Migrant boat crossings to UK hits new record; Rishi Sunak had vowed to stop them

The United Kingdom saw a record-high number of migrants entering the nation via the Channel in the first quarter of 2024, registering a 42 per cent rise over the last decade, the country’s interior ministry said on Monday.

British officials processed a whopping number of 5,373 migrants in the first three months of 2024 after they arrived on small boats on the shores of southeast England.

This compares to 3,793 making the perilous journey from January to March in 2023 – a 41.7 percent rise and the highest figure ever for the opening quarter of any year.

Over the Easter weekend alone, 800 migrants arrived in the country on 16 small boats.

The migrant issue has posed a serious political problem for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who will face the polls next year, especially after the embattled Conservative leader repeatedly vowed to “stop the boats”.

Earlier, Sunak claimed victory over the issue by saying that migrant crossings had fallen by a third last year. The trend, however, was quick to reverse in 2024.

Sunak is facing the daunting task of keeping his Tories – in power since 2010 – in charge after the next election, which he must call at some point this year.

The small boat arrivals, and broader concerns among some voters about levels of immigration, are blamed for contributing to the predicted exodus of former Tory voters.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry has said that smugglers involved in organising Channel crossings are evolving their methods and using bigger boats to accommodate more people.

Interior Minister James Cleverly told the BBC this week that the government is now “going after the boats upstream in the supply chain”.

The UK Supreme Court blocked the plan over safety fears but the government has introduced contentious legislation to override that by declaring Rwanda “safe” and agreeing on a new treaty with the East African country.

With inputs from AFP