A record 230 migrants crossed the English Channel on a vessel 10 feet longer than a double-decker bus, costing taxpayers an estimated £25 million for that single crossing. The figure, which emerged in a recent report, has intensified scrutiny of the Government's handling of the small boats crisis.
Record crossing and rising numbers
The vessel, described as a 'mega-dinghy', is further evidence of how people traffickers are operating. In 2018, the average number of migrants per dinghy was seven. By 2024, it had grown to 53, and last year it was 61. Last week, 173 migrants had to be rescued when their craft caught fire during the crossing.
As a Boeing 737-800 has 189 seats, the 'dinghy' carried 41 more people than that aircraft could hold. Each arrival is estimated to cost £106,000 in accommodation, legal and other costs, placing the total bill for that one crossing at £25 million.
Burnham's record under scrutiny
For Andy Burnham, the true number of arrivals after his first three weeks in office is higher than under his predecessor. In Sir Keir Starmer's time, the figure stood at 2,258, but for Burnham it is already over 3,000, with another hot weekend potentially luring more across.
Burnham has avoided catchy slogans, unlike his predecessors, but he has been criticised for a lack of clear policy. Last week, he announced he wanted to move migrants to more middle-class areas as 'a point of principle', acknowledging it would cost more. Two weeks ago, he insisted 'the plan is working', but on Tuesday of last week he conceded 'we will now change our tactics'.
Wider issues and unanswered questions
Separately, questions have been raised over failures that led to missed opportunities to stop double-killer and rapist Simon Levy, with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rolwey admitting to failures. The Crown Prosecution Service has yet to accept its failings despite Levy being bailed twice before committing one of his murders.
Pressure from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has fueled a possible crackdown on rural shooting, and concerns have been raised over nurses fainting in hospitals with record high temperatures and no air conditioning, with patients' recoveries compromised. It is now clear such summers will become the norm, and everything possible must be done to accommodate that in the coming years.
