Rishi Sunak under fire as migrant Channel crossings top 3,000 for year so far

Rishi Sunak has been accused of failing to stop migrant Channel crossings after arrivals topped 3,000 for the year so far – the highest total for the same period over the last six years.

The Prime Minister came under fire from Labour, which claimed he and Home Secretary James Cleverly had left the country “dangerously exposed” despite insisting their plan to curb crossings was “working”.

Some 225 people made the journey in five boats on Wednesday, taking the provisional total for 2024 to date to 3,208, according to Home Office figures.

The number is higher than running totals documented between January 1 and March 6 each year since current records began in 2018, Government data indicates, including 3,150 for last year and 2,212 in 2022, which was a record year for Channel crossings.

Crossings continued amid calm conditions at sea early on Thursday, with pictures showing children among the groups of people being driven away on buses after being brought ashore at Dover.

The latest figures mean nearly 1,000 migrants arrived in the UK in less than a week, with crossings recorded on three days in the period.

The Home Office recorded 327 arrivals in eight boats on Sunday – the day a seven-year-old girl drowned while trying to make the journey.

Some 401 people followed in seven boats on Monday – the highest daily total since the start of the year.

The combined total for January and February was down 24% on the same period last year, but up 52% on 2022, PA news agency analysis suggests.

More than 40,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister in October 2022, with more than 72,000 recorded since the Rwanda deal was signed six months earlier, the figures indicate.

Earlier this week Mr Cleverly – who set himself a target of meeting Mr Sunak’s key “stop the boats” pledge by the end of this year – hosted a meeting in Brussels where Britain and France agreed to lead a new customs partnership in a bid to disrupt the supply chain of boats being used to make Channel crossings.

Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “In January, Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly told us that small boat arrivals were down by a third. They said their plan was working, and they insisted that the reduction in crossings last year was nothing to do with the weather.

“All those claims now look utterly ridiculous, and even worse, their complacency has left our country dangerously exposed and ill-prepared for what continues to be a record start to the year for small boat crossings.

“Instead of ignoring what’s happening, the Prime Minister needs to start facing up to the seriousness of this situation and the reality of the chaos that is unfolding in the Channel.

“But if he is too weak to get a grip, he should call an election so Labour can fix this mess.”

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “We are making progress and the plan is working. We saw crossings down by more than a third last year.

“Of course, we need to keep building on that and redoubling efforts as we know that the criminal gangs will seek to adapt and take advantage of vulnerable people.

“That’s why we have recently worked with the French to build on our existing partnership.”

Downing Street said rising crossings pointed to the need to pass the Government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill to ensure a “deterrent effect”.

“While (the Prime Minister) is clear there is much to do and no one silver bullet when it comes to this issue, it is really vitally important that we pass this legislation and fundamentally break the business model of the criminal gangs,” the spokeswoman added.

The Government will attempt to overturn amendments to its proposed Rwanda asylum law later this month after it suffered 10 defeats in the House of Lords.