Home Office Halts Publication of Data on Channel Crossings After Discussions With France
The Home Office has confirmed that the government will continue reporting on the number of illegal migrants and boats detected crossing the English Channel.
Following consultation with the French, the government has temporarily suspended the publication of data on migrants attempting to illegally cross the English Channel in small boats.
This decision has put an end to the recent practice of releasing information on illegal small boat crossings by the UK Border Force and Home Office.
Over the past weekend, the government reported on the number of migrants prevented from crossing the English Channel, as well as those who successfully arrived in the UK. However, an official statement on Wednesday announced that this practice will be paused “until further notice.”
“We will continue to provide daily statistics on small boat arrivals, both in terms of individuals and boats. Updates on the publication of prevention data will be shared in due course,” added the government.
Figures
Between April 29 and May 4, 759 crossings were prevented, according to estimates from the Home Office. These figures are subject to measurement error.
The reported statistics included individuals who were blocked from leaving French shores or returned to France. However, it remains unclear if this data encompasses migrants making repeated attempts to cross the Channel.
On May 7, the latest reported day with detected crossings, 116 migrants embarked on the journey to reach the UK. Since the beginning of the month, a total of 1,223 migrants entered Britain on 24 boats.
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During the first four months of this year, a total of 7,567 migrants were detected crossing to the UK, compared to 5,946 individuals in the same period last year.
A Home Office spokesperson previously stated that French authorities prevented 26,000 people from reaching UK shores last year.
In a statement, the spokesperson expressed continued collaboration with French police, highlighting their efforts to prevent dangerous and illegal crossings in the face of increasing violence and disruption on French beaches.
Rwanda Scheme
The government emphasized the need for the Rwanda bill, designed to deter small boat crossings, following the ongoing influx of migrants attempting to cross the Channel.
Last month, parliament passed the Rwanda legislation, enabling the government to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda. Since the bill received Royal Assent on Apr. 25, 2,123 illegal immigrants have arrived in the UK, according to provisional figures released by the Home Office.
Reports from French officials indicated that a boat carrying 112 migrants faced overloading and engine issues, resulting in fatalities as some individuals fell into the water.
Downing Street asserted that the Rwanda deportation scheme will disrupt the business model of people smuggling gangs and reduce risks to lives.
Recently, UK relocated a failed asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary removals program. Plans to deport individuals deemed inadmissible due to illegal entry from safe third countries, like France, on or after March 7, 2023, are pending.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are skeptical about the effectiveness of the Rwanda plan and have indicated intentions to abandon the scheme if they assume power.
Labour aims to revamp the asylum system by recruiting over 1,000 Home Office caseworkers to address the backlog and establish a new returns unit to expedite the removal of individuals without the right to stay in the UK.
Additionally, Labour plans to halt the use of hotels for illegal immigrants within a year, save taxpayers’ money, and create a dedicated returns unit for safe countries.
