Nearly 700 migrants crossed the English Channel into the UK on Monday.

Nearly 700 migrants and asylum seekers crossed the English Channel into the UK on Monday, a new record this year, the British government said on Tuesday.

The latest arrivals suggest that the government’s controversial policy of deporting to Rwanda those attempting the perilous journey is failing to deter them.

The Defense Ministry indicated that 696 immigrants arrived on Monday in 14 small boats, the highest daily number in 2022 and only the second time this year that 600 have been exceeded.

Large groups of people, including young children, were brought ashore at Ramsgate, on the Kent coast in south-east England, before being bussed to processing centres.

So far in 2022, more than 17,000 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel — one of the world’s busiest shipping routes — on small boats, according to government data.

More than 28,500, most of them young men, washed up on British shores last year.

The daily record, 853, was set in November 2021.

The number of crossings fluctuates throughout the year, depending on weather conditions and control measures on the north coast of France.

In an attempt to deter arrivals, the UK this year announced a new return policy to Rwanda.

However, the first flight due to take off in June was suspended due to legal problems and the policy remains deadlocked.

The UK has been sending France tens of millions of euros a year to help stop boat crossings, including for extra beach patrols and appropriate equipment such as night vision goggles.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the two Conservative rivals running to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have vowed to stick with the Rwanda policy.

jj/mab/pc

–