Almost 400 migrants cross Channel on small boatson March 23, 2022 at 12:59 am

Almost 400 migrants were brought into Dover after crossing the Channel on Tuesday, the Home Office confirmed.

Some 394 people arrived in Kent on 11 boats, including babies wrapped in blankets, while a further 467 people were intercepted by French authorities after attempting to make the journey.

Crossings have taken place this week amid warm weather and calm seas.

It means 2,354 people have arrived via small boats this month, almost three times as many as March last year.

Several children were among those to be brought ashore on Tuesday.

The Home Office said that 213 people were rescued on six boats and brought to shore on Monday, while on Tuesday last week 405 people made the crossing – in what is thought to have been the highest daily total so far in 2022.

The number of people attempting to make the journey tends to increase during warmer and calmer weather.

Tom Pursglove, minister for tackling illegal migration, said the rise in crossings was “unacceptable”.

He said Channel crossings impacted UK taxpayers, risked lives and the UK’s ability to help refugees who come to the UK via legal routes.

Mr Pursglove said the government was cracking down on people smugglers through the Nationality and Borders Bill, which would also make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally.

The government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords over its borders bill, which has come in for criticism and attracted protests.