Some 28,526 people arrived illegally in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats last year, according to official figures released for the first time.
The Home Office published statistics measuring irregular migration for the first time on Thursday, which confirmed the Government’s official recorded annual totals.
The data reveals the total for 2021 is slightly higher than previously anticipated.
According to the report, last year’s figure compares with 8,466 people crossing in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018.
November 2021 saw the highest number of small boat arrivals in the last four years (6,971) and the number coming to the UK in each month of last year was higher than comparable periods in 2020.
The Home Office document described small boat arrivals as a “phenomenon that was rare prior to 2019 but has since increased sharply in number” and made clear this method of travel is only one of a number which could be used to reach the UK border and “seek entry without permission”.
It added: “It is not possible to know the exact size of the irregular population in the UK, nor the total number of people who enter the UK irregularly.”
