Channel migrants: Nearly 500 people cross in single day

More than 30,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2021

Almost 500 people crossed the English Channel in 10 small boats on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence said.

It brings the total number of migrants making the journey from France this year to 32,841.

The MoD said 499 people arrived on Thursday, the first migrants to make the crossing this week.

The Home Office said the crossings are "a clear abuse of our immigration laws, risking the lives of vulnerable people and funding vile criminal gangs".

The English 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.

Last year, 28,526 people are known to have crossed in small boats - up from 8,404 in 2020.

The government announced in April it plans to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda to claim asylum there instead.

The first flight was cancelled minutes before take-off after legal rulings.

In an interview with BBC Radio Kent on Thursday, Prime Minister Liz Truss said her government would be "sticking with the Rwanda plan and will make sure we aren't overruled by European courts".

A Home Office spokesman said: "Despite the lies they have been sold by the people smugglers, migrants who travel through safe countries to illegally enter the UK will not be allowed to start a new life here."