Around 400 small boat migrants ‘crossed English Channel’ on Christmas Day
AROUND 400 small boat migrants are believed to have crossed the Channel to Britain on Christmas Day.
Several boats were seen making the journey from France yesterday as migrants were pictured at Dover docks.
It was the first arrivals since December 14, when 160 landed in three boats.
Dinghy crossings for 2024 hit 35,040 — a 20 per cent rise on last year.
It is lower than the 2022 record of 45,774.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it would be “no comfort” to the public if numbers remain high.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “smash the gangs” who carry migrants across the channel.
But the plan has been slammed by the Tories as a waste of time as numbers continue to soar.
In October, The Sun revealed more illegal migrants were in Britain than any other European nation.
Researchers believed as many as 745,000 were still here — enough to rival the population of Leeds.
The number was equivalent to one in 100 of the entire UK population and more than double the 300,000 in France.
It was also ahead of the highest estimate for Germany, which at 700,000 had the second-largest illegal population.
Study chiefs estimated the number of illegal migrants in Britain was between 594,000 and 745,000.