Migrant crisis: More than 600 migrants cross in small boats just one day after baby dies in Channel

This is eight per cent higher than at the same point last year, but still 25 per cent down from 2022.

It comes after the death of a baby who died after their boat capsized whilst crossing the Channel on October 17.

Search and rescue officials from France managed to rescue some 65 people after the vessel got into trouble off the coast of Wissant, just south of Calais.

French authorities dispatched a navy vessel, three other ships and a helicopter to deal with the capsize, launching small motorboats to help retrieve those in the water.

Those rescued were taken back to the port at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

In the midst of the operation, the baby - then unconscious - was pulled from the Channel and transferred to the French Navy's rescue tugboat, the Abeille Normandie.

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The infant was later declared dead by a doctor. An investigation has since been launched into the incident.

Weather conditions are often difficult in the area where the boat capsized, with France's maritime prefect calling it a “particularly dangerous sector” - even when the “sea seems beautiful”.

Responding to the tragic death, a Home Office spokesperson said: “This devastating tragedy is a further reminder that the people-smuggling gangs only care about the profits they make, not about the lives they put at risk.

“We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

“Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals.”

Earlier this month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signed off on the G7 Anti-Smuggling Action Plan, which the Government hopes will “bolster border security, combat organised crime and protect the vulnerable from exploitation by migrant smugglers”.

Under the plans, law enforcement agencies will launch joint investigations to target criminal gangs.

Alongside this, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States will work together to share more intelligence with one another, in an attempt to “ensure faster identification and disruption of dangerous networks”, the Government said.

Cooper said: “Our new government is rapidly accelerating cooperation with other countries to crack down on these dangerous gangs.

“Today’s newly agreed G7 action plan provides an important focus on international law enforcement and reflects our determination to work with global partners on these shared challenges.

“New international joint investigative teams will help coordinate cross-border action and supplement the measures we have already taken to set up the UK Border Security Command and back it with new funding.

“The plan will help to increase both voluntary and enforced returns of migrants to countries of origin. It aims to offer migrants more choices and improve the overall management of migration flows.”