More migrants crossed Channel in August than in the WHOLE of 2020: More than 8,600 arrived in UK on small boats taking total for year to more than 25,000

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More migrants crossed the Channel in August than during the whole of 2020, according to Ministry of Defence figures. 

In total, 8,613 migrants reached the UK in small boats this month - almost 200 more than the total for 2020, which saw the number of migrants crossing plummet during the pandemic.  

This brings the total number of migrants who have crossed the channel this year to more than 25,000, more than double 2021's tally, which was not reached until November. 

More migrants crossed the Channel in August than during the whole of 2020, according to Ministry of Defence figures

In total, 8,613 migrants reached the UK in small boats this month - almost 200 more than the total for 2020, which saw the number of migrants crossing plummet during the pandemic

A new monthly record of channel crossings was set this month despite four consecutive days of no crossings due to poorer maritime conditions, with waves reaching over a metre tall.

August 22 saw the highest daily total on record, with 1,295 people crossing in 27 boats.  

A further 2,500 migrants were seen making the journey later in the week.  

The majority of a record-breaking number of migrants who arrived in the UK were from Albania, according to reports from Border Force officers.

The ISU union, which represents staff working for the Home Office's law enforcement body, said its members had seen an increase in people from the south-eastern European country making the Channel crossing in the last few months.

Government officials believe around 60% of migrants making the crossing each day now are Albanian.

This brings the total number of migrants who have crossed the channel this year to more than 25,000, more than double 2021's tally, which was not reached until November

A new monthly record of channel crossings was set this month despite four consecutive days of no crossings due to poorer maritime conditions, with waves reaching over a metre tall

The majority of a record-breaking number of migrants who arrived in the UK were from Albania, according to reports from Border Force officers

Home Office figures published last week showed that there had been a 100-fold increase in the numbers of Albanians entering the UK illegally via small boats compared with last year, with 2,165 Albanians crossing the Channel in the first six months of 2022 compared with 23 in the same period last year. 

Priti Patel said last night that it was 'shameful and absurd' that so many Albanian nationals were entering the UK via small boats given their homeland is 'a safe country'.

The home secretary held discussions with senior Albanian law enforcement officials yesterday as part of their two-day visit to discuss plans to share forensic and biometric details of all Albanians who arrive in Britain via small boats. 

It is part of efforts to crackdown on Albanians with criminal networks coming to the UK to work for organised crime groups, the Times reports.

Patel announced an agreement with Bledi Cuci, her Albanian counterpart, for a 'rapid returns' deal that will see them 'fast-tracked' back to their country on planes chartered by the Home Office.

Patel announced an agreement with Bledi Cuci, her Albanian counterpart, for a 'rapid returns' deal that will see them 'fast-tracked' back to their country on planes chartered by the Home Office

Under the scheme, which starts next week, any Albanians who claim asylum will have their cases processed immediately. Those with no right to be in the UK will be removed as soon as possible.  

The Home Office has said that the new partnership will enable the UK to return migrants to Albania who are deemed 'not conducive to the public good'. 

However, Lucy Moreton, from the Immigration Services Union, said that plans to hand over Albanian migrants to the Albanian police immediately on arrival would breach international law. 

She said: 'There is no framework of law to send someone over to the police of the very country they claim they are fleeing without further consideration. 

'It can't be as cut and dry as that, we can't just be handing people back to their own country. 

'I would expect this to go exactly the same way as the Rwanda policy, I strongly suspect there'll be a legal challenge.'

Under the scheme, which starts next week, any Albanians who claim asylum will have their cases processed immediately. Those with no right to be in the UK will be removed as soon as possible

She said the proposal of sending Albanians back to Albania was a 'solid idea' given that the country was relatively stable and wealthy compared with those from which the majority of Britain's asylum seekers originate. 

Moreton added: 'That doesn't mean that no individual leaving that country is deserving of international protection.'   

Under the agreement, the majority of Albanian arrivals would be placed in immigration detention, which allows their asylum claims to be assessed within 30 days in order to expedite their removal from the UK.

Moreton said they would be able to delay their removal further by appealing. It could take more than a year before they are able to be removed, she said.

'We can fast-track their asylum claim and if resources allow we can do that within days or weeks,' Moreton said. 'But then there is an in-country appeal, which on average is taking over a year.'

The Home Office has said that the new partnership will enable the UK to return migrants to Albania who are deemed 'not conducive to the public good'

The rapid returns would only work if the individual did not claim asylum, she said, but less than a fifth do not claim asylum. 

'You get some who say they're here to work in a nail bar, so you can return them but it'll take about 24 hours before they're told by their handlers to claim asylum or claim they are victims of modern slavery, which both require international protection.'

Condemning the sudden jump in Albanians entering the UK illegally, Patel said last night: 'It is shameful and absurd that so many Albanian nationals are entering the UK via small boats when their home country, Albania, is a safe country. 

'In 2021 I signed our first ever removals agreement with the government of Albania which covered our joint co-operation on tackling organised criminality, illegal migration and law enforcement issues between our two countries.

'This agreement has enabled me to return Albanian nationals on a weekly basis and their removal will now be fast-tracked under this agreement, in tandem with measures introduced under the Nationality and Borders Act.

However, Lucy Moreton, from the Immigration Services Union, said that plans to hand over Albanian migrants to the Albanian police immediately on arrival would breach international law

'These Albanian nationals are brought here illegally by organised criminal networks travelling through multiple EU countries. 

'They are asylum shopping, making attempts to claim asylum in the UK in the hope that they can remain here and disappear into the criminal underworld fuelled by Albanian gangs. We will bring this to an end.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Since signing a historic agreement with Albania in 2021, we have removed nearly 1,000 Albanian foreign national offenders, including some who crossed the Channel illegally to come to the UK.

'Last week, the UK and Albania pledged to expedite the removal of Albanians with no right to be in the UK following growing numbers taking treacherous journey on small boats. Today, these discussions continued with the home secretary meeting Albanian State Police to implement joint operational plans on how both countries will work together to tackle illegal migration.'