The Ministry of Defense said 696 made the journey in 14 small boats on Monday. It followed 460 arrivals on Saturday and 247 on Friday, with more than 1,000 people crossing last week. In July, 3,683 people passed through France. The total for this year is believed to be over 17,000. The figures came amid reports of growing concern over plans to limit the number of boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel. The latest figures were seized upon by critics of Rwandan government policy as evidence that there has not been a deterrent effect on the numbers of asylum seekers, as government ministers claim. Paul O’Connor, head of negotiations for the PCS union – which represents Border Force staff – said: “These statistics seriously undermine the government’s claim that the policy of deporting people in Rwanda is working as a deterrent. It is time for the government to abandon the plan and switch to an asylum system based on humanity rather than hostility.” Defense chiefs are also said to be tired of trying to implement the prime minister’s and home secretary’s fast-collapsing plan to use the military to control small boats in the English Channel. Home Office sources admitted that the UK could receive up to 60,000 people by small boat this year – double last year’s record – with another 20,000 arriving by different routes. On Tuesday, large groups of recent arrivals, including young children, were seen walking ashore at Ramsgate before leaving Kent Harbor in double-decker buses. In April, the government announced plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a five-year trial. Johnson, backed by Home Secretary Priti Patel, argued that the new plan “will prove over time to be a very significant deterrent”. But the deal has been heavily criticized for failing to limit the numbers, as well as being expensive and breaching human rights laws. Since it was signed, 11,827 asylum seekers have arrived in the UK. The first deportation flight was blocked after a late intervention by the European Court of Human Rights. The home affairs committee last month found there was “no clear evidence” that the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda would stop dangerous Channel crossings. A recent Home Office report said the Border Force may have exacerbated the small boat crisis. At Patel’s behest, he concluded that the resources needed to prevent illegal entry into the UK by small boats crossing the Channel were “unsustainable”. Alex Downer, the former leader of the Australian Liberal Party who carried out the review, criticized “a cycle of crisis management” in the final report. Patel welcomed her “constructive recommendations”. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST The Rwanda deal initially cost £120 million, much of which has already been spent by the Rwandan government. The payment does not include the cost of flights, housing for five years or other benefits given to anyone relocated to the central African state. Several asylum seekers, the Civil and Commercial Services union and charities including Care4Calais and Detention Aid are challenging the legality of the policy, with court hearings scheduled for September and October.
