According to Sky sources, around 500 people crossed the Channel from France to England yesterday.
A Border Force boat brought groups of people with life jackets and blankets into Dover, Kent.
Last year’s record crossing was made by 45,728 people on small boats. This is more than 60% increase over the previous year.
According to government figures, 592 migrants have crossed Channel this year. However, the activity was only detected on three days in January.
In the first month 2022, 1,339 people made the trip.
This comes as MPs hear that flights to Rwanda for migrants may not be possible until later in the year, as there are ongoing legal proceedings.
Robert Jenrick, Immigration Minister, stated that the government hopes to resume flights as soon as possible but that it was right to wait until appeals are resolved.
When the government plans to resume flights to Rwanda, Jenrick answered MPs that it would be “as soon as possible.” It is still the government’s policy. It is a crucial way to deter people from crossing dangerously and change the business model for people smugglers.
The policy was declared legal by the High Court last month. However, efforts to launch it are still being thwarted by legal action.
Jenrick stated that an appeal would be heard “later this year”. He added, “We look forward defending the government’s positions once again as robustly and hope, and anticipate, that we’ll have the same outcome at the Court of Appeal.”
When asked if he believed that the government was still waiting for the appeal to be resolved before flights would resume, he replied: “Yes.” We are waiting to hear from the British courts… after that, the government will determine how to proceed.