Around 28,400 people have entered the UK in 2021 by the clandestine crossing of the English Channel, triple the number for 2020. Analysis of Home Office data by the PA news agency showed that at least 28,395 illegal immigrants had arrived in small boats in the past year, while the BBC’s analysis counted at least 28,431 crossings. In 2020, 8,417 people managed to cross the treacherous waters. Despite international efforts to crack down on people smugglers, gangs have continued to ply the Dover Strait with their deadly trade, charging thousands of pounds for a berth in flimsy inflatable boats. The number of arrivals peaked in November 2021, when at least 6,869 illegal immigrants reached the UK despite dropping temperatures. Between Nov. 10 and 16, more than 3,100 people made the perilous crossing, the most in any seven-day stretch in the current crisis. The same month also saw a new record for a single …