Downing Street has defended it plan to stop small boat crossings after a 20% increase in migrants travelling across the Channel so far this year.
In the first three days of March, 842 people made the perilous journey from France to the UK, Home Office data showed on Tuesday.
Small boat arrivals hit a daily high over the weekend as 592 people travelled across the water on March 2.
It is the largest number of arrivals on a single day so far in 2025 and takes the total number for this year to 2,716.
This is 20% higher than at the same point last year, when the total stood at 2,255. But it is 8% lower than at this stage in 2023, when 2,953 had made the dangerous trip.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman insisted it would take time to bring down the number of migrants attempting to come to Britain in small boats.
“We inherited a system in chaos, and we’ve all said that there are no quick fixes to curb the global problem of illegal migration,” he said on Monday.
“But we put in place a serious and credible plan. Set up this new Border Security Command. We’ve ramped up removals.
“We’ve given law enforcement greater powers than ever to take down these [people smuggling] gangs.
“You’ve seen with our collaboration across borders with other agencies, significant arrests and disruption of people smuggling gangs across Europe in recent weeks and months.
“You’ve seen us returning 19,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals, ramping up the level of illegal working arrests and visits and we will remain focused on taking all the action needed.”
Before Sunday the previous daily high for arrivals this year was 260, which was recorded on January 13.
As weather conditions improve, arrivals are expected to continue to increase.
French authorities have also released a statement on recuse operations that took place overnight from Saturday March 1, into Sunday.
Migrants on a number of boats requested assistance from the French authorities throughout the night, including two on one boat who were suspected of having hypothermia.
Earlier this year the Government announced new powers designed to “turbocharge efforts to smash the gangs” smuggling migrants across the Channel.
Investigators will have the power to seize the mobile phones of suspected people traffickers and it will become an offence to endanger lives at sea under new laws designed to crack down on small boat crossings.
People selling and handling parts of vessels being used to bring people across the Channel could face up to 14 years in prison under the measures announced by Home Office Yvette Cooper.
Sunday’s figures take the total number of crossings since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister to 25,958.
The daily total is still some way off the highest number of daily crossings recorded, which was 1,305 on September 3 2022.
