Did bad weather play a part in falling migrantChannel crossings? | BBC News

New figures obtained by BBC Verify have raisedquestions about the UK government's claims that poorweather conditions had no impact on a fall in smallboat crossings across the Channel.

The number of successful crossings by migrantsdecreased by a third in 2023, with Home SecretaryJames Cleverly telling the BBC that weather was nota "contributory factor" to falling numbers of migrantscrossing the Channel, and the 36% decrease wasinstead down to greater co-operation with Europe and "going after" people smugglers.

But a Met Office report for UK Border Force suggeststhere were more days in 2023 than in 2022 whenmigrants were unlikely to cross due to the weather.

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