Small boat arrivals record as total passes 5,000 in March

SMALL boat arrivals passed 5,000 by the end of March for the first time ever as a record start to the year continued.

A total of 349 people crossed the English Channel on Saturday, taking the total for the year up to 4,993.

The total number of arrivals is up by almost a third on the same point in 2023, when 3,793 migrants had reached the UK in small boats by March 31.

Further arrivals yesterday saw the figure breach the 5,000 threshold in March for the first time since records began despite Rishi Sunak having made his pledge to “stop the boats” a key focus of his premiership.

It took until April 17 last year for 5,000 people to cross the Channel, a milestone that was not reached until April 13 in 2022 and June 14 in 2021.

Out of the first 100 boats to arrive in 2024, the average number of people in each dinghy was more than 47, up from just under 42 the previous year.

Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, said: “A year which started with Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly boasting about the success of their small boats strategy is now setting one unwanted record after another for the number of arrivals.

“Their complacency has been laid bare, and their pledge to stop the boats has been left in tatters.”

The Rwanda Bill is nearing the end of its journey through Parliament but has been delayed until after the Easter recess following a series of defeats in the House of Lords.

Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said it was “frustrating” that peers had chosen not to pass the Bill, which is a central plank of the Prime Minister’s pledge to end migrant crossings and start deportation flights to Rwanda in the spring.

Another round of “ping pong” is expected when MPS return on April 15 as the Government seeks to overturn the amendments supported by the Lords.

The majority of the backlash to the Rwanda scheme has been from the Right of the party. The Home Office was contacted for comment.