Baby and young boy among 221 people to cross Channel in small boats

The latest arrivals bring the number of people to have made the crossing so far in 2022 to 25,264.
A young child in pyjamas was among the 221 people who made the crossing on Friday (Gareth Fuller/PA)
PA Wire
Ben Mitchell3 September 2022
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A total of 221 people in five small boats crossed the Channel to the UK on Friday, according to the Ministry of Defence.

A baby dressed in pyjamas and wearing a life vest was among those to have made the crossing, along with several groups of men and another young boy wrapped in a blanket.

It comes as the Home Office said it had appointed an independent panel to oversee the plan to send migrants to Rwanda.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought to Dover after being rescued from small boats in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)
PA Wire

Friday’s arrivals bring the number of people to have made the crossing so far in 2022 to 25,264.

August was the highest monthly total on record for crossings, after 8,644 people made the journey on 189 boats in the 31-day period. Crossings took place on 21 of those days, according to PA news agency analysis of Government figures.

That is the highest monthly total since current records began in 2018. Previously it was 6,971, recorded in November 2021.

August 22 saw the highest daily total on record, with 1,295 people crossing in 27 boats.

A total of 221 people arrived on Friday (Gareth Fuller/PA)
PA Wire

It is more than four months since Home Secretary Priti Patel unveiled the Rwanda policy in a bid to deter people from crossing the Channel.

On April 14, Ms Patel signed what she described as a “world-first” agreement with Rwanda, but the first deportation flight – due to take off on June 14 – was grounded amid legal challenges.

Several asylum seekers, the Public and Commercial Services union and charities Care4Calais, Detention Action and Asylum Aid are challenging the legality of the Home Office policy, with the next court hearings due to take place from Monday.

Campaigners have also called on the Government to abandon the plan and free those awaiting removal from detention.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in