Migrant sends personal message to Rishi Sunak as he jumps in dinghy to cross Channel

Footage of the message was captured just one day after another migrant died during the perilous 21-mile journey.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel in 2024 so far reached 16,457 on Sunday.

The previous seven-month record was in January to July 2022, with 16,420 arriving on British shores.

Current figures suggest the record-breaking number of arrivals in 2022 could be surpassed by the end of the year.

However, last year witnessed a dip in crossings, falling from 45,774 to 29,437.

The French coast guard staff rescued 34 migrants after a “heavily loaded” dinghy got into difficulty over the weekend, resulting in one tragic death.

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Sunak’s strategy for curbing Channel crossings hit the buffers as a number of legal obstacles halted flights relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government has since scrapped the plan, instead opting to resume applications for illegal arrivals already residing in the UK.

Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, who defected from the Tories to Reform UK earlier this year, expressed concern about France’s role in the crisis.

“Six boats came over the channel on Saturday, and there have been reports of another four today,” Anderson said.

“That is more than 500 illegal migrants being escorted into our waters by the French authorities.

“Does the Home Secretary agree that it is time to stop paying the French any more money until they stop being complicit in this evil trade?”

However, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper responded by expressing her concern about the “extremely dangerous” crossings.

She said: “Criminal gangs are deliberately cramming boats to maximise their profits.

“They have been getting away with it for far too long. That is why we need the new border security command.

“It is also why we need to work not simply with the French police, but with police forces and organisations right across Europe and beyond, to pursue the gangs and prevent the boats from leaving the French coast in the first place.”