Migrant crossings: More than 20,000 migrants cross Channel this year

A group of people, believed to be migrants, being brought to shore in Dover on Tuesday

More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to Kent in small boats so far this year.

The figure is well over double the number of crossings made in the whole of 2020.

The Home Office said 456 people crossed in 15 boats on Tuesday. French authorities also stopped 343 migrants.

Home Office Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, Dan O'Mahoney, said crossing are "dangerous" and "facilitated by violent criminal gangs".

Just over 8,460 people made the crossing in 2020, according to Home Office figures. A total of 20,248 have crossed so far in 2021.

It comes after several migrants were feared lost at sea last week, after trying to cross waters from France to Essex.

Earlier this year the Home Office confirmed Border Force have the power to turn boats away, in limited circumstances

In July, the UK promised France £54m to boost police patrols at its beaches, and in September the Home Office confirmed border officials will have the authority to turn boats away in limited circumstances and only with the prior approval of the home secretary.

The decision sparked fears that border officials could be subject to prosecution if a migrant drowns.

The soaring number of crossings has prompted Amnesty International UK to call for an overhaul of the nation's asylum system.

Chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said: "We need to remember that these dangerous crossings are taking place because the government has provided no safe alternative for people to exercise their right to seek asylum here."

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