At least 202 suspected illegal migrants reached the UK by boat across the Channel Thursday to set a new single-day record for crossings.
UK Border Force vessels intercepted at least 20 boats on Thursday as smugglers took advantage of calm conditions, the Home Office confirmed yesterday.
The new record for 202 suspected illegal migrants reaching the UK by boat in a single day surpasses that set on July 12 when at least 180 made it to British soil.
The immigration minister Chris Philip said the number of boat crossings was “unacceptably high”.
The boats were intercepted between about 03:20 BST and about 15:30.
The 202 migrants on board, who presented themselves as being from Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Palestine, Iran, Kuwait, Egypt, Chad, Mali and Iraq, were brought to Dover and transferred to immigration officials.
More than 3,400 migrants had reached the UK in about 256 small boats this year before the crossings on Thursday, Mr Philip, minister for immigration compliance and the courts, said: “The number of illegal small boat crossings we are seeing from France is unacceptably high.
“France have stopped thousands of migrants this year and they stopped more today, but more needs to be done.
“We need stronger enforcement measures, including interceptions at sea and direct return of boats and the French have heard that directly from the home secretary.”
Earlier this month, the Home Secretary Priti Patel said no new target date has been set for when the crossings would become an “infrequent phenomenon”, this despite less than a year ago Patel vowing “urgent action” on the journeys, aiming for them to be virtually eradicated by spring this year.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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