Christmas Day migrants – more than 450 people crossed Channel on 11 boats

A total of 451 people crossed the English Channel in 11 small boats on Christmas Day, according to the latest official figures.

The Home Office says crossings resumed after an 11-day lull – the last recorded arrival was on 14 December involving 160 people on three boats.

Groups of people wearing life jackets were pictured being brought ashore from a Border Force boat in Dover, Kent.

The figure for Christmas Day is the second highest for December – 609 people arrived on 12 December, a record for the month.

It takes the total number of arrivals by small boat in 2024 to 35,491, around 21% higher than last year, but about 22% down on 2022.

In previous years there have not always been crossings on Christmas Day, there were 90 arrivals on that day in 2022, and 67 the year before in 2021.

The weather is a big factor in whether small boats are launched, the vast majority from the north coast of France.

According to the Met Office, the sea temperatures on Wednesday were around 10C in the Channel with wind speeds dropping off slightly from 24 December.

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A Home Office statement, issued on Friday 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.”

The prime minister has set up a new Border Security Command.

It is an attempt to work more closely with the UK’s European neighbours to pull apart organised crime gangs involved in people smuggling.

The UK signed a new co-operation deal with Germany in December, which makes it a specific criminal offence to facilitate migrant smuggling towards the UK.