Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the English Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats in 2023, according to published government figures, an annual drop of more than a third, AFP reported.
The unauthorized arrivals of 29,437 people on England's southeast coast is still the second-highest annual toll since officials began publishing the figures in 2018.
The dangerous journeys across one of the world's busiest sea lanes have become a political headache for Britain's Conservative government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year vowing to "stop the boats".
One of the five key promises he made for 2023, the promise to reduce the persistently high number of migrant arrivals could be high on the Tory leader's agenda as he tries to win a general election due this year .
Last month, Sunak said there was no "firm date" for fulfilling his promise.
In response to the statistics, his Downing Street office pointed to a 36 per cent drop in the number of small boat arrivals last year, after a record 45,000 migrants made the journey in 2022.
The "decisive action" against "small boat gangs" - in part through a $610 million cooperation agreement with France - was noted, along with fast-track migrant return agreements with countries such as Albania.
According to Downing Street, this led to more than 24,000 deportations and 246 arrests for people-trafficking in 2023.
"I am determined to end the burden of illegal migration on the British people," Sunak said.
"That is why we have taken action to stop the boats, to return the hotels to their local communities and to deter those who wish to come here illegally to do so," said the British Prime Minister./BGNES
