UK officials have recorded 748 new migrants arriving in Kent over the weekend after crossing the English Channel.
From those numbers, 214 people were brought ashore at Dover on Saturday, while 534 made the crossing on Sunday thanks to the unusally warm and calm weather.
The total number of migrants arriving into the UK via small boats since the start of 2024 now stands at 6,265.
The government said the “unacceptable number” of channel crossings shows the importance of its proposed Rwanda policy. 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, in order to save lives and stop the boats.”
Voters across the UK are fuming with anger at the latest numbers. Despite the government insisting they are doing all they can, recent video footage from Calais showed smugglers avoiding police and herding migrants onto beaches as they await the next small boat.
It would appear that the smugglers and migrants still have the upper hand and with more warm weather due, the numbers are expected to rise quickly.