Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned of a ‘genuine threat to national security’ (Image: Getty)
More than 150,000 migrants have now crossed the English Channel in small boats.
Home Office figures show that 407 people made the dangerous journey from France on Boxing Day.
It means 150,243 arrivals have been recorded since the start of 2018.
On Christmas Day more than 450 people crossed the Channel in 11 boats.
Reform UK leader told the Express: “This number is not only a disgrace but poses a genuine threat to national security.”
Migrants attempt to cross the English Channel on Christmas Day (Image: STEVE FINN PHOTOGRAPHY)
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There were 299 crossings in 2018, which climbed to 1,843 in 2019 and 8,466 in 2020, according to the Home Office.
Some 28,526 migrants made the journey in 2021 before a record 45,774 in 2022.
In 2023, 29,437 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.
Prime Minister Sir has pledged to “smash the gangs” who facilitate the small boat crossings.
As part of this work, he has set up a new Border Security Command, and is attempting to work more closely with the UK’s European neighbours to pull apart organised crime gangs involved in people smuggling.
But the PM has faced criticism from the for scrapping the Rwanda deportation scheme.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“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.”