Migrants trying to reach Kent tops 12,000 for the year so far

More than 800 migrants arrived in the UK yesterday

Author: Flora Thompson and Ian Jones, PAPublished 19th Jun 2024

More than 800 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in a single day - a new record for the year so far.

Only yesterday (18 June), lifeboats from Dover were launched to rescue around 85 migrants off the coast of Kent.

The Home Office said 882 people made the journey in 15 boats on Tuesday, suggesting an average of 59 people per boat.

The latest crossings take the provisional total for the number of arrivals so far this year to 12,313.

This is 18% higher than this time last year when 10,472 crossings were recorded, and up 5% on the total at this stage in 2022 (11,690), according to PA news agency analysis of Government figures.

Last year, 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK, down 36% on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

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