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New daily record as 828 asylum seekers journey across Channel to Kent

08:03, 24 August 2021

updated: 08:03, 24 August 2021

Another new record for the number of asylum seekers reaching Kent shores in a day has been made.

A total of 828 people made the journey across the Channel on Saturday - dwarfing the previous highest tally of 592 set earlier this month.

Saturday was an incredibly busy day for Border Force
Saturday was an incredibly busy day for Border Force

Asylum seekers travelled across calm waters on 30 different boats.

More than 10,000 people have already made the risky journey across the world’s busiest shipping lane this year.

The annual total from 2020 has already been greatly surpassed, and new records for daily crossings are beaten almost on a weekly basis.

Home secretary Priti Patel has previously declared how she wants to make it “unviable” for asylum seekers to make the crossing, yet figures continue to soar.

On Saturday, French authorities also stopped another 193 people making the trip across the water.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent

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