The number of migrants crossing the English Channel this year has exceeded 5,000, with almost 800 making the journey over the Easter bank holiday weekend, according to the Home Office. In total, 791 migrants made the journey on March 30 and 31, with 349 crossing on Saturday and a further 442 spotted on Sunday. The Home Office stated that the “unacceptable number of people” crossing the Channel “demonstrates exactly why we must get flights to Rwanda off the ground as soon as possible.”
Before the Easter weekend, 2024 had already experienced a record number of people making the journey in the first three months of the year, with 4,548 migrants arriving in January to March 2022 and 3,793 in the first quarter of last year. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock accused the Conservative Party of causing “complete chaos” with the unprecedented level of dangerous Channel crossings. The party pledged to stop the boats as one of Rishi Sunak’s five commitments to voters ahead of an expected general election later this year.
The Rwanda Bill is still awaiting parliamentary approval after peers defeated several measures introduced by the government prior to the Easter break, with MPs set to consider it again on April 15. The Home Office spokesperson stressed the importance of co-operation with French police, who are facing increasing violence and disruption on their beaches as they strive to prevent the dangerous and unnecessary journeys.
Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds argued that the governments on both sides of the Channel must share responsibility and make arrangements for safe access to each other’s asylum procedures. This, he stated, is something that has been done before
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