Almost 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in just two days at the weekend as people-smugglers exploited warm weather and favourable sea conditions, pushing the yearly total above 8,000 arrivals and reigniting debate about the government’s ability to stem the flow despite a landmark new deal with France.
Official figures show 681 migrants made the crossing from France across ten boats on Friday and Saturday — the first recorded dinghy arrivals in 13 days. Nearly 400 crossed on Friday alone, with a further 287 making the journey on Saturday. The two-day surge brings the total number of small boat arrivals so far this year to 8,257, though that figure remains more than 5,000 lower than at the same point in 2025.
Photographs from the French coast captured the scale of the crossings. Migrants were seen smiling and throwing up peace signs as they boarded a dinghy in Dunkirk before attempting the journey, while other images showed older children struggling through the water after failing to board one of the inflatable vessels. French police carrying riot shields watched on as dozens of people — some carrying children wearing life jackets on their shoulders — waded through the waves to board the boats. People in life jackets were later seen being escorted from a Border Security Command vessel after arriving on the Kent coast.
The surge came as Kemi Badenoch used an appearance on LBC to argue that many of those arriving by small boat had no right to be in the country. “They are not refugees,” the Conservative leader said. “They are people who see our country as a soft touch, and they exploit our kindness.”
The crossings also arrived against the backdrop of significantly improved overall migration figures. The Office for National Statistics estimated that UK net migration fell to 171,000 in the 12 months to December last year — a 48 per cent drop from 331,000 the previous year and the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Marley Morris of the Institute for Public Policy Research said the progress “should prompt a more measured debate” around immigration policy, though the figures are likely to generate fresh pressure on the government over its approach to small boat arrivals specifically.
In April, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement committing £662 million to France to bolster beach patrols and enforcement operations. Under the deal, £501 million will fund five police units and enforcement activity along French beaches, with an additional £160 million contingent on new tactics delivering measurable reductions in crossings. If targets are not met, the additional funding will cease after one year. British money will also pay for a new specialist interception vessel, 20 additional trained maritime officers, two surveillance helicopters and a new 50-strong riot squad trained in dispersing large gatherings. It has been confirmed for the first time that France’s new initiative to intercept boats at sea will apply only to dinghies carrying fewer than 20 migrants.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was “bearing down on small boat crossings,” pointing to the new France deal and claiming that joint work had stopped more than 42,000 illegal migrants attempting to cross the Channel since the election. “We have removed or deported almost 60,000 people who were here illegally and are going further to remove the incentives that draw illegal migrants to this country,” the spokesperson said.
