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More than 800 people crossed English Channel In small boats – It is believed that this is a record number for a single day in December.
The latest official figures showed that 803 people made it A risky journey in 13 canoes through northern France tomorrowThis brought the total number of Channel crossings to 41,455 for 2025 people, Second largest since data collection began in 2018Only surpassed by 2022’s record of 45,774.
Saturday saw the highest number of people crossing in a single day since October 8, when 1,075 people crossed.
About 2,163 people have arrived so far this month, close to the record of 3,254 recorded last December.
A Border Force ship can be seen bringing people thought to be migrants to Dover following an incident in the Channel on Saturday morning.
What followed was a busy night, in which a large number of boats were seen leaving the shores France,
French police clashed with people attempting to launch a small boat near Calais on Saturday morning.
Video shows the Gendarmerie firing tear gas at a crowd of about 30 migrants on a river bank in the town of Grand-Fort-Philippe.
The unexpected increase comes after four weeks of calm in which the Home Office recorded no crossings between 15 November and 12 December.
December is traditionally one of the quietest months for efforts due to adverse weather conditions.
But this pause marks the longest uninterrupted stretch without arrivals since 2018.
Broad trends show arrivals have increased in the first 10 months of this year, while remaining below the record levels reported in 2022.
The Labor government has stepped up efforts to tackle the influx of small boats in collaboration with European countries.
After months of pressure from Britain, France agreed to begin stopping small boats in the Channel.
The change in policy means security forces will be able to stop boats at sea, but not before they can pick up passengers.
Germany passed a new law this week that could see smugglers trying to bring migrants to Britain face up to 10 years in prison.
The changes to the law, which will come into force before the end of the year, aim to give law enforcement and prosecutors more powers and boost information sharing between the UK and Germany.