The number of people crossing the English Channel on small boats in the last five-and-a-half years could have passed 100,000 following fresh arrivals of migrants on lifeboats on Thursday.
PA news agency analysis of Government figures since current records began on January 1 2018 showed that as of Tuesday 99,960 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey.
And RNLI lifeboats were spotted bringing dozens to shore on Thursday, meaning it was likely the milestone has been reached.
An eyewitness said there appeared to be more than 40 people brought ashore on board two lifeboats, which had attended a dinghy out in the Channel.
They included women and children, with one woman carrying a small child in her arms.
It comes just weeks after sweeping asylum reforms became law and while the Government fends off legal challenges in the courts over its Rwanda deal and decisions to house migrants on former military sites in Essex and Lincolnshire.
Meanwhile, asylum seekers were finally moved onto the Bibby Stockholm barge this week on the Dorset coast after the plans were beset by delays.
The much-criticised Illegal Migration Act, central to the Prime Minister’s pledge to “stop the boats” crossing the Channel, will prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.
Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force, and it is anticipated elements of the new laws may be implemented in stages over the coming months.
