The number of migrants making perilous journeys across the Channel to reach the UK is up by 13 per cent compared to this time last year, new figures show.
A total of 1,335 people arrived in the UK after making the journey from France's shores in January, according to provisional Home Office data.
This is compared to 1,180 recorded in January 2023.
The total for January 2024 is just four people fewer than the 1,339 arrivals reported at the start of 2022, which recorded the highest January figure since records began in 2018.
The figures come a day after migrants were pulled from the sea, as they were rescued by coastguard and lifeboat crews when they encountered difficulty while trying to cross the Channel.
Wednesday saw 278 people arrive in the UK after making the journey in six boats, the Government data shows.
When asked whether Rishi Sunak was on track to achieve his pledge to “stop the boats”, Downing Street earlier this week said there were “variations” in the number of crossings taking place but it was “too early to say what the trend is for this year”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman echoed this on Thursday, adding: “On the rolling 12-month stats we’re still down significantly and there is a great deal of work going on with our French counterparts.
“Yesterday we talked about getting more drones in the air on the French side and I’m sure there will be further work both with France and at the EU level as well.”
Officials do not believe Rishi Sunak's stalled Rwanda policy is having the “full deterrent effect” yet because the powers are not yet in force, he added.
The 2023 provisional annual total, 29,437, was 36 per cent lower than 2022, but was still the second highest annual total on record, above the figure for 2021 (28,526).
Home Secretary James Cleverly met his French counterpart, Gerald Darmanin, for the first time in Paris on Tuesday. The pair agreed to wider and more regular use of drones in sky patrols to monitor migrants attempting to make the journey as part of existing agreements in a bid to curb Channel crossings.
At the start of the year Mr Cleverly – who set himself a target of meeting Mr Sunak’s “stop the boats” pledge by the end of 2024 – insisted the weather was not a “contributory factor” to last year’s falling number of migrant crossings.
The decrease was instead because of cooperation with Europe, disrupting the supply chain of engines and boats, and “going after the money of these people smugglers”, he said, as the Government argued the figures were evidence of the UK’s £480 million agreement with France to beef up efforts to stop migrants making the journey starting to pay off as well as the effectiveness of a fast-track returns deal struck with Albania.
But the Immigration Services Union, which represents border staff, said the drop in arrivals was likely to be a “glitch”, with “higher numbers” of Channel crossings expected this year.
The Home Office said: “Our priority is to stop the boats, which is why we have taken robust action to crack down on vile people smuggling gangs, deter migrants from making dangerous crossings and, alongside our French counterparts, intercept vessels.”
