More than 10,000 migrants on small boats have arrived in the UK since Labour were elected in July, official figures show.
There were 65 people in two boats who made the dangerous journey yesterday, bringing the total since the election on July 4 to 10,024 in 178.
This followed a deadly weekend that saw eight people lose their lives and more than 1,000 people make it safely to the UK.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, French officials launched a rescue mission after passengers got into difficulty.
Sources confirmed 20 people had been rescued from one boat, with the rest of the migrants continuing toward the British coast. French officials chose not to remove the additional people as it would have posed too great a risk to their safety.
More than 10,000 migrants on small boats have arrived in the UK since Labour were elected in July, official figures show. Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer meeting with Georgia Meloni in Rome on Monday, to learn how her government has cut the number of migrants arriving in boats
There were 65 people in two boats who made the dangerous journey yesterday, bringing the total since the election on July 4 to 10,024 in 178. Pictured: Migrants arriving at the Port of Dover on Monday
Since the start of the year, 23,598 people in 450 boats have successfully made the perilous crossing.
During this time, at least 43 people have lost their lives in the Channel, including 20 in September alone.
Since the tragic loss of life in the Channel over the weekend, the Home Office have renewed their pledge to ‘smash the gangs’.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
‘As we have seen with so many recent devastating tragedies in the Channel, the people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.
‘We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
‘We are making progress, bolstering our personnel numbers in the UK and abroad.
‘Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals.’
Former police chief Martin Hewitt was recently appointed as the new Border Security Command leader, tasked with reducing small boat migration.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘No more gimmicks. This government will tackle the smuggling gangs who trade the lives of men, women and children across borders.
‘Martin Hewitt’s unique expertise will lead a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system.’
It comes after a deadly weekend that saw eight people lose their lives and more than 1,000 people make it safely to the UK
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced £75 million would be used to boost the number of border security officers amid the Government’s bid to crack down on people smugglers, using money redirected from the scrapped Rwanda deportation plan.
The cash will also pay for hidden cameras and better monitoring technology as the Home Office sets up its new Border Security Command, led by a former police chief, as it aims to speed up investigations and increase the likelihood of successful prosecutions.
Earlier this year, it was also announced that an extra 100 specialist investigators will be allocated to the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of efforts to curb Channel crossings.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said during a visit to Rome that he is ‘very interested’ in Italy’s efforts to curb levels of irregular immigration.
The ‘dramatic reductions’ in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Italy is something the Government wants to understand, he added, amid Labour’s efforts to crack down on criminal gangs involved in people smuggling.
But border and security minister Dame Angela Eagle said his meeting with the Italian Prime Minister should not be seen as an endorsement of all her immigration policies, telling Sky News: ‘But we are meeting a G7 country and a fellow Nato member to see how we can co-operate across border to deal with some of these vile people smuggling gangs.’
The UK will see whether Italian plans to process asylum seekers in Albania works before deciding whether to pursue a similar policy, she suggested.
‘Firstly we don’t know whether it will work yet, because it hasn’t started. Much of this has been portrayed currently as if it’s already a success but the fact is that it hasn’t started.
‘We will see how it works. But what we have said is that any scheme that we deal with for offshore processing or anything else has to be workable, it has to be cost-effective, and it also has to be in line with international law,’ she told Times Radio.
