Reveal what number of migrants die crossing Channel, charity urges ministers

Ministers must reveal how many migrants die crossing the Channel, a charity has urged, amid fears more perished in 2024 than in the previous three years combined.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the status quo “is not working” as he called on ministers to look at opening up new routes into the UK for people fleeing conflict or persecution.

The charity said 2024 was the deadliest year on record for Channel crossings with at least 69 deaths reported.

But yesterday The Mirror reported separate figures from the Missing Migrants Project, who estimate there have been as many as 78 deaths at the border between the UK and France.

A total of 36,816 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2024, up 25% on 2023, provisional Government figures published yesterday showed.

But that total is down 20% on the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

“Smuggling gangs are profiting from men, women and children forced into life-threatening conditions, and enforcement measures alone are not enough to address this,” Mr Solomon said.

“More safe and legal routes are needed to provide a lifeline for those fleeing war and persecution. The success of the Ukraine schemes shows that when safe alternatives exist, refugees use them and don’t resort to incredibly dangerous journeys across the Channel.

The last crossings of the year took place on December 29, when 291 people made the journey from France in six boats.

The Home Office recorded no further crossings for the remaining two days of 2024, amid blustery weather conditions.

It means 2024 saw the second highest number of arrivals in a year since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.

The total was comparatively low in both 2018 (299) and 2019 (1,843), before climbing to 8,466 in 2020, 28,526 in 2021 and a record 45,774 in 2022.

It then fell in 2023 to 29,437, before rising in 2024 to 36,816.

The huge rise forced ex-PM Rishi Sunak to accept he had failed in his pledge to “stop the boats”.

After scrapping Mr Sunak’s doomed and cruel Rwanda scheme, Mr Starmer put international co-operation with law enforcement agencies in Europe at the heart of his bid to cut the number of arrivals.

The Prime Minister previously said his Government “inherited a very bad position” with record numbers of migrants in the first half of last year “because the entire focus until we had the election was on a gimmick, the Rwanda gimmick, and not enough attention was on taking down the gangs that are running this vile trade”.

Mr Solomon added: “These deaths are not inevitable. The Government needs to take a different approach if it is to ensure everything possible is done so that 2025 does not see a repeat of last year’s devastating loss.”