Barefoot toddler among record 111 migrants to cross Channel in December

A barefoot toddler was among 111 migrants to cross the Channel in small boats on Monday, marking a record number of arrivals for a day in December.

Last week, Home Secretary Priti Patel agreed to pay France £28 million to double the number of police patrolling French beaches, but five packed with men, women and children made the perilous journey and reached the UK.

Pictures show at least five children being taken into care by Border Force staff, while dozens of soaked, shivering adults were wrapped in blankets as the temperature barely crept above freezing.

 Channel crossings by migrants this late in the year are less common, and bring significant additional risks with the choppy water and cold weather, but yesterday more than 100 people were picked up and taken to Dover, the most on record in December

The previous high was on Boxing day last year, when 49 people arrived by small boat, after 40 others crossed on Christmas Day.

Immigration Minister, Chris Philp told MPs last week that the Government has given France £192 million to tackle illegal immigration since September 2014.

Priti Patel said that her mission is to make the crossings “completely unviable.”

But the crisis has increased sharply this year, with more than 8,200 people making the journey in small boats, compared to 1,844 last year and 299 in 2018.

With the bill for hotel rooms skyrocketing, the Home Office looked at the possibility of housing migrants on decommissioned oil platforms, retired cruise ships, or even on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic ocean.

But with all of those apparently unviable, the focus has shifted to the smuggling gangs who make thousands of pounds from each crossing.

On Thursday, a 36-year-old British Syrian man was detained at his flat in north-west London as a people trafficking ring was broken up.

The group is alleged to have helped more than 600 people cross the Channel in May alone.

This year Immigration Enforcement have convicted 57 individuals for people smuggling, including those convicted of facilitating small boats Channel crossings, resulting in sentencing of over 138 years.

A further 46 people have been convicted of offences related to the small boat crossings with sentences totalling over 26 years.

On Monday, Kent County Council announced it had resumed taking in unaccompanied migrant children who arrive on boats, almost four months after it said it could no longer safely care for any new arrivals, prompting a scramble to find places elsewhere in the country.

But the council warned that a long-term solution still needs to be implemented to avoid services being overwhelmed again.