Border Force officers have intercepted more than 170 migrants trying to cross the English Channel

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, on Tuesday

In October alone, 2,265 people in 40 boats have been rescued after trying to cross the Channel

At least 45 people have lost their lives trying to cross the Channel so far this year, making it one of the deadliest on record since the small boat crisis began in 2018.

One of the new Government’s first acts in power was to scrap the Rwanda asylum deal.

The Conservative plan was designed to deter migrant crossings and save lives.

Smugglers are increasingly overloading unsuitable dinghies leading to capsizing and even to migrants being crushed to death during the journey.

Last month former immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed dozens of terror suspects have ‘waltzed right in’ to Britain posing as small boat migrants.

Mr Jenrick, one of the final two Tory leadership contenders, said Labour’s scrapping of the Rwanda scheme had put ‘lives at risk’ by leaving the country more open to terrorist attack.

He added that at least 1,000 small boat migrants who arrived in the year before he became immigration minister were ‘connected to criminality’.

The new Government has committed to ‘smashing the gangs’, and in a statement 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.

‘We are making progress, bolstering our personnel numbers in the UK and abroad. Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals.’

The Home Office recently revealed it is preparing for Channel migrant boats to keep arriving for another 12 years despite Keir Starmer’s promises of a crackdown

A group of people are brought in on a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on Tuesday October 15

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Home Office is seeking private companies to manage the Western Jet Foil in Dover, where migrants are subjected to initial checks after being picked up in the Channel, and the nearby Manston processing centre.

The tenders cover the provision of security, healthcare, catering, accommodation, transportation and other support services required by new arrivals, and are slated to start in January 2026 and run until January 2032.

There is an option to extend them for a further four years – suggesting ministers are braced for small boat crossings to continue until 2036.

MailOnline last week revealed how an illegal migrant has racked up millions of views on TikTok by boastfully posting videos of him attempting to cross the English Channel on a small boat.

Asylum seeker Mada Pasa, who has a Kalashnikov face tattoo, has provoked fury with his online videos in which he pretends to fire a gun and ‘vlogs’ his efforts to illegally reach the UK from northern France.

In one video, Pasa, believed to be from Afghanistan, is seen imitating firing a weapon with three young women sat on his lap. In another, he is staying in a tent with two hooded friends, one of whom is posing with a real gun.

Pasa, who had been living in Stockholm before travelling to France, has shared more than 60 videos, racking up almost 20,000 followers, 227,000 likes and millions of views as he tries to become a TikTok star by sharing content from the treacherous journey.