Number of small boat migrants crossing Channel this year passes 2023 total
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 }} More migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats so far this year than in the whole of 2023, new government figures show. The French coastguard, which has reported 48 migrant deaths so far this year, repeated warnings about how dangerous the journey is through waters known as the Dover Strait, the narrowest part of the English Channel and the busiest shipping lane in the world. However, Robert Jenrick, former immigration minister and one of the final two candidates to become the new Tory leader, said: “Labour’s plans to ‘smash the gangs’ are in disarray after first contact with reality.