The new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is being given a sobering taste of the huge task she faces, as hundreds of small boat migrants cross the Channel today, GB News can exclusively reveal.
On her first full day in office since taking over from Yvette Cooper, Border Force has declared a 'Red' day in the English Channel, with large numbers of illegal crossings expected.
GB News sources estimate the number of migrants that have crossed the Channel on Saturday has already passed 600.
It follows 11 straight days where no migrant boats made it to the UK because of bad weather.
Late last night, winds eased off, allowing people smugglers to push off multiple migrant rafts from a huge area of coastline, from Dunkirk down to Boulogne.
Around 7.30am this morning, the Border Force vessel Defender arrived at Dover harbour with the first group of migrants on board.
GB News counted 138 people as they were taken off the Defender and led to the migrant processing centre in the harbour.
An hour later, another Border Force vessel, Volunteer, brought a group of 85 migrants to Dover.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Migrants arriving in Dover on the first day of Shabana Mahmood's term as Home Secretary
|GB NEWS
GB News counted 138 people as they were taken off the Defender
|GB NEWS
GB News provisional figures, take the number of Channel migrants who have arrived illegally in the UK this year to more than 29,500.
That compares with 22,028 at the same point last year.
Shabana Mahmood is now faced with attempting to get a grip on a crisis that saw her predecessor spectacularly fail in her efforts to reduce Channel crossings.
Under Yvette Cooper's watch, more than 52,000 migrants made the illegal journey in just 14 months.
The latest crossings make grim reading for Shabana Mahmood who marks her first full day at the Home Office today after taking over from Yvette Cooper
|PA
GB News provisional figures take the number of Channel migrants who have arrived illegally in the UK this year to more than 29,500
|GB NEWS
Crossings for the year would have been even higher, but for the bad weather that prevented any migrant arrivals since 26 August.
It is now a month since the Government signed a deal with France to allow for the partial return of some small boat migrants.
Around 100 migrants have been arrested and earmarked for return to France.
However, ministers have said it will be another few weeks before any returns take place.
In the meantime, more than 4,000 migrants have made the illegal crossing since the deal came into force.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
"That is why this Government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
"Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders."
More From GB News