Record number of migrants cross English Channel so far this year

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1 month ago

March 27, 2024

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A record number of migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, according to provisional Home Office figures.

Some 4,644 have made the journey in 2024 – a record for the first three months of a calendar year.

Of the total, 338 people arrived in the UK in seven boats on Tuesday.

Politics latest: New figures spell trouble for one of Rishi Sunak’s pledges

The latest data exceeds the previous record high figure of 4,548 for January to March 2022 and had already surpassed the 3,793 arrivals in the first few months of last year.

It comes after Rishi Sunak continued to insist his plan to “stop the boats” was working despite crossings in 2024 tracking ahead of recent years.

Last week, Downing Street declared that the government was dealing with a “migration emergency” after a record day for crossings.

Some 514 people made the journey in 10 boats on 20 March, making this the busiest day since the start of the year.

The “stop the boats” pledge was one of the prime minister’s five priorities that he set out at the start of 2023, in which he said he would “pass new laws to stop small boats, making sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed”.

In keeping with this, last year a total of 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, down 36% on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

But figures from this year show that so far, crossings are 23% higher than the same time in 2023, and 12% higher than the same time in 2022, according to analysis of government data by the PA news agency.

The government’s Rwanda Bill also remains stuck in parliamentary limbo after a series of further defeats in the Lords, with MPs not scheduled to debate it again until after Westminster returns from its Easter break.

‘Time to get a grip’

Reacting to the figures on Wednesday, Labour said it was “time to get a grip and restore order to the border”.

Stephen Kinnock, shadow immigration minister, said: “Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Rishi Sunak keeps on telling the British people that small boat arrivals are coming down and his promise to stop the boats remains on track.

“Can he not see what is happening from inside his No 10 bunker, or does he think we can’t see it for ourselves?

“Either way, it’s time to get a grip and restore order to the border.”

He said a Labour government would strengthen border security, crush smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, end hotel use and set up a new returns and enforcement unit.

In its latest statement on small boat crossings, the Home Office said: “The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the Channel demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.

“We continue to work closely with French police who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they work tirelessly to prevent these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys.

“We remain committed to building on the successes that saw arrivals drop by more than a third last year, including tougher legislation and agreements with international partners, in order to save lives and stop the boats.”

Politics

Nadhim Zahawi: Former chancellor and vaccines minister will stand down at general election

Published

3 hours ago

May 9, 2024

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Nadhim Zahawi: Former chancellor and vaccines minister will stand down at general election

Former COVID vaccines minister and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has announced he will not be standing at the next general election.

The Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010 quoted his “most famous constituent” as he wrote: “Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know.”

He said: “The time is right for a new, energetic Conservative to fight for the honour of representing Stratford-on-Avon.”

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” he added, referencing Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet.

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Mr Zahawi is the 65th Conservative MP to announce he will not be standing at the next general election, which is expected this year.

He was responsible for the COVID vaccine roll-out and was chancellor for two months over the summer of 2022. He was also education secretary for 10 months before that.

The MP stood to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative leader but was eliminated from the ballot after the first round of voting and then supported Liz Truss, who made him Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, intergovernmental relations minister and equalities minister.

Mr Zahawi said in his statement: “My mistakes have been mine, and my successes have come from working with, and leading, amazing people.”

He also thanked his family and friends, and especially his wife Lana, for their love.

The MP was made Conservative Party chairman by Rishi Sunak but was dismissed for failing to disclose he was being investigated by HMRC and the National Crime Agency over a multi-million pound tax dispute related to the sale of shares in his polling firm YouGov while he was chancellor.

He said he had made a “careless and not deliberate” error after initially saying he had no knowledge of the investigation and had “paid all taxes”.

The 56-year-old was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but his family fled the country under Saddam Hussein to live in London when he was 11-years-old.

He added: “Every morning as I shave my head in the mirror, I have to pinch myself.

“How is it that a boy from Baghdad who came to these shores, fleeing persecution and unable to speak a word of English, was able to do as much as I have?

“For all our challenges, this is the best country on Earth, and it helped me make my British dream come true. It was where I built a Great British business, YouGov, and it was where I raised my wonderful family.”

The MP said he felt “immensely privileged” to have served “my country across government”, as he listed his roles, including being responsible for coordinating the Queen’s funeral.

Mr Zahawi found himself unable to enter the United States to visit his children at university in 2017 after then US President Donald Trump banned travellers from some Muslim majority countries, because he was born in Iraq.

He recently made a surprise appearance in an ITV drama about the Post Office IT scandal, playing himself questioning then Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells in a Commons committee inquiry.