SIXTY-TWO small-boat migrants have died trying to cross the Channel so far in 2024, figures show.
Up to 20 more are still missing, according to French media, in the deadliest year on record.
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People smugglers driven by profit are cramming more people into boats of increasingly poor quality, officials have said.
PM Sir Keir Starmer will today call for a concerted effort to smash their “criminal empire”.
In Budapest, he will tell a meeting of the European Political Community that “we need to go further and faster” and “take the fight” to them.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Our work with our partners in the Western Balkans is absolutely key to dismantling the criminal networks that orchestrate the exploitation of vulnerable people for financial gain.
“Working more closely with Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo, we will share information and intelligence, and work across borders to map out what is happening and where, to break the business models of these unscrupulous gangs at source.
“Through our intensified work, criminals will soon realise they have nowhere to hide.”
New Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the Government for the number of deaths in the Channel since Labour came to power
So far this year, 31,270 people have crossed the Channel in 598 boats, Home Office figures show.
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