711 people were brought ashore in one day this week after trying to cross the Channel in small boats to reach the UK.
The number is the highest so far this year and comes as London claims its “stop the boats” plan is working, thanks in part to a controversial deportation scheme to Rwanda.
The number of arrivals on Wednesday surpassed the previous high of 534 recorded on 14 April, bringing the total number of migrants who have crossed the Channel this year to 8,278. The highest number of arrivals in a single day was 1,295, recorded on 22 August 2022.
On Wednesday, French police said they had rescued 66 people after their boat nearly sank off the coastal town of Dieppe.
Migration – both regular and irregular – has become a major political issue in Britain, given the government’s pledge to tighten the country’s borders after leaving the European Union. However, this has proved harder to implement, with the Conservative government desperate to extol its successes ahead of the general election later this year.
