More than 4,600 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain in small boats so far in 2024, a record total for the first three months of the year and a fresh political headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Provisional figures from the Home Office showed on Wednesday that up to March 26 this year, 4,644 people had been detected arriving across the Channel in small boats such as inflatable dinghies.
That compares with 3,770 in the same period last year and 4,162 for 2022, the previous record.
Sunak hopes his flagship scheme to deport those arriving in Britain without permission to Rwanda will deter people from dangerous Channel crossings. Legislation aimed at implementing the plan after a series of legal setbacks is due to return to parliament next month.
“The unacceptable number of people who continue to cross the Channel shows exactly why we need to start flights to Rwanda as soon as possible,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior last week, Fena news agency writes.
