More than 45,000 migrants crossed Channel to UK in 2022 hitting record high
1 January 2023, 14:02 | Updated: 1 January 2023, 14:14
The number of migrants attempting to cross the Channel to the UK surged by 60 per cent in 2022, hitting a record high of over 45,000.
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A total of 45,756 migrants attempted the Channel crossing, Government figures have shown.
The last crossings of the year took place on Christmas Day, when 90 people made the journey from France in two boats.
The Ministry of Defence recorded no further crossings for the remaining six days due to bad weather conditions.
Home Office officials previously estimated up to 60,000 people could make the journey during the year.
But as the migrant crisis continues to worsen, politicians have made a series of attempts to get a grip on the issue.
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman told of her "dream" of seeing the Government's plan to send migrants to Rwanda succeed after she was appointed in the role - a policy which High Court judges ruled is lawful but has so far been stalled by legal action.
Ms Braverman revealed £3.5 billion would be spent on the asylum system in 2022/23 - £2.3 billion of the total bill going towards paying for hotels.
She also hinted at plans to house asylum seekers in disused cruise ships after PM Rishi Sunak promised to bring in legislation in 2023 to make it "unambiguously clear that if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here".
Among a series of measures to curb Channel crossings and tackle the backlog of asylum claims, Mr Sunak also vowed to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels, with the Government instead hunting for accommodation in empty holiday parks, former student halls and surplus military sites.
