Migrant crisis as 600 risk everything to cross Channel so far this month

Migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel with more than 600 people making the journey so far this month already, latest figures reveal.

Pictures show people wearing life jackets coming ashore in Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel.

The French coastguard said monitoring operations were ongoing amid the favourable weather conditions on Tuesday.

A spokesman from the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency added that it was also monitoring and responding to “small boat activity” in the Channel and Border Force vessels have been sent.

Some 611 people arrived in the first four days of November, after three days of crossings recorded by the Home Office.

According to the latest figures published by the Government department, 178 people arrived in three boats on Monday.

More than 5,400 people made the journey in October, making it the busiest month of the year so far.

The provisional total for the year so far is 31,272, which is up 17% on this time last year (26,699) but down 22% on 2022 (39,929), which was a record high year for crossings.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said the Government will “treat people smugglers like terrorists” as he announced a further £75 million for his border security command on Monday.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper meanwhile would not commit to specific targets or a timeframe for getting small boat crossings down, but said that the Government will “try and make progress as rapidly as possible”.