Channel crossings: October busiest month of the year so far

More than 5,000 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in October, making it the busiest month of the year so far.

According to Home Office figures, 230 people made the journey in five boats on Thursday which brings the total number of arrivals recorded last month to 5,417.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has recorded 11 more migrant deaths believed to be linked to attempts to cross the Channel this year, including people found dead on French roads or canals near the coast and on beaches.

This is up 15% on this time last year (26,699) but down 23% on 2022 (39,929), which was a record high year for crossings.

PA news agency analysis of the data also shows more than 145,000 migrants have now arrived in the UK after making the journey since records began in 2018.

This includes in excess of 100,000 people who did so since the previous Conservative government signed the now-failed deal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda in April 2022.

By comparison, August was the busiest month in 2023 (5,369) and 2022 (8,574) but, in 2021, November saw the most crossings (6,971).

October also saw the highest number of boats used in a month so far this year (99). But the figure is lower than the 192 used in August 2022.

Police and officials working to curb Channel crossings have said people smugglers changed tactics over the last year and are now opting to cram more migrants into bigger boats – some to the point of them dangerously overflowing – while attempting fewer journeys.

Crossings continued on Friday, with more people being brought ashore in Dover, Kent.

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

“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.”