Home Office figures show 65 migrants journeyed in two boats on Monday, 16 September 2024, taking the provisional total for the year to 23,598.

The latest crossings mean 10,024 arrivals have been recorded since Keir Starmer became Prime Minister on 04 July 2024.

The total for 2024 to date is 1% lower than last year (23,940) and down 21% on the same period in 2022 (29,783).

The figures come in the wake of Channel deaths over the weekend and as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced £75 million would be used to boost the number of border security officers amid the Government’s bid to crack down on people smugglers, using money redirected from the scrapped Rwanda deportation plan.

The cash will also pay for hidden cameras and better monitoring technology as the Home Office sets up its new Border Security Command, led by a former police chief, to speed up investigations and increase the likelihood of successful prosecutions.

Earlier this year, it was also announced that the National Crime Agency (NCA) would allocate 100 specialist investigators to curb Channel crossings.

During a visit to Rome, Starmer expressed keen interest in Italy's efforts to reduce irregular immigration. He noted the "dramatic reductions" in migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Italy, highlighting that the government seeks to understand these developments. This interest comes from Labour's initiatives to combat the criminal gangs involved in people smuggling.

But border and security minister Dame Angela Eagle said his meeting with the Italian Prime Minister should not be seen as an endorsement of all their immigration policies, saying: "But we are meeting a G7 country and a fellow NATO member to see how we can co-operate across the border to deal with some of these vile people-smuggling gangs."

She suggested that the UK will see whether Italian plans to process asylum seekers in Albania work before deciding whether to pursue a similar policy.

"Firstly, we don’t know whether it will work because it hasn’t started. Much of this has been portrayed currently as if it’s already a success, but the fact is that it hasn’t begun.

"We will see how it works. But we have said that any scheme we deal with for offshore processing or anything else has to be workable, cost-effective, and in line with international law," she said.

The latest deaths in the Channel came as more than 1,000 made the journey over the weekend.

The French coastguard said 53 migrants were on board a boat which crashed into rocks overnight on Saturday into Sunday off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France.

Most of the group was rescued, with six people, including a 10-month-old baby who had hypothermia, taken to hospital, but eight men died.

According to the French coastguard, more than 200 people were rescued from the Channel in a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday.

The tragedy is less than two weeks after another boat was ripped apart as it made its way across the Channel, claiming the lives of 12 people, including a pregnant woman and six children.

Downing Street said the Government was tackling the crossings "on all fronts" and "immediate work has been taking place".

A spokeswoman added that this includes "starting to process asylum cases again where people have been sat in hotels without their cases being looked at" and 3,000 migrants being returned over the summer.

17/09/2024

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