Small boats crossings hit 25,000 for the year

More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2025, according to official figures.

The Home Office said 898 people in 13 boats were brought ashore in Dover on Wednesday, bringing the annual total to 25,436.

The 25,000 mark has been passed much earlier this year than in previous years – in the record year of 2022 is was not passed until 27 August.

It comes as ministers continue to grapple with the challenge of cracking down on people-smuggling gangs.

Chris Philp MP, shadow home secretary, called it a “national emergency”, and accused Labour of “doing nothing” to stop the crossings.

The government has said it is sharing intelligence and strengthening cross-border cooperation with France to “smash” people-smuggling gangs.

On Thursday the National Crime Agency announced it had worked with Bulgarian authorities to seize 25 small boats intended for use in the Channel.

In the whole of 2020 there were 8,461 crossings, while in 2019 that number was 1,835.

In 2018, there were 297 people recorded making the journey, although figures were only published from 3 November.

The annual total for 2025 hit 10,000 at the end of April, and 20,000 by the end of June.

The jump in arrivals this year has coincided with a rise in the number of people making the journey in a single craft.

The average for 2025 is currently running at 59 people per boat – up from 49 in 2023.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.

Campaigners have long argued the government should introduce “more safe and legal routes” to help reduce small boat crossings by making smugglers “redundant”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month agreed to a pilot scheme in which some migrants who crossed the channel would be detained and returned to France.

In exchange, others would be allowed to come into the UK from France via a legal and controlled route.

The idea is to deter migrants from making the crossing.

Shadow home secretary Mr Philp claimed the deal with France “will not even make a dent”.

French police have also been changing their tactics.

They deliberately punctured a boat in July as it was leaving the beach because it was dangerously overcrowded.