Labor blames ‘appalling legacy’ after migrant crossings exceed 150,000 since 2018

Labor and the Conservatives have traded blows over the issue of migration, with figures confirming more than 150,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats over the past seven years.

On Boxing Day, 407 people made the journey on 10 boats, according to Home Office figures released on Friday, while photographs suggest more people made the crossing on December 27.

Add in the 451 people who crossed the Channel on Christmas Day, bringing the total since January 1, 2018 to 150,243 – the equivalent of the population of Cambridge.

A Home Office source sought to blame the previous government for the figures, saying: “The Tories left an appalling legacy of broken border security.

“We are laying the groundwork with a new Border Security Command, 100 new specialist investigators and new agreements with Europe and beyond to break the business models of evil criminal gangs who make millions from small boat crossings .

“We are increasing deportations of those who have no right to be here and cracking down on illegal work. »

But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said it was “an insult that Labor allowed 858 illegal immigrants into the country on Christmas Day and Boxing Day”.

Mr Philp added: “By removing the Rwanda deterrent measures before they start, Labor has failed us. We found that removal deterrents work in Australia.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has put international cooperation with law enforcement in Europe at the heart of his bid to reduce the number of arrivals, after promising to “break up the gangs” that smuggle people across the Channel in this year’s elections.

More than 22,324 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel since Sir Keir became number 10 when Labor won the election in July, an increase of 24% on the same period in 2023 but a drop of 32% compared to the record year of 2022.

Since the start of the year, 35,898 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.

This is an increase of 22% compared to the same period last year, but a decrease of 22% compared to 2022.

Days when wind and wave levels in the English Channel are most suitable for crossings are called “red days”, and a period earlier in autumn saw the highest concentration of red days in a month, with 26 days on 31. between October 11 and November 10.

The second half of 2024 has also already seen more red days than the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency said it was carrying out around 70 live investigations into immigration-related organized crime or human trafficking.

Around fifty people have died trying to cross the Channel this year, according to incidents recorded by the French coast guard, during what is considered the deadliest year since the start of the crisis.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has also reported several other migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts so far in 2024.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel has continued to increase since 299 people were detected in 2018.

In December that year, Sajid Javid, then Home Secretary, cut short his Christmas break to return to the UK and deal with the ongoing crisis.

It declared a “major incident” following the journey of 40 migrants on Christmas Day and the arrival of another 12 days later.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1,843 crossings were recorded in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020.

A record number of 45,774 people made the trip in 2022, compared to 28,526 recorded for the whole of 2021.

In 2023, 29,437 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and compromise the security of our borders.

“Smuggling gangs don’t 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.”