Great Britain London: Record number of migrants cross English Channel
Despite British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's promises to stop irregular migration across the English Channel, the number of arrivals by this route has reached a record high in the first half of the year.
24.06.2024, 12:31
SDA
Since the beginning of the year, 12,901 people have crossed over from the EU country France, mostly in small boats, as the British news agency PA reported on Monday, citing preliminary figures from the Home Office in London. This was 17 percent more than in the same period last year and 8 percent more than in the previous record half-year of 2022.
Prime Minister Sunak has made migration one of his most important issues in the election campaign ahead of the general election on July 4. The conservative head of government wants to stop the boats with tough laws.
All migrants who arrive in the UK without the necessary papers are to be deported to Rwanda regardless of their origin. They are to apply for asylum there; there are no plans for them to return to the UK. However, it is considered unlikely that the controversial plan will be implemented. The Social Democratic Labour Party, which is likely to win the election, has already announced that it will scrap the Rwanda policy.
In 2022, a total of 45,774 irregular migrants arrived in the UK. In the previous year, the number fell by a good third. For critics, however, this does not go far enough. They see the current figures as confirmation.
