Just 215 Channel migrants deported from Britain last year

Just 215 of the 45,755 migrants who crossed the English Channel by small boats last year were removed from the country, according to Home Office data obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

More than 25,000 of those were found to be refugees, despite Government claims that the majority of those crossing by small boats are economic migrants. One in five were children.

The figures came as crossings this year, which had previously stalled in bad weather, surged in the past week, with 877 people reaching the UK in 21 boats since last Tuesday.

Last year saw the number of such arrivals nearly double from 28,526 to 45,755. They crossed in 1,104 boats with an average of 41 migrants in each.

However, the 215 who were deported - which included seven identified as criminals - represented just 0.47 per cent of the total.

Conservative MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, said the figures demonstrated the need for more action to tackle the issue.

“The number of Channel migrants deported or returned is so low it’s not serving as a deterrent," she said.

“That’s why it is vital to stop the boats leaving France in the first place, and migrants picked up in the Channel should be immediately returned to France.

“The Home Office needs to get a grip on their processing to deport without delay.”

Majority of arrivals are 'desperate'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s new illegal migration bill aims to close loopholes by effectively barring claims for asylum in the UK - unless there are exceptional circumstances such as the risk of serious and irreversible harm to an individual were they to be relocated.

The bill places a duty on the Home Secretary to swiftly deport any migrant who arrives illegally to a safe third country such as Rwanda, or their home state, regardless of whether they had claimed asylum, made a human rights claim or applied for a judicial review against their removal.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into this country puts great pressure on the asylum system, slowing down the processing of individual cases who could face deportation or removal.

“The Illegal Migration Bill will stop the boats and ensure those arriving illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”

Priti Patel claimed in 2021, when she was home secretary, that “70 per cent of individuals on small boats are single men who are effectively economic migrants”.

But the Home Office has now admitted, via a Freedom of Information request, that it had no evidence to support this claim. The statement has not been corrected.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The majority of the men, women and children who cross the Channel do so because they are desperate to escape war, conflict and persecution.”  

The Home Office said there was clear and published evidence that since January 2018, 76 per cent of arrivals had been adult males and the vast majority would have travelled through safe countries to reach the UK.

A spokesman said: “An unacceptable number of people are risking their lives by making dangerous crossings, often economically motivated and having travelled through safe countries, which are placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

“Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.

“The government has gone further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”