Channel migrant arrivals SURGE by 43% in 2024

The number of small boat migrants crossing the English Channel illegally this year has seen a shocking 43 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Official Home Office figures show that another 442 people in nine small boats crossed on Easter Sunday.

That figure means that almost 800 migrants crossed the Channel over the Easter weekend, pushing this year's total past 5,000.

A total of 5,435 migrants have arrived since the beginning of the year, well in excess of the 3,793 who had crossed the Channel by small boat at this point in 2023.

The 43 per cent increase in migrant arrivals is a complete reversal of last year, when Home Office officials recorded a 36 per cent fall in arrivals compared to the record year of 2022 when almost 46,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the English Channel demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.

"We remain committed to building on the successes that saw arrivals drop by more than a third last year, including tougher legislation agreements with international partners, in order to save lives and stop the boats."