The number of illegal migrants that have crossed the English Channel in small boats from the beaches of France has reportedly topped 10,000 since the start of the year, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s claims of success in stopping the crisis.
The crisis in the English Channel ramped up again to full force this week as previously prohibitive weather conditions subsided in the busy waterway, allowing for the people smuggler-operated small boats to once again set sail from migrant camps along the French coast to the shores of England.
According to official figures from the Home Office, from Sunday of last week to Saturday, there were 2,375 illegal crossings of the Channel, with 486 migrants landing on Friday and a further 374 on Saturday.
Broadcaster GB News went on to report that at least another 210 illegals arrived at Dover on Sunday, though the official number has yet to be confirmed by Britain’s Home Office, which is responsible for tracking illegal migration. However, it is likely that the official number would only be higher than the initial headcount from GB News.
Calculations conducted by the broadcaster, including Sunday’s preliminary figures, put the total for the year at 10,349. While this is slightly down from last year, analysts, including veteran Channel watcher Nigel Farage, have warned that numbers would only increase as the weather improved.
Commenting on the latest illegal migration milestone, Mr Farage said: “We are now over 10,000 that have crossed the Channel so far this year. Rishi Sunak is not stopping the boats, not a chance.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak travelled to Dover — the main area of England where migrants are brought ashore by the British Border Force — in an apparent attempt to claim victory over the migrant crisis, given that numbers were 20 per cent lower than last year when a record 45,000 crossed.
Sunak claimed the reason why illegal crossings of the Channel were down in comparison to the Mediterranean into Europe was a “result of actions” taken by his government.
However, as many noted, the surprise visit from Sunak to the region appeared to coincidently come ahead of an expected break in the windy conditions that prevented crossings for the most part over the previous month.
Nigel Farage predicted — merely by looking at the weather — that by the weekend following Sunak’s speech, migrant boats would once again set off for England. This prediction held true, and every day since last Saturday has seen scores of migrants crossing the Channel illegally.
With the government’s plan to send illegals to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed offshore — rather than putting migrants up in expensive UK hotels — still being bogged down in the courts, the Sunak administration has looked at alternatives such as putting migrants on former military bases and even floating barges.
The government announced earlier this month that it had purchased two barges, with the capacity of holding up to 500 migrants a piece. Yet, even if this plan goes ahead, the government would need to buy at least three more just to hold the migrants that crossed this week, alone.