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5th August 2021
04:51pm BST
There have been 10,236 arrivals in 434 boats so far this year, the Home Office said, with Wednesday being the biggest day ever.
"These dangerous small boat crossings, facilitated by criminal gangs, are putting lives at risk, Dan O'Mahoney, clandestine Channel threat commander, told the BBC."These numbers are unacceptable, that's why we are taking action on all fronts."
O'Mahoney said law enforcement agencies were "dismantling" the people-smuggling gangs responsible and noted that joint work with French authorities had resulted in a doubling of police officers on French beaches. Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrant Rights Director at Amnesty International UK, said there simply isn't "safe alternatives" for people putting themselves at risk by crossing the Channel.He urged politicians to stop "peddling myths and stoking hostility toward often vulnerable people who've experienced persecution and trauma", noting that on a global scale, very few people seek asylum in the UK.
Nigel Farage has continued to inflame fears around Channel crossings. Recent criticism led to The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) receiving a surge in donations. On Thursday, the former MP warned, "this will get much worse", and shared a clip from GB News where he claimed 20,000 people would cross the Channel this year, 30,000 if the waters are calm in September.Explore more on these topics:
