500 Migrants Cross Channel in Small Boats

August 18, 2024
500 Migrants Cross Channel in Small Boats
  • 500 Migrants Cross Channel on Saturday

After a week in which hundreds more people made the passage, the most recent statistics indicated that 492 people successfully crossed in nine boats.

According to the data, 107 arrived on Wednesday, 125 on Monday, and 703 on Sunday.

The provisional total for the year thus far is 19,066 after the combined total of 1,427 in seven days.

The highest number of arrivals recorded in a single day so far this year was 882 on 18 June, with the second highest of 711 on 1 May - both under the previous government before the general election.

Immigration now tops the list of issues that Britons consider most important - for the first time since 2016 - according to a new poll by Ipsos released on Friday.

The new Labour government has promised to "smash the gangs" bringing migrants across the Channel by creating a new Border Security Command.

Under the Counter Terrorism Act, officers will be given additional authority to target organized immigration crime with search and seizure warrants, undertake financial investigations, and conduct stop and search operations at the border.

Resolving the migration crisis "at source" is one of Sir Keir's other announcements since taking office, which includes £84 million in financing for Middle Eastern and African nations.

He has stated that the funds will help humanitarian efforts to address the root causes of people's homelessness as well as health and education programs.

However, the Labour Party's decision to abandon the Rwanda plan of the previous government, which ministers claimed at the time would discourage Channel crossings, has come under fire from the Tory opposition.

In calmer weather, there are typically more crossings, and over time, the winds in the Channel have decreased.

The number of crossings on Sunday was the biggest since Sir Keir Starmer took office as prime minister in early July, and the government anticipates seeing more during the summer, according to a spokeswoman for the prime minister last week.