More than 25,000 small boat migrants arrive in UK this year

More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, with 898 arriving on Wednesday, Home Office figures show.

This is the earliest point in the year that the figure has been reached.

The total for the whole of last year was 37,000, which is 25% more than the year before but fewer than in 2022.

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: "Almost 900 people crossed the Channel yesterday, meaning 25,000 people, mainly young men, have crossed the Channel this year. 2025 is the worst year on record so far and the Labour Government are doing nothing to stop the crossings. This is now a national emergency.

"Their 17 in one out deal with France will not even make a dent - it would take ten years for Yvette Cooper to deport the illegal immigrants that have arrived since the start of this year alone under her so-called deal which still hasn't started.

"The Conservative Party's Deportation Bill would bring this circus to an end. We would detain illegal arrivals on the spot, deport them without delay. If the ECHR stands in our way, we will leave it."

At least nine people have died while attempting the journey this year, from reports by French and UK authorities, but there is no official record of fatalities in the Channel.

Ministers want to end the crossings because they "threaten lives and undermine our border security".

Data on the crossings of migrants in "small boats" like inflatable dinghies has been collected since 2018.

In the first year of data, just 299 people were recorded to have arrived in the UK this way.

Since 2018, 94% of migrants who arrived by small boat crossing have claimed asylum in the UK, or 145,834 out of 154,354 people.

Since Labour came to power last July, the party has vowed to "smash the gangs".

Ministers have sought to ramp up enforcement action against smugglers, including by setting up a Border Security Command to lead the strategy and intelligence sharing to tackle crossings, across national agencies and internationally.

New legislation is also expected to hand counter terror-style powers to police and introduce new criminal offences to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, if approved by Parliament.

The Government is seeking to reset the relationship with Europe to co-operate over the crossings run by people smuggling gangs.

In February this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed to re-purpose £7 million of cash to French counterparts to bolster enforcement action on the nation's coastline to tackle Channel crossings.

This action included funding of a unit of elite officers in France to increase patrols, launching a new intelligence unit in Dunkirk to "hunt" people smugglers and training more drone pilots to intercept crossings before they reach the sea.

The French have also agreed to change its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land.