More than 500 migrants arrive in UK after crossing English Channel

Some 526 people made the journey in eight boats on Tuesday, taking the provisional total for 2024 so far to 19,820.

More than 500 migrants arrived in the UK on Tuesday after crossing the English Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

More than 500 migrants arrived in the UK on Tuesday after crossing the English Channel, latest figures show.

Some 526 people made the journey in eight boats, taking the provisional total for 2024 so far to 19,820.

This is 0.1% higher than at the same point in 2023 (19,801) and 21% lower than 2022 (25,065)

Pictures showed men, women and children wearing life jackets and blankets disembarking from a Border Force vessel in Dover on Tuesday, while one child was assisted with a wheelchair on arrival at the port.

They were the first arrivals in a week since 206 people made the journey on August 19, according to Home Office data.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.”