A young migrant girl has been pictured boarding a coach in Dover today as dozens of asylum seekers including children arrived on a Border Force ship after being picked up in the Channel.
More than 18,000 people have now crossed the waters in small boats so far this year.
Home Office data showed that a record-breaking number of 661 people arrived in the UK on Monday – the third-highest daily figure so far this year.
They arrived in 15 boats, which is the highest number for a single day since the start of the year.
The new arrivals bring the total that have crossed the Channel in small boats this year to 18,618, according to government data.
A young migrant girl on board a coach in Dover today wipes her hair from her face. Dozens of asylum seekers, including children, arrived on a Border Force ship after being picked up in the Channel
One man can be seen asleep while others look weary after the Channel crossing. More than 18,000 people have now crossed the waters in small boats this year
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel on Wednesday morning
More than 18,000 people have now crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year
The new arrivals bring the total that have crossed the Channel in small boats this year to 18,618, according to government data
However this is down from last year’s total at this stage, which stood at 21,300. Last year saw a record 45,755 people cross the Channel – compared to 28,526 in 2021.
More people were brought into the port of Dover this morning after a small boat incident in a Channel, with a group thought to be migrants arriving on a Border Force ship.
The number is expected to rise again throughout the week as calm conditions on the sea mean many in France will attempt the journey across the sea.
It comes as yet another blow for Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ‘stop the boats’, with the Prime Minister admitting on Monday that the pledge may not be fulfilled before the next election.
He said: ‘I want it to be done as soon as possible, but I also want to be honest with people that it is a complex problem.
‘There is not one simple solution and it can’t be solved overnight and I wouldn’t be being straight with people if I said that was possible.
Migrants arriving on Monday were seen making Albania’s controversial eagle hand sign and the ‘V for Victory’ gesture at photographers.’
The government is facing a legal challenge to its plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after judges blocked the scheme on human rights grounds.
The case is due to be heard at the Supreme Court in early October but even if it is given the green light, removal flights won’t take place until January.
A group of people thought to be migrants are driven away from the Border Force compound in Dover on Wednesday
The number of migrants in the UK is expected to rise again throughout the week due to calm conditions
It comes as yet another blow for Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ‘stop the boats’
Migrants, who were rescued in the Channel, arrive in Dover on Wednesday on Border Force boats
A man performs the Albanian eagle gesture as he arrives into Rye Harbour on an RNLI Coastguard boat on Monday
A Syrian migrant rescued from a boat crossing the English Channel gestures as he walks to get on the Home Office bus on Dungeness Beach
A group of people thought to be migrants make their way off an RNLI lifeboat on Dungeness Beach on Monday after being found in the English Channel
Before the court’s ruling, Sunak said he hoped flights to Rwanda could take off this summer.
Once the new Illegal Migration Bill is enacted, the Home Office will have a wider range of powers to remove migrants.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.
‘Our priority is to stop the boats, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.
‘The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.’