The Government said it must “push further and harder” to stop migrants crossing the Channel after more than 700 people arrived in the UK on Wednesday – the highest number for a single day so far this year.
It comes after a Cabinet minister said not every migrant boat can be intercepted in the wake of two vessels landing undetected on British shores within two days.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command, said the failure to intercept the two boats was “not acceptable”.
Meanwhile Lucy Moreton, from the ISU union which represents Border Force officers, told the Press Association migrant boats were “definitely” arriving on British shores completely undetected, with reports of beach landings “all the way down to Falmouth” but the scale of the problem was not known.
Officials were also now looking for sites in Hampshire to house another Dover-style reception centre in a bid to make it easier and quicker to bring migrants ashore to process once they had been intercepted at sea, she said.
Speaking to PA, former Border Force boss Tony Smith said beach landings were a “big worry” and suggested the whole of the south coast should be monitored for migrant crossings, not just the narrowest section of the Channel, the Dover Strait.
The Home Office recorded 781 arrivals in 10 boats on Wednesday, suggesting an average of 78 people per boat.
The Government said its progress this year in tackling crossings was “indisputable” with crossings the lowest recorded over the summer months since 2020.
“But this week’s events show that while the peaks we are seeing are far below those of previous years, we need to push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade,” a spokeswoman added.
Wednesday’s arrivals take the provisional total for Channel crossings for the year so far to 18,565.
The numbers are down 42% on this time last year (32,188), and 26% below the figure at this stage in 2024 (25,165).
Earlier, Education Secretary Lucy Powell said “(you) can’t stop everything all of the time”, the day after 21 people were detained when a boat evaded Border Force to reach the beach of Samphire Hoe in Dover.
It was the second undetected landing in two days, following a dinghy making it to shore at Folkestone on Monday morning.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the situation was embarrassing for the Government, Ms Powell said: “(You) can’t stop everything all of the time.
“Of course, it’s a concern. That’s why the Home Secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see. This is not acceptable.
“But the overall picture is an improving picture. It is hard, difficult work that requires constant, constant effort by our border forces, our security services, police, our partnerships with France and other countries.
“This is a mammoth and huge task, which is now starting to reap some dividends. But of course, you know where there are still issues arising, we must absolutely tackle them.”
Pressed on Good Morning Britain whether she stood by her statement, Ms Powell said: “I think you’re just taking that completely out of context.
“We are clamping down on small boat crossings every single day… we are sucking the oxygen out of it, we are taking steps, and there are many, many steps.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to just turn on a switch, turn off a switch overnight. We have to constantly evolve.”
Most of the thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are brought to shore by Border Security Command and a small proportion by RNLI boats.
According to the Home Office, before Monday no Channel crossings without an escort had been officially recorded since September 6 2025.
Uncontrolled landings are so rare that last year’s incident was the only other one logged by the department since Government records began in 2023.
It will come as a blow to Border Security Command leaders, which previously suggested they were a thing of the past thanks to new surveillance technology and improved resources.
Asked if Border Force staff suspect there have been more beach landings within the last year which were completely undetected, Ms Moreton said: “Absolutely, yes.”
Ms Mahmood said “even one” uncontrolled landing is “one too many”, and that the urgent review she had ordered would look into “what must be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again”.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour have admitted they will never stop the boats.
“Keir Starmer’s pledge to ‘smash the gangs’ was always a farce, and open-borders Burnham has learnt absolutely nothing from his predecessor.
“The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival, and only the Conservatives have a plan to do that.”
Fellow Tory frontbencher Helen Whately accused Andy Burnham’s Government of being “incredibly weak on illegal immigration”.
She added: “They should have stopped the boats, they have failed.”
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said: “Until the Government adopts Liberal Democrat proposals to tackle the root cause by entering the EU’s landmark migration and asylum pact, these smugglers will continue to find a way through, lives will be put at risk and taxpayers’ money will be wasted.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Seven hundred and eighty-one illegal migrants invaded Britain yesterday.
“But don’t worry, Andy Burnham is making a TikTok.
“Reform will deploy the Royal Navy and stop the boats.”
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