Highest monthly small boat arrivals for two years

Some of the 230 people who crossed on Thursday arriving at Dover

The Home Office said 230 people crossed the English Channel in small boats on Thursday.

During October 5,417 people made the crossing, the highest monthly figure since October 2022.

It means the total for 2024 so far stands at 30,661.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.”

October 2024's total is the highest since October 2022, when 6,900 people crossed, part of an annual total of 45,774, according to the Home Office.

2022 saw the highest annual total so far recorded.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”

The Home Office said between 5 July and 29 August 3,600 people with no right to remain in the UK had been deported.