The number of people arriving in the UK via small boat Channel crossings this year has now passed 15,000, the government has confirmed.

A total of 317 people made the dangerous journey across six boats on Thursday, bringing 2024’s total so far to 15,076.

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The number is higher than the figure for the same date in 2023, where the total had reached 14,071.

But it is still lower than the record breaking year of 2022, where it had reached 15,314 by this date.

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It comes after another person died overnight when their boat, crowded with 86 people, got into trouble in the Channel.

And it also follows fresh commitments from the new government on how it plans to tackle illegal migration.

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Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit last night, Sir Keir Starmer announced his plan to stop the crossings at “source” by putting £84m into health and education initiatives in Africa and the Middle East, helping prevent people wanting to flee their homes in the first place.

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The prime minister also confirmed a “deepening [of] cooperation” with European partners to tackle the issue, including increasing the UK’s presence at Europol, agreeing new arrangements with Slovenia and Slovakia on tackling organised crime, and a commitment to share more intelligence “to put the gangs out of business”.

It is a very different approach to the previous Conservative government and their Rwanda deportation plan, which was scrapped by Labour after they took power two weeks ago.

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A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“The new government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.”

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