Migrants were shown smiling, waving and sticking two fingers up after arriving in Dover today, as the total number of who crossings this year approaches 17,000.
No arrivals were recorded at the start of the month yesterday, but small boat crossings from France to England resumed today.
Pictures showed groups of people wearing life jackets being brought ashore from Border Force boats in Dover, Kent, in the wake of the latest crossings, amid warm weather and calm but hazy conditions at sea.
One person was pictured on a coach after arriving in Dover, grinning and flipping the bird at the photographer.
A migrant flips the bird at the photographer while sitting on a coach after arriving on August 2
A man believed to be a migrant smiles and waves at the camera in Dover, south east Kent
A group of people thought to be migrants are driven away from the Border Force compound in Dover
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel today (August 2)
Another passenger smiled and waved to the camera while others looked tired and unhappy.
The provisional total for the year so far stands at 16,903, Home Office figures show.
Witnesses suggested the number of arrivals today may be enough to take the total for the year to more than 17,000.
Earlier this week the number of migrant crossings hit another record high for the first seven months of a calendar year.
There have been more than 1,000 crossings recorded within the last week.
Since Keir Starmer entered Number 10, there have been 3,328 new arrivals while the total number under Rishi Sunak’s watch came to 50,645.
Witnesses believe the numbers that arrived today could push the total number of people who have crossed this year to more than 17,000
A Border Force vessel arrived into the Port of Dover following a small boat incident in the Channel
People wearing life jackets are brought ashore by a Border Force vessel on Friday, August 2
A migrant stuck two fingers up to a camera while sitting on a coach after arriving at Dover on March 7
The number of arrivals for 2024 to date is 15 per cent higher than this time last year (14,732) but 2 per cent down on the same period in 2022 (17,169).
Migrants were also pictured on July 30 being taken to shore in Dover.
According to gov.uk, that day 130 people crossed in two boats. The next day, 61 more arrived in England via the Channel.
Earlier this year in March, another migrant was pictured flipping the bird as he was sat on a coach after arriving at Dover.
Two young children could also be seen looking out the windows as they contemplated Britain for the first time.
The Home Office will confirm how many arrived on Friday when it publishes the next set of figures on Saturday.
A department spokesman said the crossings were ‘undermining border security and putting lives at risk’, adding: ‘The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new border security command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.’
