Migrants make first English Channel crossing in nearly two weeks

Migrants reached England by crossing the English Channel with the first small boat in nearly two weeks.

Photos taken from Dover in Kent on Friday showed people wearing life jackets being taken from the Border Guard ship.

A break in recent bad weather conditions will allow for a few crossing attempts on Friday, while temperatures are expected to rise over the bank holiday weekend.

The crossing is the first since May 9. More than 1,000 people have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this month.

However, the number of arrivals has decreased by 44% compared to this time last year and by 23% compared to the same point in 2024.

Experts said this could depend on a number of different factors, including weather, the supply of small boat parts, government policy and the number of migrants arriving in Europe.

It comes after it was revealed that net migration in the UK fell to an estimated 171,000 last year; this is the lowest level since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures for the 12 months to December were down 48% on the previous year (331,000), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The estimate, the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country, has fallen below 200,000 for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The figures could lead to renewed calls for Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood to water down immigration policies.

Marley Morris, of the Public Policy Research Institute think tank, said the government’s progress “should lead to a more measured debate.”