More than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in 11 small boats yesterday, government figures show.

The total figure is up 1% on the number of people who had made the crossing by this time last year, but is 20% down on 2022.

Home Office data shows 707 people were detected coming across yesterday – one of the highest daily figures this year.

It follows three days where there were no crossings detected at all.

Saturday’s figure is lower than the 801 migrants who arrived on the UK’s shores in small boats on the same day the week before.

The highest number of arrivals in one day this year so far is 882 in 15 boats on 18 June.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“As we have seen with so many recent devastating tragedies in the Channel, the people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”

It comes after eight men died earlier this month with six people, including a 10-month-old baby, being taken to hospital after a boat with 53 migrants on board crashed into rocks off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France.

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced this month that £75m would be used to boost the number of border security officers amid the government’s bid to crack down on people smugglers, using money redirected from the scrapped Rwanda deportation plan.

The cash will also pay for hidden cameras and better monitoring technology as the Home Office sets up its new Border Security Command, led by a former police chief, as it aims to speed up investigations and increase the likelihood of successful prosecutions.

Earlier this year, it was also announced an extra 100 specialist investigators will be allocated to the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of efforts to curb Channel crossings.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also said during a visit to Rome he was “very interested” in Italy’s efforts to curb levels of irregular immigration.

The “dramatic reductions” in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Italy is something the government wants to understand, he added.

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.

The combined total of 1,427 in seven days takes the provisional total for the year so far to 19,066.

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.

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

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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.