Crossings top 40,000

MORE than 40,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK so far this year, Government figures have shown.

Some 972 people were detected on Saturday in 22 boats, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, taking the provisional total for the year to 40,885.

In 2021, there were 28,561 recorded.

The arrivals on Saturday were the first so far in November, with the most recent crossings previously made on October 31.