combined with the pitiful enforced removal numbers and the fact the border remains open means people will make the journey simply to receive this payment.

“For context, small boat migrants are paying smugglers roughly £4k to cross the Channel.

“Labour do not understand incentives and are making the invasion worse.”