A record number of people seeking asylum have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the first six months of this year in order to reach Britain, reported the “Guardian“, quoted by BTA.
The British Home Office figures show that since January 12,901 people have taken this journey. The previous record for arrivals in the six months from January to June was 12,747 in 2022. For the first half of 2023, the number was 11,433.
The total number of arrivals for 2024 to date is 17% higher than the number of arrivals recorded at this time last year (11,058) and 8% higher compared to the same period in 2022 (11,975). Last year, a total of 29,437 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel by small boat, down 36% from the record 45,774 in 2022.
In the past six and a half years, when the migration crisis began in Britain, 127,246 people arrived in its territory after crossing the English Channel, according to the data recorded since the beginning of 2018.
Since Rishi Sunak, who promised to “stop the boats", became Prime Minister, the number of arrivals has been 49,964.
The British government said it was continuing to “tighten controls" on crossing the English Channel.
„We are constantly adapting and increasing our efforts to respond to the changing tactics of the serious criminal gangs who facilitate these incredibly dangerous journeys,” said a British government spokesman, as quoted by the “Guardian”.
„But the actions we took made an impact. More than 8,000 crossings have been prevented this year by the French authorities. And more than 10,000 illegal migrants have been returned to their country of origin," he added.
Ministers have pledged to continue the Rwanda plan if the Conservatives win the election. It would see migrants applying for asylum in Britain be sent to the African country to wait for their applications for international protection to be processed. Labor has promised to scrap it and instead redirect the money to measures to improve the work of law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal immigration.