Total migrant Channel crossings down a third in 2023
The number of migrants crossing the Channel has fallen year-on-year for the first time since current records began, with the total arrivals in 2023 down more than a third on 2022, Government figures show.
The last crossings of the year took place on December 16, when 55 people made the journey from France in one boat.
The Home Office recorded no further crossings for the remaining 15 days of 2023 amid bad weather conditions. That is the longest consecutive period of the year without any arrivals.
For the first time in five years, since current records began in 2018, no Channel crossings took place on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
The provisional annual total for the year, 29,437, is 36% lower
