The number of migrants reaching the UK in small boats in a single day hits a 2025 high

LONDON AP U K governing body figures Sunday established that more than settlers 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 asylum seekers arrived in boats on Saturday in what were settled weather conditions bringing the provisional annual total so far to That s higher than the same point last year an increase that has piled pressure on the Labour executive 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 passing Having ditched the Conservative establishment s plan to send newcomers who arrived in the U K by unauthorized means to Rwanda Prime Minister Keir Starmer disclosed his administration would get control by smashing the gangs and the business models that sustain their smuggling operations Since gaining power Starmer s cabinet has sought better intelligence-sharing internationally enhanced enforcement operations in northern France and has adopted tougher rules in its immigration statute French police officers were seen watching Saturday as immigrants boarded at a beach in Gravelines between Calais and Dunkirk and government were then pictured escorting the boats French functionaries noted they rescued people Pretty shocking those scenes the day prior Defense Secretary John Healey communicated Sky News He added that it is a really big challenge 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 reported 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 brokers and stop these people in the boats not just on the shore Despite French and U K efforts the cross-Channel highway one of the world s busiest shipping lanes remains a major smuggling corridor for people fleeing conflict or poverty Plenty of displaced persons favor the U K for reasons of language family ties or perceived easier access to asylum and work The Home Office says people arrived in the UK on small boats in more than in The highest number of arrivals was in with Source