Nearly 500 migrants crossed Channel in small boats yesterday

Nearly 500 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats on Saturday, the Home Office has said.

The latest figures show that 492 people made the crossing in nine boats - after a week that saw hundreds more make the journey.

Some 107 arrived on Wednesday, 125 on Monday and 703 last Sunday, the figures reveal.

More crossings tend to occur in calmer weather and winds have been lighter in the Channel over the period.

Last Sunday's figure was the highest number of daily crossings since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister and his spokesman last week said the government expects to see more over the summer.

The highest number of arrivals recorded in a single day so far this year was 882 on 18 June, with the second highest of 711 on 1 May - both under the previous government before the general election.

Immigration now tops the list of issues that Britons consider most important - for the first time since 2016 - according to a new poll by Ipsos released on Friday.

The new Labour government has promised to "smash the gangs" bringing migrants across the Channel by creating a new Border Security Command.

Officers will be granted new powers under the Counter Terrorism Act to allow them to conduct stop and searches at the border, carry out financial investigations and issue search and seizure warrants targeting organised immigration crime.

Since coming into government, Sir Keir has also announced £84m of funding for African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to tackle the migration crisis "at source".

He has said the money will go towards health and education initiatives, as well as humanitarian support, to address the reasons people flee their homes in the first place.

But the Tory opposition has been critical of the Labour's decision to ditch the previous government's Rwanda plan, which ministers at the time argued would deter Channel crossings.

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