Channel migrants: More than 20,000 people arrive in UK in 2022

A group of people thought to be migrants were taken to Dover from a Border Force vessel on Saturday

More than 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

On Saturday 607 made the crossing in 14 boats - the third time the total has exceeded 600 in 2022.

There were 28,526 crossings detected in 2021. By this point last year, just over 11,300 crossings had been made.

In April, the government announced plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda in a bid to deter migrants.

Earlier this year, 47 people were told they would be flown the 4,000 miles (6,500km) to Rwanda and a flight was booked for 14 June.

However, after a series of legal challenges and a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, the flight was cancelled.

Last month, a Home Affairs Committee report found the Rwanda scheme had not been effective.

"There is no clear evidence that the policy will deter migrant crossings - numbers have significantly increased since it was announced in April," the report said.

The MPs concluded one of the reasons the policy was not reducing numbers "may be attributed to scaremongering from people traffickers, that because of new regulations coming in across the Channel it will be much harder to access the UK in future, so they had better get on with it".

There have been 3,618 crossings detected so far this month, with 1,694 in the past week, according to the MoD.

The highest daily total this year was recorded on 1 August, when 696 people crossed in 14 boats.

Saturday's 607 crossings also involved 14 boats - the equivalent of around 43 people per vessel.

Smugglers 'lowering prices'

The calm weather is thought to have been a factor in the recent increase in numbers.

However, one group working with refugees in Calais (that did not want to be named) said it heard people smugglers had lowered their prices, as rival groups tried to achieve dominance in the market.

Last week, BBC South East reported how suspected people smugglers were using TikTok to advertise illegal entry to the UK via the English Channel.

Fierce competition between gangs saw various groups boasting they were the "best" operator for successful crossings, and stating "Rwanda has been cancelled".

Posts from various TikTok accounts proclaim to be able to offer safe crossings on set dates

A government spokesman said: "The Nationality and Borders Act makes it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and we have introduced life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.

"Since the introduction of the Act, 23 people have been arrested."

The government figures do not include those who arrive in the UK undetected, or where there have been reports of people making the crossing, but no actual encounters.

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