THE HOME Office has lashed out at France after an "unacceptable" number of migrants attempted to cross the Channel.
Around 1000 people are said to have reached the UK yesterday- a record number.
Life boats and Border Force officials were called to the Dover Straight, there they worked to help those who had made the deadly journey cross the busy shipping lane.
In French waters, three people are thought to be dead after empty kayaks were found off the coast of Calais.
In 2019, Home Secretary Priti Patel promised to make migrant crossings an “infrequent phenomenon” by spring 2020 and then pledged in August last year to “make this route unviable”.
During this time, the Government has agreed to pay France millions of pounds to increase security on its northern coast.
The Home Office has yet to confirm precise numbers for the day’s arrivals, but a spokesman said on Thursday night that the number of crossings was “unacceptable”.
He added: “The British public have had enough of seeing people die in the Channel while ruthless criminal gangs profit from their misery, and our New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken system which encourages migrants to make this lethal journey.”
Despite the increasing numbers of small boats arrivals, the UK continues to see far fewer boat arrivals and asylum claims than many of its European counterparts.
At least 100,907 people have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea so far this year, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
At least 1,313 people are estimated to be dead or missing, according to the same data.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “The people making these perilous sea crossings are doing so out of desperation, largely because there are no safe and legal routes open to them, and many have family and other connections here.
“Instead of seizing on these highly visible crossings to manufacture a supposed ‘national emergency’ in their attempts to justify draconian new asylum policies, ministers ought to be working constructively with the French authorities to provide safe access to asylum procedures on both sides of the Channel.
“The total number of asylum claims being made in the UK over the last few years has remained relatively low and stable, but Channel crossings have become part of the Government’s cynical politicisation of asylum.
“With its current approach, the Government is wilfully endangering people it should be helping. These are cruel tactics and they should end.
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