"To clarify, the 30,180 figure relates to the number of detections by Border Force officers at the juxtaposed controls rather than the number of people," press officer Caroline Craig explained to Sputnik on Wednesday, adding that "the same person could have been stopped a number of times."
On Tuesday, the director of the Border Force Sir Charles Montgomery said that the since last April, Border Force officers detected 30,180 illegals attempting to enter Great Britain, while in the preceding year the number was 18,000.
Montgomery also noted that over the same period of time, some 6,000 undocumented migrants were detained within the United Kingdom.
The Home Office, however, did not disclose information on the ethnicity of people attempting to enter the United Kingdom illegally, nor their reasons for attempting to cross the UK border.
The Border Force head said that it was not possible to stop all illegal migration.
"I cannot look this committee in the eye and say I can operate 100 percent control so 100 percent of clandestines will not get across the border," he said.
The United Kingdom is one of the most popular destinations for migrants, due to its perceived favorable social benefits, from free health care to a generous welfare system.
