Record migrant numbers: UK Labour faces tough summer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has admitted the small boat migrant crisis could get worse as the number of small boats crossing the English Channel increases rapidly.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has warned of a difficult summer ahead as she addresses the migrant crisis after Britain recorded a record number of migrants in a single day on July 15.
At a Cabinet meeting on July 16, Minister Cooper assessed that the number of migrants crossing the English Channel was at a record high in the first half of 2024.
Earlier, during his visit to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington (USA), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted that the small boat migrant crisis could get worse as the number of small boats crossing the English Channel is increasing.
According to data from the Ministry of Interior, 427 people crossed the sea on seven boats on July 15, bringing the total number of migrants by small boat to 14,759 people as of now.
More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since Labour won the election on 4 July.
According to UK Government analysis, the total number of migrants arriving in the UK so far this year is 12% higher than the same period in 2023 (13,200) and up 1% compared to the same period in 2022 (14,554).
Meanwhile, 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK by small boat in 2023, down 36% from the record 45,774 in 2022.
Addressing the Cabinet, Ms Cooper said tackling illegal migration was a key part of Labour's plan to reset Europe, which would see closer cooperation with other European countries and law enforcement agencies to combat people smuggling.
Labour scrapped former Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan on his first day in office, and the funding will be transferred to a new Border Security Command, which will oversee the recruitment of hundreds of new officers and investigators tasked with cracking down on people-smuggling gangs.
Labour now plans to recruit hundreds of additional investigators and officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force and MI5 to deploy across Europe, working with police and border officers to stop boats, equipment and migrants reaching the northern coast of France – the route migrants use to board small boats to cross the Channel to Britain.