More than 700 Albanians arrived in Britain in small boats in just one day, part of a record influx across the Channel.
According to official figures, 1,295 migrants arrived in Britain on Monday, breaking the previous daily high by more than 100.
At least 700 were from Albania, a Nato ally that aspires to join the European Union and has been free of conflict for more than 25 years.
Albanian dominance of the route is growing by the day, and the latest arrivals bring the total number of Albanians who have arrived in the UK since the beginning of the year close to 6,000.
According to Ministry of Defence data, UK authorities intercepted 27 boats in the Channel and brought them to British shores on Monday alone.
Since the military took command of Channel operations in April, the previous highest daily number of boats was only 15. This brings the total number of migrants crossing from northern France since the beginning of the year to 22,567.
According to officials, Albanian crimelords are sending ‘cleanskins’ with no criminal records to the UK on small boats to join organised gangs.
Criminal records checks on Channel arrivals are failing to detect links between some of the passengers and organised crime groups.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for stricter border controls, has urged ministers to act quickly.
‘This characterises the incompetence and abject failure of a government that has fumbled and fiddled for years as the problem has deteriorated,’ Mt Mehmet said.