Nearly 20,000 people have arrived in the UK through small boat crossings in the first half of 2024, a 48% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure also represents a 75% rise compared to approximately 11,433 in the first half of 2023. Government ministers attribute the surge to factors such as favorable weather and increased activity by people smugglers. Labour's measures to combat smuggling include a new criminal offense for endangering lives at sea. Negotiations are underway between the UK and French authorities on migrant returns and asylum seeker agreements.
Nearly 20,000 people arrived in the UK in the first half of this year by crossing the English Channel in small boats - up 48% on the first six months of 2024.
The figure for the first six months of this year is also 75% higher than the equivalent figure for 2023, which was 11,433.
Ministers have previously pointed to clear weather and the willingness of people smugglers to put more people onto boats as factors driving the spike in migration crossings.
London and Paris have reportedly been negotiating a deal under which the UK could return some Channel migrants to France, in exchange for accepting asylum seekers from France.
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