UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Monday that the government will lodge hundreds more asylum seekers on barges as he released the most recent migration statistics, which he claimed demonstrated the success of his efforts to stop small boat crossings of the English Channel.
Around 1,000 migrants will be housed on three further barges, along with one that will arrive in Portland, southern England, in the next two weeks, according to Sunak.
The action is intended to reduce the millions of dollars in taxpayer funds currently used to shelter asylum seekers in hotels across the nation.
According to Sunak, fewer people have made the perilous sea journey this year so far than they did at this time last year on small boats from northern France to the southern English coast.
He said that the UK was performing better than other European nations, where he claimed that during the same time period, the number of unauthorised migrant crossings had increased by a third.
Figures from the Home Office show that about 7,600 people were detected crossing the English Channel so far this year, compared with almost 10,000 last June.
However, it is difficult to tell whether the decrease was linked to Sunak’s government’s policies or other factors such as weather conditions. The summer months typically see much higher numbers making the journey.
Sunak also said that the number of Albanian migrants arriving by small boats has fallen by almost 90%, and that a deal with Albania has seen 1,800 asylum-seekers turned back.
Many of the asylum-seekers arriving in the U.K. each year hail from conflict zones, including Afghanistan and Syria, though a large number come from Albania, which Sunak’s government describes as a “safe” country.
Since taking office in October, Sunak has made “Stop the Boats” his signature policy. His government is pushing through a contentious migration measure that would severely limit foreigners’ capacity to seek refuge in the UK.
Critics, including the UN refugee agency, have called it unethical and unworkable, and others have claimed that it violates international law.
