A boat carrying a record number of migrants reached the UK shores on Saturday, DPA and PA Media reported, quoted by BTA.
The vessel with 125 people on board has set sail from France and crossed the English Channel.
In August, British authorities came across a boat carrying 106 people, the largest number of people to have entered the country illegally on board such a vessel.
“These small boat crossings are completely unacceptable, and the dastardly people smugglers behind them are wreaking havoc on our borders,“ said British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. She noted that illegal migrants could be detained under a bilateral agreement with France and added that the first deportations had already begun. “Securing the UK's borders is my priority as Home Secretary and I will explore all options to restore order to our immigration system”, Mahmud stressed.
The number of migrants who have arrived in the UK in small boats since the start of the year has now exceeded 33,000. This is the highest number for the period from January to September since figures on migrant smuggling across the English Channel were first published in 2018.
On Saturday, 12 boats carrying a total of 895 people reached the UK coast. A child travelling with illegal migrants across the English Channel was reported to have died off the French coast on Sunday morning. A day earlier, off the northern coast of France, two women died while attempting the dangerous route.
Last year, the French coast guard reported a total of 50 deaths among migrants trying to cross the English Channel.