More than 40,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, shocking figures have revealed.
Some 401 asylum seekers were detected on the Channel on Monday – the highest daily total so far this year.
They were crammed into just seven boats, meaning each dinghy was carrying an average of 57 migrants.
Home Secretary James Cleverly on Monday agreed with interior ministers from France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands to increase “global efforts” to take down social media adverts for cross-Europe smugglers.
The communique following the Calais Group meeting in Brussels stated: “Discussing how social media is widely used to organise the facilitation of migrant smuggling and how social media companies are playing a huge part in tackling this problem, the participants agreed to work collaboratively to increase global efforts to remove content advertised by migrant smugglers online, making use of existing structures and frameworks.
“They agreed to explore ways to increase co-operation in this area, in each case subject to applicable EU legislation, in particular the Digital Services Act, and national legislation, ahead of the next ministerial meeting.”
And Downing Street on Tuesday urged unelected Peers to think about protecting “innocent lives” by allowing the Rwanda Bill through Parliament.
The Government suffered five defeats in the House of Lords on Monday night, as Peers attempted to water down the flagship Bill.
But the PM’s spokesman said: “There is still an option for the Lords to work with the House of Commons, protect innocent lives from perilous journeys across the Channel, and we hope that they will take that opportunity in future votes.”
The latest arrivals take the official yearly total to 2,983 asylum seekers arriving aboard 63 boats since January 1.
Border Force vessels Hurricane and Ranger were seen bringing men, women and children into the Port of Dover in Kent throughout Monday – beginning shortly after dawn.
The number of arrivals in the UK is beginning to pick up following a period of bad weather in the strait – with 728 migrants detected in the last two days alone.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is the Prime Minister who promised the British people he would stop the boats, but has now seen more than 40,000 arrivals on his watch.”
