A RECORD 45,756 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain last year — up 60 per cent.
The last crossings of the year were on Christmas Day, when 90 people made the perilous journey in two boats. Bad weather stopped further crossings in 2022.
A deal struck in April to send migrants to Rwanda has been bogged down in legal action.
And since the scheme’s announcement, a total of 40,460 have arrived in Britain by small boat.
The overall annual total was much lower than the 60,000 that Home Office officials had predicted.
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But it is a huge rise on 2018, when just 299 people were detected, rising to 1,843 in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020. In 2021 it shot up to 28,526.
August last year was the highest month on record with 8,631 arrivals — including 1,295 in 27 boats on just one day.
PM Rishi Sunak is promising new legislation within weeks to tackle the problem.
A government spokesperson said: “The global migration crisis has put an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.”