UK says 'small boat' migrant arrivals hit single-day high

By AFP

A total of 711 people were brought ashore in a single day this week after trying to cross the Channel in small boats to get to the UK, official figures showed Thursday.

The number is the highest so far this year and comes as London maintains that its plan to "stop the boats" is working, notably through a controversial deportation scheme.

The arrivals on Wednesday tops the previous high of 534 on April 14, and takes the total number of migrants who have made the Channel crossing so far this year to 8,278.

The highest-ever figure in single-day arrivals was 1,295 and recorded on August 22, 2022.

French police on Wednesday said they had rescued 66 people after their boat ran into trouble off the coastal town of Dieppe.

Migration -- both regular and irregular -- has been a major political issue in the UK, given the government's promise to tighten the country's borders after leaving the European Union.

But doing so has proved harder to implement, with the Conservative government desperate to trumpet successes as it goes into local elections on Thursday and a general election later this year.

Some 122,600 people have been intercepted in British waters and brought ashore since the UK began recording arrivals in 2018.

The UK interior ministry this week confirmed it has begun detaining failed asylum seekers with a view to deporting them to Rwanda, after parliament passed a law declaring it a safe third country.

Several migrants were seen in photos and video footage being taken away in handcuffs by immigration officers.

Since the Home Office confirmed the operation on Wednesday, there have been several protests outside immigration centres to try to prevent removals.