Has Starmer finally found the best way to stop the small boats?
The IndependentGet the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} With the world’s focus on the other side of the Atlantic this week, Sir Keir Starmer is using the time to try to make some headway with his plan to “smash the gangs” responsible for people smuggling across the English channel. On Monday he announced more cash for his crime-busting border security command – taking its total funding to £150m over two years – despite concerns from some experts that the changes would not deter illegal migrants from coming to the UK and stop small boat crossings. The number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK has continued to rise, with more than 5,400 people having crossed the Channel in small boats last month – the highest monthly figure since October 2022.
History of this topic
Number of small boat migrants crossing Channel this year passes 2023 total
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Tory peer accepts party’s Stop The Boats slogan fuelled far right riots
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Migrant boat seen trying to make crossing of English Channel a day after 12 people died
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Five thousand migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats since Keir Starmer became Prime Minister, new figures show
Daily Mail
Small boat channel crossings top 5,000 in record start to 2024
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Almost 5,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in 2024
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Migrants feared dead as small boat gets into difficulty in Channel
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Hundreds of small boat migrants charged with illegal entry to UK after new powers come into force
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Channel migrant crossings: Teen took asylum seekers to UK ‘after seeing TikTok instruction video’
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More than 230 people arrive in UK in latest small boats Channel crossing
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Channel migrant crossings hit new daily record for 2023
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Migrants rescued from sinking dinghy as English Channel crossings rise
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Labour says it would ‘temporarily’ house refugees on offshore barges
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Social media firms partner with law enforcement to tackle small boat crossings
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More than 600 migrants cross Channel in 2023 record - days after Rishi Sunak claimed plan was ‘working’
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Total number of migrants crossing Channel in small boats passes 2,000
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Most people who cross Channel in small boats are refugees, report finds
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Dozens of migrants in small boats head for UK one day after record Channel crossing numbers
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