Almost one migrant a minute crossed the Channel on Monday as total for 2022 passes 22,500
ALMOST one migrant a minute crossed the Channel into the UK on Monday.
A record 1,295 made the 21-mile crossing from France.
It takes this year’s current total to 22,670 — more than 10,000 up on this time in 2021.
They arrived on 27 boats, a three-day backlog caused by bad weather at sea.
Young children and babies were among the total, which eclipsed the previous daily record of 1,185 last November.
Another 150 are thought to have reached the UK yesterday on trafficking gang boats, despite choppy conditions.
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Unions say attacks on Border Force staff are rising.
The influx comes after legal challenges halted a move to send migrants to Rwanda.
Tory leadership front-runner Liz Truss said tackling the issue was “absolute priority”.
Migration Watch UK said ministers had “fumbled and fiddled for years as the problem has deteriorated”.
A Government spokesman said: “The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.
“Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they risk the lives of vulnerable people, who are being exploited by ruthless criminal gangs."