Almost 500 migrants arrive in the UK in one day

On Saturday almost 500 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK’s shores in one day and Home Office figures shows a total of 471 people arrived in nine boats and on Friday 142 arrived in two boats.

So far this year a total of 27,225 migrants have arrived and compared to figures from 2023 this marks a 5% rise.

A Home Office spokesman said, “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“As we have seen with so many recent devastating tragedies in the Channel, 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.

“We are making progress, bolstering our personnel numbers in the UK and abroad.

“Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals.”