Channel crossings exceed 15,000 for the year

More than 15,000 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the English Channel, figures show.

Since the start of 2022, 15,107 people have reached the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats such as dinghies, according to provisional Government data.

This is almost double the number recorded this time last year – 7,735.

Crossings continued on Monday for the 11th day in a row, with 330 people arriving in seven boats, Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures show.

A newborn baby and several other young children were among those braving the heatwave to make the journey.

More than 2,000 people arrived in the UK between July 8 and July 18, the longest consecutive run of crossings to date this year.

The highest daily total so far in 2022 was recorded on April 13 when 651 people made the crossing in 18 boats.

The following day Home Secretary Priti Patel signed what she described as a “world-first” agreement to send migrants deemed to have arrived in the UK “illegally” to Rwanda. Since then 9,839 migrants have crossed the Channel.

The Home Office came under fire on Tuesday from the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, who said he is becoming “increasingly frustrated” over delays in publishing his report on small boat crossings.

The findings were submitted to Ms Patel in February and should have been made public by the end of April, David Neal said, adding: “There is a strong public interest that it is published. I fear that, unless it is laid before Parliament this week, there will be yet further delay over the summer recess.”

A total of 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018, official Home Office figures show.

Despite the increasing numbers, the UK’s small boat arrivals are a fraction of the number of people going to Europe.

Data from the UN’s refugee agency shows at least 120,441 people arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea in 2021.