Channel crossings hit daily record for 2023: Nearly 800 migrants made perilous journey to Britain over weekend
13 June 2023, 00:10 | Updated: 13 June 2023, 00:31
Some 616 migrants crossed the English channel on Sunday - the highest daily number so far in 2023, new figures show.
Traffickers are believed to have taken advantage of the warm weather and lack of rain to bring around 800 people over across the entire weekend.
There is thought to have been 16 boats housing migrants, with around 50 people on each one.
Sunday's total of 616 migrants exceeds the 497 migrants who made the perilous journey on Saturday, April 22.
So far this year, some 8,380 have crossed the English Channel, down from around 10,000 at the same time last year.
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It comes after Rishi Sunak said last week that the numbers were down 20 per cent compared with 2022.
Mr Sunak's official spokesperson said: "Obviously we know that crossings fluctuate on any given day.'I think that when the Prime Minister gave his update, he was talking about a five-month average 20% reduction rather than a snapshot figure.
"So we do know that number of crossings fluctuates.
"Equally we know that, on average, the enhanced work with our French counterparts means that you are now more likely to be intercepted and stopped if you attempt to make a crossing than succeed in crossing the Channel.
"So there is a great deal of work going on which is stopping these criminal gangs in their tracks.
"But, clearly, crossings are continuing and that is because we have not been able to put in place our full plans, and obviously there is a great deal of work across Government to that end."
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In the week prior to this weekend's increase, there is thought to have been very few attempted crossings, largely due to windier weather.
'Stop the Boats' is one of the government's five key pledges for Britain that it hopes will return the Conservatives to power at the next general election.
The government's flagship Illegal Migration Bill, which would put the so-called Rwanda Plan on the statute books, passed through the House of Commons in late April.
It continues its journey through the House of Lords.
A recent report by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee found the Home Office's acceptance of 51 per cent of Albanian asylum claims up to June 2022 puzzling
Read More: Rishi Sunak claims 'stop small boats' plan is working as Albanian immigrants avoid Britain
A report by the committee said: "Albania is a safe country, it is not at war and is a candidate country to join the EU.'There is no clear basis for the UK to routinely accept thousands of asylum applications from Albanian citizens.
"The surge in Channel crossings has reportedly led to a rise in crime in Britain, with 80 Albanian migrants sentenced for offences including murder, rape and kidnap in the first four months of 2023 alone."
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