Beleaguered Home Secretary Suella Braverman donned a helmet and travelled by military troop helicopter to visit an asylum centre in Kent.
Allies say she took the minutes-long short jaunt by chopper so she could look at the coastline. But due to inclement weather, there were no boats to be seen.
They insisted she was accompanied by Channel Clandestine Threat Commander Daniel O’Mahoney.
He was appointed in 2020 when 8,404 migrants arrived in small boats over the Strait of Dover. Since his appointment, arrivals hit 28,526 last year and will pass 40,000 this year.
Ms Braverman has been visiting the Kent coast today, first appearing at the Western Jet Foil site in Dover which was hit by a firebomb attack on Thursday morning, before visiting the town's Coastguard.
She was driven to Dover this morning, before travelling the 19 miles to Manston, near Ramsgate, by Chinook helicopter.
According to defence analysts writing for the UK Defence Journal, a Chinook costs about £3,500 per hour to fly.
And the Home Office declined to comment on her travel arrangements, citing security reasons.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: "The Home Secretary was in Dover to receive an update on operations on the ground.
"That obviously involved operations in the Channel.
"She travelled on a military aircraft to see the area of operations at sea."
Ms Braverman spent about two hours at the site, leaving by a side gate away from press gathered at the main entrance.
In a statement released by the Home Office, she said: "I have met with our expert teams who work tirelessly to save lives and protect the UK's borders.
"I wanted to see first hand how we're working to reduce the number of people in Manston, support people there, and thank staff for all their efforts.
"I am incredibly proud of the skill and dedication shown to tackle this challenging situation here on a daily basis.
"This is a complex and difficult situation, which we need to tackle on all fronts and look at innovative solutions.
"To break the business model of the people smugglers, we need to ensure that the illegal migration route across the Channel is ultimately rendered unviable."
Her trip came as the Government launched an investigation into allegations asylum seekers were dumped at London's Victoria station after being taken from the Manston processing centre in Kent.
Danial Abbas, from the Under One Sky homelessness charity, said the men were left "highly distressed, disorientated, lost" in the capital, with "nowhere to go".
"If that's the case then clearly that's not acceptable,” admitted Climate Minister Graham Stuart.
“It will be investigated and further information will come out in due course."
The Government faces potential legal action over "dire" conditions at Manston.
Relations with Tirana also came under strain as Albania’s Prime Minister accused Britain of becoming like a "madhouse" with a culture of "finding scapegoats" during a migration crisis he blamed on "failed policies".
Edi Rama lashed out at Mrs Braverman’s "crazy" choice of language in a combative Commons debate this week, in which she claimed there is an "invasion" of England by people crossing the Channel.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick last night confirmed the Government had received "initial contact for a judicial review" over the Manston facility in Kent.
Mr Jenrick claimed the move was "not unusual" as it concerned a "highly litigious area of policy" - but did not reveal who was behind the challenge.
Mr Jenrick appeared to concede the current situation at Manston may not be legal, telling Sky News' Sophy Ridge he expects it "will be returned to a well-functioning and certainly legally compliant site very rapidly".
He also revealed that 3,500 people are still at the asylum centre at Manston - despite a maximum capacity of 1,600.
Mr Jenrick told ITV's Peston claimed the number is "falling very rapidly", adding: "I expect that we'll get down to an acceptable level within about seven days.
"We're procuring more hotels in all parts of the country, decanting migrants from Manston to those as quickly as we can.
"And once we've done that we'll be able to restore Manston to the kind of acceptable humane conditions that all of us would want to see".
But he said, as the minister responsible, he wants to ensure everything is conducted "appropriately and within the law".
