More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since 2018

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since 2018 with some 755 detected in small boats yesterday – the highest daily figure this year so far

• Official Home Office figures show 100,715 people have crossed the Channel
• Around 755 people made the crossing on Thursday, the highest figure in 2023
• READ MORE: MPs want Border Force staff on jet-skis deployed in the Channel

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in the last five years as of Thursday, after a record day of crossings this year.

Some 755 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on August 10, the highest daily number so far in 2023, according to official statistics.

The cumulative total number of people who have crossed the Channel since 2018 has passed 100,000, the Home Office said. 

Since current records began on January 1 2018, 100,715 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey, according to analysis of Government data by the PA news agency.

The milestone was reached after 755 people crossed the Channel on Thursday in 14 boats. This is the highest daily number so far this year.

An inflatable dinghy crossing the Channel on Thursday August 10. Official Home Office statistics show 755 people made the crossing that day – the highest daily number of 2023

A search and rescue operation was launched on Thursday after 17 migrants went overboard and had to be pulled from the water. They were picked up by an RNLI lifeboat in Dover

The previous high for this year was 686 people on July 7. The cumulative number of arrivals by small boats in 2023 now stands at a provisional total of 15,826 – around 15% lower than the equivalent number at the same point in 2022.

Total arrivals last year were 45,755. The latest figures mean there have been 100,715 arrivals detected since January 2018, when data was first reported.

There were 14 boats detected crossing the Channel on Thursday, which suggests an average of around 54 people per boat.

The numbers were recorded as a major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water. The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.

Meanwhile, Border Force reportedly suffered a double blow as one of its cutters broke down in the early hours of the morning and a £400,000 drone used to monitor activity in the Channel crashed into the sea.

The crossings come just weeks after sweeping asylum reforms became law and while the Government fends off legal challenges in the courts over its Rwanda deal and decisions to house migrants on former military sites in Essex and Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, asylum seekers were finally moved onto the Bibby Stockholm barge on the Dorset coast after the plans were beset by delays.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made ‘stopping the boats’ a pivotal part of his Government’s domestic policy

The much-criticised Illegal Migration Act, central to the Prime Minister’s pledge to “stop the boats” crossing the Channel, will prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.

Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force, and it is anticipated elements of the new laws may be implemented in stages over the coming months.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel has steadily increased since 299 people were detected in 2018.

In December that year then-home secretary Sajid Javid cut short a Christmas break to return to the UK and take charge of the unfolding crisis.

He declared a “major incident” in the wake of 40 migrants making the journey on Christmas Day and 12 more arriving days later.

There were 1,843 crossings recorded in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020, according to the Home Office.

August last year was the highest month on record for crossings when 8,631 people arrived in the UK after making the journey.

August 22 also saw a record 1,295 migrants crossing in a single day on 27 boats. This is still the highest daily figure recorded since 2018.

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