Illegal immigration SOARS to new record

The number of people crossing the English Channel has now passed 45,000 after another 401 migrants made the journey on Wednesday.

The latest arrivals in 8 small boats happened, even as one of those inflatables met with the loss of 4 lives in UK waters.

At least another 4 migrants are still missing and presumed dead.The total number of people who have crossed the English Channel since the beginning of January now stands at 45,223.

That compares to 28,526 people who made it to UK waters in the whole of 2021.