Up to 50,000 Migrants Could Cross Channel to UK This Year
4th January 2024
Rishi Sunak has already claimed credit for the reduction of illegal Channel crossings in 2023, which is still the second-highest total since records began. But official forecasts for this year add further credence to the view that the drop was simply a “glitch” caused by bad weather.
Leaked Border Force documents contain projections of crossings rising to around 35,000 in 2024, up from 2023’s provisional figure of 29,437. The documents, seen by The Daily Telegraph, suggest that the upper projection for the year ahead of us is as high as 50,000, which would be a record high.
Sunak’s Conservative government described stopping the small-boat crossings as one of its five key priorities for 2023. Having failed to do this, Home Secretary James Cleverly has shifted the goalposts to make 2024 the ‘target’ year to “bring it down to zero.” It is telling that the prime minister’s spokesman has refused to back this line.