Record number of migrants cross the English Channel in a single day with more than 970 in 17 small boats
A record 973 small boat migrants have crossed the English Channel in a single day this year, according to official figures.
The record surge in Channel migrants crossed on Saturday, in 17 small boats.
The 973 arrivals are the highest number to arrive on a single day in 2024.
Prior to yesterday, the highest single day for crossings this year was on June 18, when 882 people arrived in 15 small boats.
Until yesterday, the highest day in the three months since Labour came to power was on August 11, when 703 people made the illegal journey.
Saturday’s arrivals follow 395 who made the crossing a day earlier in seven small boats.
It takes the total number of migrants reaching UK waters so far this year to 26,612 in more than 500 dinghies.
The latest crossings come just days after the Home Secretary agreed a new deal with her fellow G7 interior ministers to boost international cooperation, to go after the criminal people smuggling gangs.
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Saturday’s record day of arrivals came on the same day that another four migrants, including a young child, died while trying to cross the Channel.