LONDON: Over 700 migrants crossed the English Channel to Britain in small boats on Sunday, the highest number of arrivals in a single day since Prime Minister Keir Starmer assumed office and committed to tackling people-smuggling operations.
According to provisional figures from the British Interior Ministry released on Monday, 703 migrants arrived on 11 small boats. The surge in crossings comes despite Starmer’s recent efforts to address the crisis, including the abandonment of a controversial migrant deportation scheme to Rwanda that was a key policy of the previous Conservative government.
Two migrants lost their lives during the crossing on Sunday, raising the total number of deaths on this dangerous journey to 25 since the start of the year, French authorities reported.
The issue of small boat arrivals has been a focal point of British politics, with the migration crisis featuring prominently in the general election held in July. Starmer, upon taking office, scrapped the Rwanda deportation plan and pledged to dismantle the networks of people-smuggling gangs responsible for organizing these crossings. These gangs charge migrants thousands of euros for the dangerous journey.
The latest statistics highlight an ongoing challenge: since the beginning of 2024, 18,342 migrants have made the crossing, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The surge in migrant numbers has intensified scrutiny and criticism within the UK. The situation has been further exacerbated by recent anti-migrant unrest following a knife attack on July 29 that falsely linked a Muslim immigrant to the deaths of three children.
This incident triggered widespread riots and attacks on mosques and hotels associated with immigration, prompting thousands of anti-racism demonstrators to rally across Britain on Saturday.
Prime Minister Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have vowed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in managing the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.
