MORE than 5,000 small boat migrants have already arrived in the UK this year, figures show.
A further 341 people were picked up in six dinghies by Border Force in the Dover Straits on Thursday, according to the Home Office.
The grim milestone comes after two people died attempting to make the dangerous journey this week.
A total of 5,022 migrants in 91 boats have now made the crossing to the UK so far this year.
This month alone 2,966 have been picked up as smugglers take advantage of the change in weather conditions.
The UK signed a “road-map” agreement with France earlier this month aimed at bolstering co-operation to tackle people smuggling across the Channel.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.
“We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Friday: “We’ve acknowledged that there is a flow of migrants into this country by illegal means on small boats and we’ve seen a number of incidents in this week in French waters.
“That’s why this Government has put forward a serious credible plan to finally restore order to the chaos we inherited in our asylum system.”
The figures come as a UN report found that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for migrants, with almost 9,000 known to have died across the world.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This has been the worst ever start to a year for illegal channel crossings.
“Labour has completely lost control of our borders. Their claim to be smashing the gangs has now been exposed as laughable.
“Extremists and terrorist sympathisers are being allowed to enter the country without control.
“The government must urgently implement a removals deterrent so the illegal immigrants in France do not bother attempting the crossing.
“It was a catastrophic mistake to cancel the Rwanda removals scheme before it even started.
“The truth is Labour has no interest in taking the tough measures needed to control our borders. They’re only interested in kow-towing to human rights lawyers.”
More than 5,000 small boat migrants have already arrived in the UK this yearReuters Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
