Migrant daily arrivals top 1,000 for first time this year

More than 1,100 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel on Saturday, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year.

The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811.

This is 42% higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610), according to the PA news agency analysis of the data.

It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022.

‘Shocking’

Defence Secretary John Healey said the scenes of migrants being picked up by smugglers “like a taxi” to be brought to the UK were “shocking”.

He said it is a “really big problem” that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters.

French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, and authorities were then pictured escorting the boats.

French authorities said they rescued 184 people.

Mr Healey said the UK is pressing for the French to put new rules into operation so they can intervene.

“They’re not doing it, but, but for the first time for years … we’ve got the level of co-operation needed.

“We’ve got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore,” he told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News.

He said Britain has “lost control of its borders over the last five years”.

“Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday,” Mr Healey said.

He added: “We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick them up.”

Nigel Farage posted a video on X of what appeared to be migrants in a dinghy marked with Saturday’s date.

The Reform UK leader asked: “Where are all the women and children?”

There were some women and children among those pictured boarding boats in French waters.

Deal

The UK agreed a £480 million deal with France to beef up its efforts to stop migrants in 2023 under former prime minister Rishi Sunak.

It was the latest in a series of agreements with France since 2014 aimed at cracking down on crossings.

This year is on course to set a record, with the 14,811 total arrivals so far the highest recorded for the first five months of a year.

It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year.

In 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9 (14,058).

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind people-smuggling operations to bring down crossings.

A Home Office spokesperson pointed to measures to share intelligence internationally, enhance enforcement operations in northern France and introduce tougher rules in its immigration legislation.

“We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.”