Fears are growing that Boris Johnson’s Rwanda strategy is failing, as nearly 80 migrants arrived in Dover today despite adverse weather, and official numbers reveal that over 10,000 people have crossed the English Channel this year, more than double the previous year’s total.
UK officials brought huddled groups of men, women, and children ashore at Dover Marina in rainy Kent today after being picked up in the Channel.
According to Ministry of Defence estimates, 139 migrants in six boats passed the Dover Straits on the first day of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, bringing the total for the week to more than 600 after a weather change.
In 2022, a total of 10,057 migrants have been intercepted. Last year, the number of small boat arrivals was just over 4,200 at this time, and the 10,000 mark was not surpassed until August.
The number of would-be refugees attempting to cross the English Channel by dinghy has now surpassed the official figure for this time last year. Even after the first rejected asylum applicants were warned they would be put on a one-way aircraft to the east African country, the arrivals have continued this week.
It has reignited suspicions that the Conservative government’s key strategy of deportation to combat people smuggling is doomed to fail.
‘If the goal of the Rwanda plan was to dissuade people going across the Channel, it’s not actually working, is it?’ said Ben Habib, a former Brexit Party MEP, on Talk TV yesterday. We’ve seen record amounts of people come through since they announced it. We need to put a halt to those crossing the Channel illegally.