Record numbers of people are running the gauntlet of the English Channel in small boats and rubber dinghies, with nearly 6,000 breaking immigration law to reach the UK in the last six months. The uptick comes despite Home Secretary Priti Patel’s vows to make crossing what is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes “unviable” for the smugglers and immigrants. According to the PA news agency, which has tracked and analysed crossings for the last 18 months, more than 5,900 people have succeeded in reaching the UK aboard small boats so far in 2021. A total of 8,417 made the journey in the whole of 2020—four times the number for 2019. In 2018, just 299 people made the crossing, according to Home Office figures. A Home Office spokesperson said, “These crossings are completely unacceptable and we have redoubled efforts with French authorities by increasing beach patrols, intelligence sharing, and investment in surveillance …