Another 700 Albanian migrants cross the Channel as data shows 1,295 asylum-seekers reached Britain in new one-day record
- Official figures show 1,295 migrants reached Britain by small boats on Monday
- Around 60 per cent of the total arriving on the UK’s shores were from Albania
- The total number of migrants who have crossed the channel in 2022 is 22,567
More than 700 Albanians reached Britain in small boats in just one day as part of a record wave of arrivals across the Channel.
Official figures showed 1,295 migrants reached Britain on Monday, smashing the previous daily high by more than 100.
About 60 per cent of the total – at least 700 – were from Albania, a Nato ally which aspires to join the European Union and has seen no conflict for more than 25 years.
Last week the Mail revealed that the number of Albanians arriving across the Channel is increasing ‘exponentially’.
More than 700 Albanians reached Britain in small boats in just one day as part of a record wave of arrivals across the Channel on Monday, official figure reveal
Albanian dominance of the route is growing by the day, and the latest arrivals push the number to have reached the UK since the start of the year close to 6,000.
UK authorities intercepted 27 boats in the Channel and brought them to British shores on Monday alone, Ministry of Defence data showed.
The previous highest daily number of boats since the military took command of Channel operations in April was just 15. It brings the total number of migrants to have crossed from northern France since the start of the year to 22,567.
The tallies do not include an unconfirmed number of migrants who arrived yesterday, thought to number 170. The previous daily record of 1,185 was set on November 11 last year.
About 60 per cent of the total number of migrants arriving in Britain over on Monday – at least 700 – were from Albania, a Nato ally which aspires to join the European Union and has seen no conflict for more than 25 years
To combat the issue, Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has said she will introduce the Rwanda asylum removals policy as soon as possible if she is named as the next Prime Minister.
She insists the military will ‘absolutely’ stay involved in Channel operations.
Miss Truss has also committed to pursuing Rwanda-style deals with other countries, expanding Border Force frontline operations by a fifth, appointing a specific borders minister, and reforming human rights laws to stop them being abused in immigration cases.
Her rival Rishi Sunak has set out a ten-point plan to curb illegal immigration.
Officials have told the Mail that Albanian crimelords are sending ‘cleanskins’ with no criminal records to the UK aboard small boats to join organised gangs.
Members of the RNLI escort migrant back to Dover Docks after they were rescued from the English Channel in the early hours of the morning
Criminal records checks on Channel arrivals are failing to pick up links between some arrivals and organised crime groups.
The Conservative MP for Dover last night said the situation ‘can’t carry on like this’.
Natalie Elphicke said: ‘The Channel crossings can’t be allowed to carry on like this.’
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK which campaigns for tougher border controls, called for urgent action by ministers.
Mt Mehmet said: ‘This characterises the incompetence and abject failure of a government that has fumbled and fiddled for years as the problem has deteriorated.’
This month now seems likely to become the busiest for Channel crossings since the start of the crisis in 2018.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they risk the lives of vulnerable people, who are being exploited by ruthless criminal gangs.