British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a vaccination center in London on December 13, 2021. Johnson said the Omicron variant has caused at least one death in the UK when he warns of a looming "tidal wave." He plans to give people over 18 years old a booster shot by the end of December. Photo: AFP

A record number of more than 28,000 migrants crossed the Channel from France to Britain in small boats in 2021, the PA news agency reported on Tuesday, based on its analysis of government data.

As people smugglers exploited demand, charging thousands of pounds for trips across the busy shipping lane in flimsy boats, at least 28,395 people reached the UK - more than triple the figure for 2020.

The peak came in November, during the course of which at least 6,869 people reached the UK, spurred by favorable weather conditions.

On November 11, a record-breaking 1,185 reached British shores in a single day.

The higher numbers were partly due to the use of bigger boats, carrying an average of about 28 people and sometimes as many as 50.

Such crossings ended tragically for many, with at least 27 migrants drowning off France on November 24 during an attempted crossing in a boat likened by French officials to a children's inflatable pool.

The 27 victims were mostly men but included seven women and a 16-year-old and a seven-year-old child.

They were mostly Iraqi Kurds but also included an Iranian Kurd, Afghans, Ethiopians, a Somali and an Egyptian.

The high number of migrants crossing to Britain from mainland Europe has become a political headache for British  Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The flow of migrants has also soured Britain's relations with France, prompting an unseemly blame game even as both sides try to disrupt the people trafficking networks.