Migration Watch UK
March 23, 2022
In January it was widely reported that the Home Office intended taking the UK Statistics Authority‘s advice to move from daily updates on Channel crossings to publishing figures every three months together with other migration data. The clear implication was that there would be no update of figures as crossings took place. The government did not at any point deny that this was their intention.
In response, Migration Watch UK launched a petition which quickly attracted ten thousand signatories, the point at which the government is obliged to respond. The government’s response on 22 March implied that they would not give daily updates but would continue with the present practice of “….. small boats numbers [being] issued to the media on days when there are crossings.” Based on what happened in 2021 this will effectively mean daily crossings, unless high winds or rough seas prevent them.
Chairman of Migration Watch UK, Alp Mehmet, said:
This is a victory for democracy and common sense. The government’s decision to abandon the thoroughly bad idea of only issuing figures on illegal Channel crossings quarterly is welcome, as is their intention to update numbers on days when there are crossings.
You can keep up to date with Channel boat crossings by following our daily Tracking Station.