Channel migrants: Crossing numbers in 2021 double 2020's figure

More than 14,900 people in small boats have reached the UK so far in 2021

More than 660 migrants crossed the English Channel on Sunday, bringing the total so far this year to more than double the total for 2020.

The Home Office said 669 people crossed in 22 boats on Sunday, with the French authorities preventing 197 migrants in six boats from making the crossing.

So far at least 17,063 people have crossed in small boats in 2021 compared to just over 8,460 last year.

The government says people-smugglers face a maximum sentence of life.

Some 160 boats with 4,638 people on board have successfully crossed the English Channel from France in September.

Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said:  "The government is determined to tackle the unacceptable rise in dangerous Channel crossings using every tool at our disposal, at every stage in the journey."

The Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world. Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once they are picked up by the UK authorities.

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