492 migrants arrived in UK in small boats on Saturday, Home Office says – The Irish News

Nearly 500 migrants crossed the Channel on Saturday, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior.

On August 17, 492 migrants crossed the sea in nine boats, bringing the provisional total number of migrants this year to over 18,300.

Earlier this week, the highest number of crossings took place in a single day since the Labour government came to power. Last Sunday, 703 people arrived in the UK in 11 boats. That is an average of 64 people per boat.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which undermine border security and endanger lives.

“The new Government is taking steps to improve our border security by establishing a new Border Security Command that will bring together our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terrorism powers and hundreds of staff based in the UK and abroad to help defeat criminal smuggling gangs that are making millions in profits.”

One of the first steps of the new government was to abolish the deportation program for Rwanda. According to James Cleverly, shadow minister for the interior, this program mainly benefits people who profit from unsafe border crossings.

He said: “When Labour abandoned our deterrent they sent a dangerous message to people smugglers, because they were unwilling to take the tough measures needed to control our borders, and now the smugglers are reaping the rewards.

“And more than a month later, they still haven’t appointed anyone to lead their phantom border command.

“This new government must take urgent action to control the ever-increasing numbers of crossings.”