More than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in a single day on Monday, the highest daily total recorded so far this year, as fresh questions were raised about the effectiveness of Britain’s £660 million deal with France to prevent small boat crossings.
The Home Office confirmed that 710 migrants were picked up mid-Channel from 11 dinghies and brought into Dover by UK Border Force, surpassing the previous 2026 high of 610 set on 25 February. Monday’s figure was also the largest since 803 arrived on 20 December last year. The all-time daily record remains 1,305, set in September 2022.
The surge came after a full two weeks in which no arrivals were recorded at all, a period largely attributed to rough seas in the Channel. Despite Monday’s record, the cumulative total for 2026 stands at 9,852, significantly below the 16,545 who had arrived over the same period last year.
The crossings came amid chaotic scenes off the coast of Calais on the same day, where around 40 men and children attempted to wade out to an inflatable dinghy. Some became submerged and required assistance from the French fire service and a lifeboat equipped with a buoyancy aid. French police used pepper spray to control the group, with some individuals pursued by vehicles after attempting to flee. The dinghy was eventually forced to depart without picking up any migrants, and a number were arrested.
The record daily arrival comes despite the UK signing a £660 million three-year deal with France in April, struck by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The arrangement includes an unconditional £500 million for beach patrols, plus a further £160 million in performance-related funding.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said France appeared to lack the motivation required to prevent crossings. “We have given the French around three-quarters of a billion pounds since 2014/15 to stop illegal migrants,” he said. “We deserve a refund.”
The government defended the arrangement. Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, said: “Our work with France is cracking down on small boat launches and stopping the criminal smuggling gangs in their tracks.” Border security commander Charlie Eastaugh, of the Home Office Small Boats Command, said that for “the first time ever French law enforcement officers are carrying out operations against small boats at sea.”
The latest figures follow the sentencing last week of Sudanese asylum seeker Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, who was jailed for two years and three months after being caught in charge of a dangerously overcrowded small boat bound for Britain. Drone footage shown in court depicted French authorities handing life jackets to migrants on the vessel while failing to intervene to prevent the crossing.
