More than 500 people crossed Channel in small boats on Saturday | Immigration and asylum

More than 500 people crossed the Channel in 10 small boats on the day six died when a vessel sank off the coast of France.

The latest Home Office figure of 509 takes the provisional total for the past three days alone to more than 1,600. More than 16,600 have made the journey so far this year.

The figures mark a further setback for the government’s “stop the boats” pledge, which is one of Rishi Sunak’s five key priorities for his leadership.

More than 100,000 people have now made the journey since 2018, according to Home Office figures.

At least six people died and at least 58 were rescued, many of them Afghans, after a boat got into difficulty off the coast of Sangatte on Saturday.

According to survivors’ accounts, about 65 people had boarded the overcrowded vessel before a passing ship saw it sinking and raised the alarm at about 4.20am.

The government is under renewed pressure to tackle the issue of such crossings after the incident.

MPs have called for action against criminal people-smuggling gangs profiting from the journeys, and the campaigner group Care4Calais described the deaths as an “appalling and preventable tragedy”.

Writing in the Sunday Express, the Conservative backbencher and former party chairman Sir Jake Berry said: “We must put a stop to the vile people smugglers who trade in human misery and whose actions result in the loss of life.”

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said action to deter criminal gangs facilitating the journeys was desperately needed.

The Refugee Council said more people would die unless more safe routes to the UK were created.

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, described the incident as a “tragic loss of life” and said she had chaired a meeting with Border Force officials later on Saturday.