Home Office admits no evidence to support key claim on small boat crossings

Exclusive: UK Government concedes it cannot substantiate assertion that majority crossing Channel are economic migrants

The Home Office has admitted it has no evidence to back up one of the key justifications for its crackdown on small boat crossings.

As home secretary, Priti Patel, the Tory architect of attempts to tackle Channel crossings, told parliament in 2021 that “70% of individuals on small boats are single men who are effectively economic migrants”.