Nearly 800 migrants crossed Channel to Britain during hot weather at the weekend

NEARLY 800 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain during the heatwave at the weekend.

Smuggling gangs took advantage of the good weather to launch 16 boats over the ­usually treacherous 30-mile stretch of water from France.

The news is a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as it comes just days after he hailed figures which showed crossing numbers were down compared with last year.

Home Office statistics say 154 migrants made their way across the Channel on Saturday, followed by another 616 on Sunday — as the UK lapped up the sunshine.

It was the highest daily total of 2023 so far — soaring past the ­previous high of 497.

Total crossings in 2023 now stand at 8,380 — down from around 10,000 at the same point this year.

It came after nearly a week of no crossings at all, thanks to windy conditions.

Mr Sunak last week claimed the numbers were down 20 per cent compared with last year.

But critics including Nigel Farage said a wet spring and windy weather led to the drop in numbers.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will face questions from MPs ­tomorrow on immigration — and the Prime Minister’s vow to stop the boats by the end of the year.

A Downing Street spokesman said the migrant numbers “fluctuate on any given day”.

He added: “Equally, we know that, on average, the enhanced work with our French counterparts means you are now more likely to be intercepted and stopped if you attempt to make a crossing than succeed.

“There is a great deal of work going on which is stopping these criminal gangs in their tracks.

"But, clearly, crossings are continuing and that is because we have not been able to put in place our full plans.

“There is a great deal of work across Government to that end.”

Tory MP Tom Hunt said the “huge spike” in weekend crossings shows the need to get the Government’s scheme to send Channel migrants to Rwanda up and running.

He added: “While we can reduce the numbers, and the French can step up interceptions, these evil gangs will only be put off once we break their smuggling model once and for all.”

Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch, said: “The lull in crossings was never a sign of the problem being solved. If Rishi Sunak thought it was, he was kidding himself.

“But if young Albanian men really have stopped coming, it just goes to show that detaining those crossing illegally and quickly returning them will make them think twice.”