Nearly 750 small boat arrivals recorded at weekend ahead of Rwanda bill votes

The number of people travelling by small boat to seek asylum in the UK hit a new daily high for 2024 at the weekend, figures show, as Rishi Sunak braces for a fresh round of parliamentary wrangling over the Rwanda deportation bill.

Official Home Office data shows 534 people were detected making the Channel crossing by small boat on Sunday, after 214 travelled on Saturday.

Ministers will seek to strip out changes made by peers who want extra legal safeguards, including a provision to ensure “due regard” for domestic and international law.

Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, suggested on Sunday the Home Office would be “ready to go” in implementing the plan once the bill entered the statute books.

The charity Care4Calais, which helped block flights to Rwanda last year, said it had recruited volunteers to identify people who were due to be removed to the east-central African country.

Meanwhile, the Times reported on Monday that Britain had also approached countries including Costa Rica, Armenia, Ivory Coast and Botswana in an effort to replicate the scheme.