Small boat migrant arrivals reach 781 in one day, breaking 2

Key Takeaways

• A total of 781 migrants arrived in 10 small boats on Wednesday, the highest number for a single day so far this year, Home Office figures show
• So far this year 18,565 people have made the Channel crossing, which is 42% lower than the same period in 2025 when 32,188 had crossed in small boats
• The government said its "progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable" but it needed to "push further and harder in order to eradicate t
• French authorities reported on Thursday that a man had died after having a cardiac arrest while people attempted to board a vessel at a beach south of
• Wednesday's figures include a dinghy carrying 51 people which departed from Normandy, much further west than small boats typically set off, on Monday

A total of 781 migrants arrived in 10 small boats on Wednesday, the highest number for a single day so far this year, Home Office figures show.

So far this year 18,565 people have made the Channel crossing, which is 42% lower than the same period in 2025 when 32,188 had crossed in small boats.

The government said its "progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable" but it needed to "push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade".

French authorities reported on Thursday that a man had died after having a cardiac arrest while people attempted to board a vessel at a beach south of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Wednesday's figures include a dinghy carrying 51 people which departed from Normandy, much further west than small boats typically set off, on Monday morning and spent more than 33 hours at sea.

About 150 people crossed from France in three small boats on both Monday and Tuesday. This followed five days with no crossings at all.

Wednesday's figure was the highest daily total since 803 people arrived on 20 December 2025.

The highest total in one day in recent years was on 3 September 2022, when 1,305 migrants made the crossing.

Crossings are more common during warmer weather and when there are calmer sea conditions, with the highest monthly totals typically between June and September.

The English Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Labour Party deputy leader Lucy Powell said earlier that the government had "significantly reduced" the number of people arriving on small boat crossings after "a huge amount of work".

"If we had a switch that we could switch tomorrow to stop all small boats we would switch it," she told BBC Radio Kent.

She said the government was taking steps to reduce the number of people arriving on small boats, including providing extra resources and new legislation.

"I know that people want this to happen faster," Powell told the BBC. "We are taking those steps, it is working."

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Keir Starmer's pledge to 'smash the gangs' was always a farce and open-borders Burnham has learnt absolutely nothing from his predecessor.

"The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival, and only the Conservatives have a plan to do that."

Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said the government should "tackle the root cause by entering the EU's landmark migration and asylum pact".

Until they did so, he said, people smugglers would "continue to find a way through, lives will be put at risk and taxpayers' money will be wasted".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party would "deploy the Royal Navy and stop the boats".

On Tuesday Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered officials to conduct a review after two migrant vessels in as many days made it ashore near Folkestone undetected.

Small boat passengers are usually brought to shore by Border Force officials or on rescue boats and uncontrolled arrivals are rare. Mahmood said the beach landings were "not acceptable".

The landing on Monday was the first in more than a year and only four have been recorded since the Home Office began keeping data in 2023.

Additional reporting by PA Media

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A total of 781 migrants arrive on Wednesday, but the yearly total is below the same point in 2025.

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