During October, 5,417 people crossed, the highest monthly figure since October 2022.

This means that the total for 2024 so far stands at 30,661.

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

According to the Home Office, October 2024's total is the highest since October 2022, when 6,900 people crossed, part of an annual total of 45,774.

A Home Office spokesman said: "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.”

The Home Office said 3,600 people without the right to remain in the UK had been deported between 5 July and 29 August.

The 647 people that came ashore bring the total for 2024 to 28,204.

The figure is almost 8% higher than at the same point last year but 25% lower than in 2022, the peak year.

The government says it will "stop at nothing" to dismantle people-smuggling gangs.

On Thursday, French authorities said a baby had died, and dozens were rescued when a boat sank off the north French coast.

It was the 45th death reported by French coastguards so far in 2024.

Refugee charities have warned that Channel crossings were becoming more dangerous.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said there had been more deaths this year than in the previous three years combined.

He said: "This procession of death and tragedy shows we need to rethink our approach.

"Lives will continue to be lost if we carry on as it is."

Speaking after Thursday's death, a Home Office spokesperson said the government would crackdown on people smuggling gangs.

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

The total number of arrivals for 2024 now stands at 24,335. The highest number of people crossing in a single day was 882 on 18 June.

More than 10,000 people have journeyed across the Channel since Labour won the election in July.

The government said it is making progress in its bid to stop the crossings, having recruited former police chief Martin Hewitt as its new Border Security Commander.

The latest arrivals came just days after the prime minister said he was “not going to put an arbitrary date” on stopping the small boat Channel crossings.

In an interview with BBC South East, Sir Keir Starmer said he was "absolutely determined" to tackle the smuggling gangs who facilitated the crossings but would not commit to a time frame.

The Home Office said 614 people were brought ashore in Dover on Wednesday, bringing the annual total for 2024 to 20,433.

The figure is up 3% this time last year but down 18% in 2022.

The government said the crossings are " undermining border security and putting lives at risk."

The Home Office said the Government is "taking steps to boost border security".

It said the new Border Security Command will "bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies".

It said the "hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas" will have "new counter-terror-style powers" to "smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit".

The highest number of arrivals on a single day in 2024 was 18 June, when 882 people crossed.

Two days after winning the July general election, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the previous government's plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda had been dropped.

Home Office figures show 882 people arrived in 15 small boats on Tuesday.

That was the highest daily total since October 2022, when 1,047 people arrived in UK waters in one day.

The latest crossings bring the total number of arrivals for June to 1,865 people, with 12,313 making the crossing so far this year.

The total so far for 2024 is higher than at the same point in 2022 and 2023.

On 18 June 2023, 10,472 people were recorded as making the crossing, compared with 11,659 in 2022.

Border Force vessels brought people wearing life jackets to shore on Monday.

According to official figures, over 1,000 people have arrived in the UK by the Channel since 04 May.

The provisional total for the year so far is 9,455 as of Sunday.

In 2023, 29,437 migrants from France arrived on the Kent coast in small boats—about a third fewer than the previous year's figure.

The English Channel is one of the world's most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes.

Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once the UK authorities pick them up.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to "stop the boats" as one of five key pledges a year ago.

Data shows 214 people were brought ashore at Dover on Saturday, while 534 crossed on Sunday.

This means that 6,265 migrants have arrived in the UK in small boats since the start of 2024.

The government said the "unacceptable number" of channel crossings shows the importance of its proposed Rwanda policy.

The controversial Rwanda bill would send some asylum seekers to the African country.

Voting on the legislation will resume on Monday when Parliament returns from its Easter recess.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with French police who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they work tirelessly to prevent these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys.

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

According to provisional Home Office figures, 338 people arrived in seven boats on Tuesday, taking the total for the year to date to 4,644.

The previous record for arrivals in January to March was set in 2022 with 4,548.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We remain committed to building on the successes that saw arrivals drop by more than a third last year."

A PA news agency analysis of government figures shows that the number of arrivals so far this year is 23% higher than the total in 2023, which was 3,770.

It is also 12% higher than the total at this stage in 2022, which was 4,162.

There were 29,437 arrivals in 2023, down 36% from the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The figures come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak continued to insist his plan to “stop the boats” was working, even though crossings in 2024 were tracking ahead of recent years.

Downing Street said the government was dealing with a “migration emergency” after last week's record number of crossings.

On 20 March, 514 people journeyed in 10 boats, making it the busiest day of 2024.

Meanwhile, the Government’s Rwanda Bill remains in parliamentary limbo after further defeats in the House of Lords.

Members of Parliament are not scheduled to debate it again until after Westminster returns from its Easter break.

Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Rishi Sunak keeps telling the British people that small boat arrivals are coming down, and his promise to stop the boats remains on track.

"It’s time to get a grip and restore order to the border.”

The Home Office said the number of crossings was “unacceptable” and shows “exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible”.

Asli Tatliadim, head of campaigns at Refugee Action, said: "People will continue to risk their lives to cross the Channel in flimsy boats because the government refuses to open safe routes for people to reach the UK to seek asylum here.

"No amount of expensive and unworkable deterrence policies such as its deal with the government of Rwanda will change that fact."

Ten boats were intercepted, making the crossing from France with 514 migrants on board - the highest daily total this year.

This brings this year's Channel crossings figure to 4,043 people, higher than last year's equivalent period (3,683).

One man was found with stab wounds after the arrival of one of the boats at Dover Western Docks on Wednesday, Kent Police said.

He reported he had been assaulted on a beach near Calais by two men who then stayed in France while he made the crossing, police said.

The man was taken to hospital but has since been discharged.

A Kent Police spokesperson said information had been passed to the French authorities for further investigation.

The Home Office said ten small boats were intercepted in the English Channel on Wednesday.

Figures collated by the BBC show that so far this year, 4,043 people have made the crossing to the UK in small boats, with 1,788 arriving so far this month.

Prime Minister Rushi Sunak vowed to "stop the boats" as one of five key pledges a year ago.

The House of Lords has inflicted fresh defeats on the government over its flagship Rwanda bill, which aims to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

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