Record number of migrants embarked on perilous Channel crossings in 2022: official data

The year 2022 saw a record number of people making the dangerous crossing through the English Channel from France to Britain, according to government data.

In total, 45,756 people made the dangerous small-boat crossing to the UK on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes last year, compared with 28,526 in 2021.

The UK also saw an increase in the number of asylum applications submitted.

Migration has become a contentious political issue within the UK, as the Conservative government has vowed to clamp down on small boat crossings. The government has so far failed to establish safe, legal routes for people to rightfully claim asylum in Britain. 

More deaths in the Channel are an unbearably sad loss. Our thoughts are with their loved ones.

When all is said and done, three people have died because keeping them out of the UK was deemed more important than keeping them safe.

— Refugee Action 🧡 (@RefugeeAction) December 14, 2022

In a new year address, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Britain needed to "build on the momentum we've started and smash the business model of people smugglers. Illegal entry to the UK is unfair." 

Four people died last month when a small boat packed with migrants capsized in freezing temperatures in the Channel. This follows a deadly tragedy last year when at least 27 people died when their small boat capsized in the waters.

Refugee Action, a UK charity, said the tragedies occurred because the British government cared more about keeping people out than keeping them safe.