Small boats migrant arrivals top 7,500 this year

More than 7,500 migrants arrived in the UK by small boats in the first four months of the year - the highest level since current records began.

Home Office figures released on Wednesday show that another 268 people arrived in five boats on Tuesday, the last day of April, bringing the month's total to 2,132.

It means that so far this year, 7,567 migrants have arrived in small boats.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “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."

The previous highest level for the first four months of the year since current records began in 2018 was in 2022, when 6,691 migrants arrived in small boats between January and April.

A total of 29,437 arrived on the Kent coast from France in small boats across the whole of 2023 - about a third less than the figure for the previous year.

Five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed in a crush on board a boat crossing the English Channel last week.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the first failed asylum seeker has gone to Rwanda under a voluntary removals programme which the government has said will deter future migrants from crossing the Channel.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to "stop the boats" as one of five key pledges a year ago.

The English Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once they are picked up by the UK authorities.

The Home Office spokesperson added that it was continuing "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".

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