More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel during a heatwave over the May bank holiday weekend. Home Office figures show 1,128 people made the journey between Friday and Tuesday, with 139 arriving in two boats on Tuesday alone.
The total number of arrivals so far this year stands at 8,704, which is 36% lower than the same period last year and 17% below the figure for 2024. Temperatures reached record highs for May in England and Wales on Tuesday, with Kew Gardens hitting 35.1C and Cardiff Bute Park 32.9C.
Photos from Dover, Kent, on Wednesday showed migrants disembarking from a Border Security Command boat, wearing life vests and blankets. The Home Office is set to publish arrival figures for Wednesday on Thursday.
In related legal proceedings, three migrants have been charged with endangering lives during a sea crossing over the weekend, while three others were convicted of entering the UK without clearance and jailed. Turkish national Osman Yesil, 47, and Algerian Tawfiq Boubazine, 33, pleaded guilty on Monday and were each sentenced to eight months in prison. Albanian Elidjon Cota, 29, received the same sentence after pleading guilty on Tuesday.
Sudanese nationals Jiechlat Buom, 25, and Kueth Gatkuoth, 31, were charged with endangering others and will appear at Canterbury Crown Court on June 29. Iranian Mehdi Najafi, 42, faces a similar charge and a plea hearing on June 22.
Sarah Dineley, the Crown Prosecution Service lead on immigration crime, stated: 'Many of these cases were charged within hours over this bank holiday weekend, which meant defendants were brought before a court within days of arriving in the UK. The CPS continues to work with international partners to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups responsible for small-boat crossings.'
