More Than 30,000 Migrants Have Crossed the English Channel So Far This Year
David Barrett and Shannon McGuigan, Daily Mail, October 31, 2024
More than 30,000 small boat migrants have reached Britain so far this year, official figures confirmed today.
Home Office data showed 564 people arrived from northern France yesterday aboard 12 dinghies.
It took the running tally since the start of the year to 30,431 – 14 per cent higher than at the same point in 2023.
It means 15,580 migrants have reached this country since Labour seized power at the general election in July.
One of the new Government’s first acts in office was to scrap the Conservatives’ Rwanda asylum deal, which was designed to save lives in the Channel by deterring crossings.
Yesterday’s total was the highest since October 18, while one day at the beginning of this month saw 973 arrivals, the highest daily tally for almost two years.
In the latest tragedy on the Channel yesterday, a 28-year-old man was declared dead after a migrant dinghy got into difficulties off Calais, French authorities confirmed, while another two bodies were found on a beach in the Equihen-Plage area.
It means 59 migrants have died in the Channel so far this year, the deadliest year since the crisis began at the end of 2018.
Despite the surging number, Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday forecast ‘significant savings’ on asylum – and slashed the Home Office’s budget.
She cut the department’s spend by 2.7 per cent in real terms to £22.2billion in the next financial year.
Conservatives accused the Government of planning to simply shift the cost of supporting thousands of migrants onto town hall budgets – and council tax bills.
Labour has also been accused of launching an ‘asylum amnesty’ after starting to process tens of thousands of refugee claims which the Conservatives had placed on hold.
When an asylum claimant’s case is successful, the cost of supporting them moves from the Home Office to local authorities.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
‘The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.
‘We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.’
