London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Apr 20, 2025

More than 5,000 migrants have arrived in the UK through English Channel crossing in 2023

More than 5,000 migrants have arrived in the UK through English Channel crossing in 2023

A total of 5,049 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel so far this year, according to Home Office figures released on Tuesday.
Some 113 migrants were spotted in three boats on Monday, suggesting an average of 38 persons per boat, The Independent reported.

As one of his five key priorities while in power, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is committed to cracking down on migrants crossing the channel illegally in small boats.

However, Sunak confessed last week that his radical policy plans “won’t happen overnight” and declined to guarantee that they will be completed by the time of the next general election.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, told The Independent that the figures “show the full scale of the Tory failure to get any grip on channel crossings.”

She added: “All they offer is rhetoric and gimmicks instead of any kind of serious plan. No surprise that Rishi Sunak is rowing back on his promise to stop the boats this year.”

Since the government signed a deal to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda more than a year ago, nearly 45,000 migrants have arrived in the UK via the channel crossing.

Matthew Rycroft, Home Office permanent secretary, confirmed in November that Britain had already paid Rwanda £140 million ($174 million) under the agreement, but expressed doubts about the policy’s value for money.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told The Independent: “While we are confident that some of the elements already introduced — stepping up the partnership with the French government to increase intercepts in the channel — is having an impact, we know that this will be an incremental approach.”

The spokesman added that it was “too early to draw conclusions at this stage” regarding the impact of the government’s policy change announcement “given we know the impact the weather can have on weekly, even daily, crossings.”

He added: “It will be the culmination of the introduction of all the different policies we are introducing which will have the long-lasting impact the public want.”

London’s High Court in January granted permission to a group of asylum-seekers to appeal against a ruling that Britain’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is lawful.

Sunak said on Thursday that he expects a legal battle over the “novel, untested” and “ambitious” Illegal Migration Bill, which is going through parliament, and confirmed there “may well be” an interim judgment from the European Court of Human Rights against the policy, as happened with the Rwanda scheme.

Braintree District Council announced that it had been granted an injunction hearing at the High Court on Wednesday, and that the Home Office had agreed not to move any migrants to the Wethersfield site until after that date, The Independent reported.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
Global Markets Dive Amid Rising U.S.-China Trade Conflicts
British comedian Russell Brand faces charges of rape and several sexual assaults.
Kanye West Reveals in a New Song That His Wife Bianca Censori Has Departed from Him
Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme Accused of Having Sex with Human Trafficking Victims
Tom Cruise Pays Tribute to Val Kilmer at CinemaCon
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
×