More than 4,600 asylum seekers have arrived in the UK on small boats since the start of 2024, a record number in the first three months of this year.
On Wednesday, the Home Office released figures showing that 4,644 people were found to have arrived across the Channel on small boats up to 26 March this year. This compares with 3,770 in the same period last year and 4,162 in 2022, which was the previous record high.
Downing Street said the administration of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was facing a “migration emergency” after a record crossing day this week. On Tuesday alone, 338 people arrived in Dover aboard seven boats. Children were among those brought ashore, highlighting the vulnerability of those making this perilous journey.
Meanwhile, the government’s Rwanda Bill remains in parliamentary limbo after a series of fresh defeats in the House of Lords, with MPs not planning to debate it again until Westminster gets down to business after the Easter holidays.
Rishi Sunak hopes his flagship plan to deport those arriving in Britain without authorisation to Rwanda will warn people against dangerous Channel crossings. A bill designed to launch the plan is due to return to parliament next month after a series of legal setbacks. A Home Office spokesperson said last week:
“The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the Channel demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible. We continue to work closely with French police who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they work tirelessly to prevent these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys.”
Last year, the total annual number of migrants fell by 36 per cent from a record high in 2022. Through this, Sunak said the government is starting to make progress in “stopping the boats”, one of its key priorities ahead of elections expected later this year.
