Number of migrants crossing Channel hits record high for first half of the year

Home Office figures show 257 people made the journey in four boats on Sunday. Credit: PA

The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel has hit a new record for the first six months of a calendar year.

Home Office figures show 257 people made the journey in four boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 12,901.

The previous record for arrivals in the six months from January to June was 12,747 in 2022. In the first half of 2023, arrivals stood at 11,433.

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The 2024 total to date is 17% higher than the number of arrivals recorded this time last year (11,058) and up 8% on the same period in 2022 (11,975).

Last year a total of 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, down 36% on a record 45,774 in 2022.

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