LONDON — U.K. government figures Sunday showed that more than 1,100 migrants arrived in the country on Saturday in small boats from France across the English Channel, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year.
The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday in what were settled weather conditions, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811.
That’s 42% higher than the same point last year, an increase that has piled pressure on the Labour government, which returned to power nearly a year ago partly on disillusionment with the previous Conservative administration ‘s efforts to get a grip on the the numbers making the crossing.
Having ditched the Conservative government’s plan to send migrants who arrived in the U.K. by unauthorized means to Rwanda, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would get control by smashing the gangs and the business models that sustain their smuggling operations.
Since gaining power, Starmer’s government has sought better intelligence-sharing internationally, enhanced enforcement operations in northern France and has adopted tougher rules in its immigration legislation.
French police officers were seen watching Saturday as migrants boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, and authorities were then pictured escorting the boats. French authorities said they rescued 184 people.
“Pretty shocking, those scenes yesterday,” Defense Secretary John Healey told Sky News.
He added that it is a “really big problem” that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters, adding that the U.K. is pressing for the French to put new rules into operation so they can intervene.
“They’re not doing it, but, but for the first time for years … we’ve got the level of cooperation needed,” he told Sky News. “We’ve got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.”
Despite French and U.K. efforts, the cross-Channel route, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, remains a major smuggling corridor for people fleeing conflict or poverty. Many migrants favor the U.K. for reasons of language, family ties or perceived easier access to asylum and work.
The Home Office says 36,816 people arrived in the UK on small boats in 2024, 25% more than in 2023 (29,437). The highest number of arrivals was in 2022, with 45,774.
