It’s been a busy Christmas in the English Channel. The small boat arrivals have continued at a startling pace through the start of winter.
There were 451 arrivals on Christmas Day, 407 on Boxing Day, 305 on Friday and 322 on Saturday. Yesterday we know at least three more people drowned in the Channel near the coast of France, taking the number of migrants who have died or gone missing attempting the crossing this year to at least 77.
As the Mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemend, told the French news agency AFP: ‘It’s crossing after crossing, without any let-up.’
And unless there is a sudden, total let-up, then Labour will end the year having presided over more than 23,000 illegal arrivals during the half of it they have spent in power. Pro-rata, they have taken us right back up to the peak flow of 2022, when just under 46,000 made the crossing.
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