Record day for migrant crossings

More than 600 migrants journeyed across the English Channel on Sunday, setting a single-day record for crossings this year, just days after the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted that his strategy to "stop the boats" was proving effective.

Figures from the UK government revealed that 616 individuals made the crossing in 12 boats on Sunday, surpassing this year's previous record of 497 migrants, which was set on April 22.

This brings the cumulative total number of small-boat migrant arrivals to the UK for the year to approximately 8,400. In contrast, at the same point last year, the total had already surpassed 10,000.

A record 45,755 individuals made the crossing last year, prompting Sunak to make tackling small-boat crossings a priority for his government this year.

Last week, Sunak stated that efforts to reduce the number of migrants crossing the Channel in boats had proven to be effective, as figures at that point had shown a decline for the first time, noted the BBC.

Sunak said on June 5 that the drop in overall numbers showed "our approach is working".

Border Force sources informed The Independent news website that weeks of rough seas in the Channel had contributed to the reduction in crossings.

Experts explained that much of this decrease was due to a decline in the number of Albanian migrants, rather than an overarching shift.

The website reported that Afghans have now become the most prevalent nationality arriving in small boats, as the number of refugees resettled directly from Afghanistan has diminished following the Taliban's takeover in 2021.

Under proposed new laws, individuals arriving in the UK without permission would face detention and swift deportation, either to their country of origin or a third country, such as Rwanda.

The Illegal Migration Bill, currently being debated by the House of Lords, the UK legislature's upper chamber, would establish extensive new powers for detention and search, and migrants would be ineligible for asylum claims.

In response to the latest figures, Downing Street stated that Channel crossings "fluctuate on any given day".

A spokesperson for the prime minister said: "I think that when the prime minister gave his update (last week), he was talking about a five-month average 20-percent reduction rather than a snapshot figure.

"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."

Member of Parliament Stephen Kinnock, the opposition Labour Party's shadow immigration minister, said: "Rishi Sunak needs to roll up his sleeves and start doing the hard graft, rather than ploughing on with the headline-chasing, government-by-gimmick approach which landed him in this mess in the first place.

"In short, he needs to stop the boast and start stopping the boats."