London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK Rwanda asylum plan under fire as rising numbers cross Channel

UK Rwanda asylum plan under fire as rising numbers cross Channel

MoD says 696 people made journey in small boats on Monday, as concerns grow over government response

The number of people crossing the Channel in small boats to seek refuge in the UK hit a daily record for the year so far on Monday, as Border Force staff braced themselves for thousands more arrivals this summer.

The Ministry of Defence said 696 made the journey in 14 small boats on Monday. There were 460 arrivals on Saturday and 247 on Friday, with more than 1,000 people crossing last week.

In July, 3,683 people crossed from France. The total for this year is believed to be more than 17,000.

The figures came amid reports of growing concern over plans to stem the number of boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel.

Critics of the government’s Rwanda policy have seized on the latest figures as evidence that there has been no deterrent effect upon asylum seeker numbers, as claimed by government ministers.

Paul O’Connor, the head of bargaining for the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union – which represents Border Force staff – said: “These statistics seriously undermine the government’s claim that their policy of deporting people to Rwanda acts as a deterrent. It’s time for the government to drop the scheme and switch to an asylum system based on humanity, not hostility.”

Defence chiefs are also said to be fed up with trying to enact the prime minister and home secretary’s rapidly imploding plan of using the military to control small boats in the Channel.

Home Office sources have admitted the UK could receive up to 60,000 people by small boat this year – double last year’s record – with another 20,000 arriving by different routes.

Both candidates vying to become the next Conservative party leader, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, have promised to push ahead with the Rwanda plan if elected.

On Tuesday, large groups of recent arrivals, including young children, were seen being brought ashore in Ramsgate before leaving the Kent port on doubledecker buses.

In April, the government announced plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a five-year trial.

Johnson, with the support of the home secretary, Priti Patel, claimed the plan would “over time prove a very considerable deterrent”.

But the deal has been heavily criticised for failing to curb the numbers, as well as being expensive and in breach of human rights laws. Since it was signed, 11,827 asylum seekers have arrived in the UK.

The first deportation flight was blocked after a late intervention by the European court of human rights.

The home affairs committee last month found there was “no clear evidence” that the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda would stop risky Channel crossings.

A recent Home Office report said the Border Force may have made the small boats crisis worse.

Commissioned by Patel, it concluded that the resources required to prevent illegal entry to the UK by small boats crossing the Channel were “not sustainable”.

Alex Downer, the former leader of Australia’s Liberal party, who carried out the review, criticised “a cycle of crisis management” in the final report. Patel welcomed its “constructive recommendations”.

The Rwanda deal cost an initial £120m, much of which the Rwandan government has already spent. The payment does not include the costs of flights, housing for five years or other benefits given to anyone relocated in the central African state.

Several asylum seekers, the PCS union and charities including Care4Calais and Detention Aid are challenging the legality of the policy, with court hearings set for September and October.

A government spokesperson said: “The Nationality and Borders Act makes it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and we have introduced life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country. Since the introduction of the act, 23 people have been arrested.

“Under our migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda, we are continuing preparations to relocate those who are making dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys into the UK in order for their claims to be considered, for them to be able to rebuild their lives and deter others from making life-threatening crossings.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×