Manston staff to work overtime amid record number of small boat arrivals

Staff at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent have been asked to work overtime to deal with the record number of small boat arrivals, the Guardian has learned.

- Diane Taylor

The 11th-hour appeal to staff on Saturday evening was circulated by Management and Training Corporation (MTC), one of the Home Office's contractors at the site near Ramsgate.

Nearly 1,200 people arrived after crossing the Channel on Saturday, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year. The highest daily total since data began in 2018 is 1,305 arrivals, on 3 September 2022.

The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 people arrived in 18 boats, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. This is 42% higher than at the same point last year (10,448), and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610).

A source said that staff shortages, particularly for night shifts, were a long-running concern at Manston, which has been criticised for keeping people seeking refuge in the UK in squalid and unsafe conditions.