Fewer than 100 people who crossed the English Channel in small boats have been arrested for arriving illegally in the U.K. under a new power to deter them. The figure represents 0.3% of those who have crossed since the law was changed.
Under the new law, anyone who arrives in the U.K. without proper permission or good reason commits a crime that can lead to up to four years in prison.
The BBC sought the figure under freedom of information laws after the Home Office declined to disclose it.
