Number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats hits 40,000 this year

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

Some 972 people in 22 boats were detected on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said, taking the provisional total for 2022 to 40,885.

In 2021, a total of 28,561 migrants were recorded.

The milestone comes as Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has insisted a move towards more basic accommodation is necessary to remove a “pull factor” for those making their way to the UK in small boats.

He claimed the country’s “generosity” towards refugees is being “abused” by people “skipping the queue”, which is putting strain on the immigration system.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Jenrick said a “chronic shortage of acceptable accommodation” for “record numbers” of migrants has forced the Government to procure expensive and often unsuitable hotels, burdening the taxpayer with an “unacceptable” cost.

He added: “Human decency has to be accompanied by hard-headed common sense: illegal immigrants are not entitled to luxury hotels.

“Conditions in the UK are almost always better than in neighbouring countries, which helps explain why the UK is a destination of choice for economic migrants on the continent ‘asylum shopping’. ‘Hotel Britain’ must end and be replaced with simple, functional accommodation that does not create an additional pull factor.”

Alternatives to hotel rooms could include disused student accommodation, defunct holiday parks and even budget cruise ships, according to the newspaper.

August 22 saw the highest daily total on record, with 1,295 people crossing in 27 boats.

It is nearly seven months since the then home secretary Priti Patel announced plans to send migrants to Rwanda to try to deter people from crossing the Channel.

Since then, more than 30,000 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey.

On April 14, Ms Patel signed what she described as a “world-first” agreement with Rwanda, under which the east African country will receive migrants who are deemed by the UK to have arrived “illegally” and are therefore inadmissible under new immigration rules.

However, the first deportation flight, due to take off on June 14, was grounded amid legal challenges.

The legality of the policy has since been contested in the courts, with ministers and campaigners awaiting a ruling from High Court judges on the case.

The number of people reaching the UK in small boats from France after navigating busy shipping lanes has increased steadily in recent years.

Some 299 were detected in 2018, followed by 1,843 in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020, official figures show.