English Channel crossings topped 28,500 in 2021, official figures reveal

November 2021 saw the highest number of small boat arrivals in the last four years

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a small boat incident in the Channel. Picture date: Tuesday January 18, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Some 28,526 people arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats last year, according to official figures released for the first time.

The UK Home Office published statistics measuring irregular migration for the first time on Thursday, which confirmed the UK Government’s official recorded annual totals.