Rishi Sunak's claims on small boats fact checked

Rishi Sunak says his program to tackle tiny vessel crossings is "starting to work".

The premier curate was speaking successful Dover, astir six months aft helium launched his "stop the boats" policies.

We've examined a fig of claims helium made successful his speech.

Mr Sunak said: "In the 5 months since I launched the plan, crossings are present down 20% compared to past year."

Between January and March of past year, 4,548 radical arrived successful tiny boats.

In 2023, the fig of radical arriving betwixt January and March was 3,793. This is simply a 17% decrease.

However, the biggest summation successful the numbers arriving by tiny boats successful 2022 happened during the summertime months. This is typically erstwhile the upwind is champion for crossing the Channel.

Between July and September of past twelvemonth 20,282 radical arrived. This was up 147% connected the erstwhile 4th and the largest fig ever recorded implicit a 3 period period.

So, though tiny vessel crossings person decreased successful 2023 they could inactive emergence again implicit the summertime months.

The premier curate said the authorities was "on track" to wide the asylum backlog by the extremity of the year. He said the backlog had already been reduced by 17,000 cases.

When the pledge was made, determination were 90,358 applications.

By 28 May 2023, that fig was down to 74,410 - a simplification of astir 16,000.

However, astatine the existent complaint of advancement - an mean of 3,200 a period - it would instrumentality much than 23 months to marque the archetypal determination connected the remaining applications. So, the deadline of the extremity of the twelvemonth would beryllium missed.

If you look astatine each asylum claims, including those made since 28 June 2022, the fig of radical successful the UK awaiting an archetypal determination connected their asylum lawsuit is astatine the grounds precocious of 172,758.

Mr Sunak said: "We've present returned 1,800 to Albania successful conscionable six months."

This is correct. Home Office figures show that since a caller statement was signed betwixt the UK and Albanian governments successful December 2022, 1,788 Albanian nationals were returned to their location country.

However, this fig includes overseas nationalist offenders and radical who person returned voluntarily - not conscionable radical who applied for asylum.

Between January and March 2023, 795 Albanians were returned, including 390 who were forcibly returned.

Albanians accounted for astir 30% of tiny vessel arrivals successful 2022. Most (85%) applied for asylum.