The number of channel crossings exceeds 20,000 in a year

More than 20,000 people have been spotted crossing the English Channel this year, according to Government figures.

Some 607 were detected on Saturday – for the third time, the total has surpassed 600 since the beginning of 2022.

The total provisional amount for the year is 20,017.

There are 28,526 crossings detected in 2021.

As of this time last year, just over 11,300 crossings had been made.

There were 3,618 cases of crossings detected in August, with 1,694 in the past week, according to the Department of Defense.

The highest daily total for 2022 so far was recorded on August 1, when 696 people passed on 14 boats.

Saturday’s 607 border crossings also involved 14 boats – or about 43 people on each vessel.

It has been four months since Ms. Patel revealed her plan to send migrants to Rwanda to try to stop people crossing the English Channel.

Since then, 14,749 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey.

On April 14, Ms Patel signed what she described as a “world first” agreement with Rwanda under which the East African country would take in migrants deemed by the UK to have arrived. “illegal” and therefore not admissible under the new immigration rules.

But the first deportation flight – scheduled to take off on June 14 – was made amid legal challenges.

Several asylum seekers, the Trade and Public Service union and the charity Care4Calais, Detention Action and Asylum Aid are challenging the legitimacy of the Home Office policy, with further trials will take place in September and October.

A record 1,185 people passed the UK on 11 November 2021 – the highest number recorded since the start of 2020.

The number of people arriving in the UK in small boats from France after navigating busy transport routes has steadily increased in recent years.

About 299 were spotted in 2018, followed by 1,843 in 2019, 8,466 in 2020 and 28,526 last year, official figures show.

Despite the growing numbers, the UK’s small yacht population is only a fraction of the number of people arriving in Europe.

Data from the United Nations refugee agency shows that at least 120,441 people have reached Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea by 2021.