English Channel

According to Home Office figures, 3,208 migrants crossed the English Channel in 2024 to date, the highest total for the same period over the last six years.

Last year, the Home Office and the Border Force recorded close to 30,000 migrants crossing the English Channel illegally in small boats.

Over 2,000 migrants arrived by small boat this year, down 32 percent on the same time last year, but 49 percent higher than the total at this stage in 2022.

An illegal immigrant has been jailed for manslaughter after piloting a dinghy that sank in the English Channel leading to the loss of four lives.

The deal will see increased cooperation between Border Force and Frontex, including collaborations on training, operations, and the exchange of intelligence.

On Dec. 14, 2022 a dinghy sank in the English Channel and four illegal immigrants drowned. Now the man who was skippering it has been convicted of manslaughter.

The government has defended its Rwanda bill, which would see illegal migrants sent to the African country, from accusations it could break international law.

Another 2 people remain in critical condition, French authorities say. The tragedy came ahead of crunch votes in the UK on the government’s Rwanda bill.

Despite the number of small boat crossings in the English Channel going down in 2023, the percentage who have come from Turkey has risen from 2 to 11 percent.

A report said the UK’s rescue effort has been hampered by ‘poor visibility,’ and it was hard for coastguard operatives to distil useful information from calls.

The sentencing guidance was made by senior judges after a Turkish national intercepted in the English Channel with 50 others appealed against his jail term.