Cleverly: Channel migrants have fallen 36% now i want to bring it down to zero

JAMES Cleverly has vowed to end illegal Channel crossings entirely after hailing a sharp fall in small boat arrivals.

- Michael Knowles

Downing Street yesterday declared the UK was "bucking the trend of what we are seeing in Europe, where crossings are up significantly".

Small boat crossings across the Channel fell 36% last year, with provisional annual statistics showing 29,437 migrants arrived, compared with 45,755 in 2022. Home Secretary Mr Cleverly said the decrease was due to co-operation with Europe, disrupting the supply chain of boats and "going after the money of these people smugglers".

Asked what he believed constituted success in 2024, Mr Cleverly said: "My target is to bring it down to zero. I'm completely committed.

"My target is to reduce it to zero, to stop the boats and I'm unambiguous about that.

"Last year, the final figure was a 36% reduction year-on-year. In the last half of last year it was down by 45%.

"And the last quarter of last year, compared to the last quarter of the year before that, it was down over 60%. So the trend is in the right direction." The Home Secretary also dismissed claims crossings were down in 2023 "because of the weather".

He pointed to Border Force assessments that there were 102 "good sailing days", compared with 106 in 2022.

He said: "This is a convenient way of overlooking the incredibly hard work our officials have done with their colleagues across Europe.

Disrupting

"This is not about the weather. In fact, the number of good sailing days this year was only four fewer than the previous year, so the weather is not a contributory factor." He insisted: "The 36% reduction is because of things including co-operation with our European partners, including France, Albania, Romania and Germany.