Almost 700 Channel migrants arrived in Britain over past two days – taking total small-boat crossings so far this year above 8,000
Approximately 700 migrants crossed the Canal in the last two days as human smugglers took advantage of the warm weather and favorable sea conditions.
Official figures show that 681 migrants crossed France on 10 boats on Friday and Saturday. These are the first boat arrivals recorded in 13 days.
Shield-wearing French police watched as dozens of people, some carrying children wearing life jackets over their shoulders, climbed through the waves and onto the ship.
Other photos taken on Saturday showed older children struggling in the water, unable to get on one of the inflatable boats.
People wearing life jackets were seen being taken away from the Border Security Command ship after arriving on the Kent coast.
While almost 400 people crossed the Canal in small boats on Friday, 287 people made the journey yesterday. This brings the annual total so far to 8,257; That’s more than 5,000 fewer than at the same time in 2025.
Kemi Badenoch claimed yesterday that ‘most’ of those arriving in small boats should not be here.
The Conservative leader told LBC they were targeting Britain because they saw the country as a ‘soft touch’.
‘They are not refugees,’ he said. ‘These are people who see our country as a soft touch and exploit our kindness.’
This comes after it was revealed that net migration in the UK fell to an estimated 171,000 last year; This number is the lowest since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Migrants trying to cross the English Channel with an inflatable boat on the coast of Dunkirk, France, on Saturday, May 23
A group of people thought to be immigrants were brought to the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent, on Friday 22 May.
Figures for the 12 months to December were down 48 per cent compared to 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 encourage a more measured debate’.
In April, Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year deal to pay France £662 million to support beach patrols in a bid to reduce arrivals.
The Home Office said the regulation would see officers ‘target and detain’ migrants on the French coast in a bid to turn hundreds of people away from beaches each year.
This means Labor will hand over £501 million to fund five police units and enforcement activities on the French coast; The extra £160 million will only be paid if new tactics to block Channel crossings are successful.
If the efforts fail, additional funding will stop after a year, the Interior Ministry said.
It has also been confirmed for the first time that the new initiative by French authorities to stop boats at sea will only apply to boats with fewer than 20 migrants on board.
Under Labour’s new deal, extra payments of £53 million a year will partly depend on how many boats are stopped at sea.
British money will pay for a new specialist ship for the French to use in interventions and an extra 20 trained naval officers to carry out the job.
The money will also be used to pay for two new helicopters for the French to use in surveillance operations along the coastline.
Additional British funds will cover the cost of a new 50-man police riot squad specially trained to disperse large groups of people.
On 27 April, more than 100 small boat migrants were rescued by the French coastguard after their boat broke down in the Channel.
The maritime authority said several people had difficulty trying to climb onto the boat, including a woman who lost consciousness and had to be evacuated by helicopter.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This Government is cracking down on small boat crossings.
‘The Home Secretary has signed a groundbreaking new deal with France to step up enforcement on beaches and put people smugglers behind bars.
‘This builds on joint work that has stopped more than 42,000 illegal immigrants trying to cross the channel since the election.
‘We have removed or deported nearly 60,000 people who were here illegally, and we are going further to eliminate the incentives that attract illegal immigrants to this country.’
