New figures obtained by BBC Verify have raised questions about the UK government’s claims that poor weather conditions had no impact on a fall in small boat crossings across the Channel.
The number of successful crossings by migrants decreased by a third in 2023, with Home Secretary James Cleverly telling the BBC that weather was not a "contributory factor" to falling numbers of migrants crossing the Channel, and the 36% decrease was instead down to greater co-operation with Europe and "going after" people smugglers.
But a Met Office report for UK Border Force suggests there were more days in 2023 than in 2022 when migrants were unlikely to cross due to the weather.
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