A total of 4,644 people have come to the south coast of England from France on small boats since the beginning of January, marking a record level for the first three months of the year.
The Home Office said today’s figures are higher than even 2022, when the highest number of Channel migrants ever recorded, 4,162, was recorded.
Over 2,000 migrants were brought ashore in March, many of whom were intercepted by Border Force patrols during the dangerous 21-mile-wide crossing of the Dover Strait.
Today’s figures are 23 percent higher than the same period last year, when 3,793 arrived in the first quarter of the year. Last year, a total of 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, 36 percent fewer than a year earlier.
The surge means the number of migrants arriving in the Channel this year could break the 2022 record of 25,774. The statistics come shortly after Rishi Sunak continued to insist his “stop the boats” plan was working, even though the number of crossings in 2024 was ahead of recent years.
Downing Street declared Sunak’s administration was dealing with a “migration emergency” after a record day for crossings last week, when around 514 people made the journey in 10 boats on 20 March, making it the busiest day since the start of the year.
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Rishi Sunak keeps on telling the British people that small boat arrivals are coming down and his promise to stop the boats remains on track.”
The Home Office said the number of crossings was “unacceptable” and shows “exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.”
Further, a spokesman added: “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.”
Labour, in its part, said it was “time to get a grip and restore order to the border” in the wake of the latest figures.
According to a poll of 3,000 voters by polling services Ipsos and think tank British Future, 54% of dissatisfied voters said not enough was being done to stop the Channel crossing and 51 percent said the number of immigrants was too high. Over half of all respondents now support reducing migration, down from 48 percent in 2023.
The fall in support for political parties makes for a bleak outlook for the Conservatives just months before the expected election, as a major policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is suspended and support for reforms in the UK grows.
