The UK could see an increase in illegal migration as a result of international upheaval and record numbers of displaced people, the UN has warned.
In an annual study into human displacement caused by war, persecution and human rights abuses, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said a record 108.4 million people were displaced globally by the end of 2022, up 19.1 million on the previous year, adding that the conflict in Sudan had since pushed that figure over 110 million.
The UNHCR said 20 percent of refugees had sought shelter in the world’s 46 least developed nations, but separate figures suggest the number of people entering the EU nearly quadrupled in the first three months of 2023 from 12 months prior, with 80,000 people reaching the bloc.
The UK has so far received 8,858 people who have crossed into the country illegally via small boats in the English Channel from France.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stemming the flow of illegal migration one of the five key pledges of his government.
More than 45,000 people made such journeys last year, but last week he said his plan to reduce crossings was “starting to work.”
