Dozens of migrants brave thick fog and strong winds to cross the Channel - as the number of asylum seekers illegally reaching UK on small boats this year soars past 2,000

• Around 50 asylum seekers arrived at the Port of Dover by the Border Force
• February 25 saw 290 migrants make the perilous journey in five vessels
• Highest number of people making the crossing in a single day in a month
• This comes as the PM insists he is taking ‘robust action’ to stop the boats 

Dozens of migrants have been brought ashore today at the Port of Dover – after battling thick fog to get across the Channel.

The mainly-male group of around 50 asylum seekers arrived despite poor conditions including strong winds in the Dover Straits – and they were brought into the harbour in Dover by a Border Force catamaran around Midday.

Upon arrival, the migrants were spotted at the former jetfoil terminal wearing bright orange life jackets as they went inside for processing.

The latest arrivals come as Number 10 insisted they were taking ‘robust action’ to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, deter migrants from making crossings and intercept vessels.

February 25 saw 290 migrants make the perilous journey in five vessels – an average of 58 people crammed into each inflatable dinghy.

This is the highest number of people making the crossing in a single day for more than a month, after 358 people were recorded on January 17.

Dozens of migrants have been brought ashore today at the Port of Dover – after battling thick fog to get across the Channel

The mainly-male group of around 50 asylum seekers arrived despite poor conditions including strong winds in the Dover Straits

Upon arrival, the migrants were spotted at the former jetfoil terminal wearing bright orange life jackets as they went inside for processing

The latest crossings take the provisional total number of arrivals in 2024 so far to 2,006

A total of 2,006 asylum seekers have been recorded crossing the Channel in 43 boats to date in 2024, according to official government figures.

The figures came as the Prime Minister denied he is ignoring concerns being raised by locals about the use of RAF Scampton near Lincoln as accommodation for asylum seekers.

‘I’m not ignoring them,’ the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Lincolnshire as he was challenged repeatedly on Monday.

‘We do need to make sure that we house people in appropriate accommodation and the best way to resolve this issue long term is to stop people coming in the first place.

‘So anyone who cares about this should be backing us to get the Rwanda Bill through Parliament so we can get a deterrent up and running.

‘I’m confident that we really will be able to stop the boats and that will mean that we won’t have this pressure in all our local areas to find places to house illegal migrants.’

He insisted he understands ‘people’s frustration’ over the use of the site, telling the radio station: ‘I wish we were not having to do any of this, whether it’s RAF Scampton or other sites across the country, or indeed in hotels and communities across our country that now are being used to house illegal migrants.

‘I don’t think any of that is right and it costs a fortune.’

He added that use of the former airbase would be on a ‘temporary basis’ although the Government could extend its use as asylum housing for a further three years.

The latest arrivals come as Rishi Sunak insisted he was ‘not ignoring’ concerns being raised by locals about the use of RAF Scampton near Lincoln as accommodation for asylum seekers

A protest banner is seen near a protest camp outside the main gate of the former RAF (Royal Air Force) base, which was the former home of the British Red Arrows and Dambusters squadron, and is now being planned to be used by the British government to house asylum seekers in Scampton

Rishi Sunak has made ‘stopping the boats’ a key pledge of his leadership as the country approaches a general election expected later this year.

The Prime Minister’s Safety of Rwanda Bill passed the Commons after the Prime Minister saw off a Tory rebellion which had sought to toughen the legislation.

It cleared its first major hurdle in the House of Lords earlier this year, but faces numerous amendments in the upper chamber and an extended tussle between the Commons and Lords.

Mr Sunak has urged peers not to block ‘the will of the people’ by opposing the Bill.

The asylum scheme comes with a £290 million bill but a series of legal challenges has meant no flights have taken off since it was proposed in 2022.

Under the plan, people who cross the Channel in small boats could be removed to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in the UK.

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