Staggering 574 illegal migrants arrived in UK within 24 hours of new Illegal Migration Bill passing through Parliament

A TOTAL of 574 migrants arrived in the UK by small boat within 24 hours of new immigration laws passing through Parliament.

Hundreds were detected making the perilous journey in a dozen boats on Tuesday — hours after the Illegal Migration Bill got through Parliament.

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The arrivals came as the flagship Bibby Stockholm barge docked at Dorset’s Portland Port.

But it can house only 500 people.

Tuesday’s arrivals total was the second highest number on a single day this year and takes the overall total to 13,774.

But that is still lower than the 15,000 arrivals recorded by this time last year.

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to “stop the boats” and his vow to send migrants to Rwanda is currently stuck in the courts.

Housing individuals on barges is seen as cheaper than hotels, which cost around £6million per day.

Home Office officials have said around 50 asylum seekers will be on the barge from next week with capacity reached within the next few months.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, said: “The Bibby Stockholm will not provide sufficient space for the migrants that will now flood in before the new legislation can kick in.

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“No 10 had better pray hard that the Supreme Court quickly agrees to let flights to Rwanda take off. But whatever the government does now will simply not be enough to stop the boats anytime soon.”

The new laws will mean people will be unable to claim asylum here if they arrive by small boat.

The Home Office said: “The pressure on the asylum system continues to grow which is why we are taking steps to use alternative accommodation options which offer better value for the British taxpayer than expensive hotels.”