MP, Labour's Shadow
Immigration Minister, commenting on the 711 small
boat arrivals yesterday, the highest daily total this year, said:
"Small boats crossings are going up under this Prime Minister,
with a 33 per cent increase on this time last year. There have
been 10,000 crossings under the current Home Secretary alone and
he has only been in place over the wetter winter months.
"For all the government's fanfare, we know the unaffordable and
unworkable Rwanda plan won't fix this chaos. It is costing half a
billion pounds and will only cover a few hundred people a year,
less than half of those who arrived on a single day this week.
"This can't go on. We need Labour's plan to smash the criminal
smuggler gangs who are running our borders through a new
cross-border police unit and a new returns unit to speed up the
removal of people who have no right to be here."
Ends
Notes:
- There were 711 small boat arrivals yesterday (1 May), the
busiest day of the year so far, and the busiest for eight months,
since the 872 who arrived on 2 September 2023.
- That takes the total for the year to 8,278, exactly a third
more than last year (6,192) and 19 per cent more than 2022
(6,945). For perspective, the 8,000 mark was not passed in 2022
until 14 May, and last year, it was not passed until 11 June.
- Yesterday's arrivals also bring up two personal milestones
for the government: there have now been more than 10,000 arrivals
during James Cleverly's time as Home Secretary (10,401), and more
than 45,000 arrivals since became Prime Minister
(45,341).
- On the French side of the Channel, their authorities brought
66 people back to shore yesterday after getting into trouble
early in their journey. French rescues for the year now stand at
1,571, 82 per cent more than up to the same point last year
(862), and 34 per cent up on 2022 (1,170).
- That's also more than 2,000 arrivals (2,013) since Sunak's
last 'stop the boats' press conference on Monday 22 April.
