Channel crossings resume following five-day hiatus

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Children wrapped in blankets were among groups of migrants brought ashore after Channel crossings took place for the first time in five days.

Crossings resumed on Thursday after none had been attempted since Friday amid poor weather conditions.

People carried their belongings in black bin bags as they walked through the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, while children wrapped in blue blankets were also pictured being carried to safety.

The resumption of crossings came as the total number of people making the dangerous crossing so far in 2022 has passed 32,000, according to PA news agency analysis of Government figures.

The last recorded crossings were on September 23, when 650 people were rescued, bringing the year’s total to 32,308.

So far 7,047 people have been brought to shore in September, figures suggest.

August 22 saw the highest number of people brought to the UK in a single day so far this year, with 1,295 people rescued in the Channel.

Some 1,160 people were brought to shore on September 4, and 1,142 were rescued on September 22.

There have been 27,040 crossings since the announcement of the Rwanda deal by then-home secretary Priti Patel.

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent about the Rwanda deal on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Liz Truss said: “We are (sticking with the Rwanda policy) and what we will make sure is that UK courts can’t be overruled by the European Court of Human Rights so we are able to deal with the small boats crisis, and the Home Secretary is determined to get on with that.”