Record 10,170 people arrive in UK via small-boat Channel crossings this year

Provisional official figures deal blow to Rishi Sunak’s claim that threat of Rwanda deportation is a deterrent

A record 10,170 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel in small boats, according to government data.

The provisional figure beats the previous record of 9,326 who crossed to the UK by this time in 2017. The comparable figure for last year was 7,326.