New figures reveal the staggering cost to clothe Channel migrants (Image: Getty )
The British public is shelling out a staggering £3,000 a day to to fund crossing the English Channel, new figures reveal.
In just three years a total £4 million has been splashed on fresh garments for the people coming to the UK on small boats, of which more than a 1,000 have already arrived in the UK this year.
According to , when the migrants make it ashore they are given clothing packs to replace items that have become soaked in seawater during the perilous crossing.
It’s reported garments handed over in the rations include “weather appropriate footwear” depending on the time of year, and puffer jackets, hats and gloves in the winter.
The UK Border Force often end up escorting the overloaded dinghys back to Britain to arrive for processing in Dover and elsewhere.
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Migrants cross the Channel on small boats to get to the UK (Image: Getty )
One former official told the Telegraph a massive store house – the same size as a branch of M&S – is packed with fresh attire for new arrivals to wear, complete with fitting rooms for men, women and children to try on the clothing.
migrants’ clothing has to be replaced because of health and safety. It is not known what brand of clothing the immigrants are kitted out in.
Figures, obtained by The Telegraph through a freedom of information request, show £3,733,145 for 2022-23 and the first 10 months of 2024 had been spent on new clothes.
A Home Office spokesperson said the “basic clothing pack (is) similar to those issued via the Prison Service consisting of underwear, socks, T-shirt, trousers/jogging bottoms, sweatshirt and weather-appropriate footwear such as flip-flops/sliders, plimsolls or trainers”.
January this year saw a record pace for the number of Channel migrants arriving in the UK, with nearly 1,100 having made the journey in just the first 22 days. The figure beats a previous record of 1,000 migrants landing by January 28 set in 2024.
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The taxpayer is the one who has to foot the bill to pay for migrants (Image: PA )
Alp Mehmet, the chairman of Migration Watch, said: “You get dried off, re-clothed and put up in comfort to await the inevitable good news that you can stay for good.
“That’s why record numbers will continue to come, and ‘smashing the gangs’ is a pipe dream.”
It’s reported once asylum seekers arrive in Britain, the Home Office are then giving permission for up to 50 relatives to follow them into the country every day.
Family member visas granted to settle in this country have more than trebbled in a year, latest data shows.
The Home Office said in a statement: “We have a long history of providing protection through various safe and legal routes for those in need.”