A total of 781 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday after crossing the English Channel, marking the highest single-day figure recorded so far this year.
Provisional Home Office data shows that overall small boat arrivals for 2026 have now reached 18,565 – a 42 per cent fall on the same period in 2025, when the total stood at 32,188.
This is also down 26 per cent on 2024, when 25,165 arrivals were recorded at this point in the year.
The record daily high for this year was announced after home secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered a review by the Border Security Command to examine why two boats reached Kent without being intercepted. The vessels came ashore at Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone, on Tuesday, and near Folkestone on Monday.
It was the first undetected landing for a year and Ms Mahmood said the failure to intercept the boats was “not acceptable”.
People smugglers in northern France have been launching small boats from further west in France to evade law enforcement.
Ten vessels made the crossing on Wednesday, which suggests an average of 78 passengers per boat. The highest number of migrant arrivals in one day was in September 2022, when 1,305 people arrived.
Around 150 people crossed from France on both Monday and Tuesday this week, following five days with no crossings at all.
When questioned about the uncontrolled landings, education secretary Lucy Powell said “(you) can’t stop everything all of the time”.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the situation was embarrassing for the government, she responded: “(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.”
Ms Powell later said that her remarks had been taken 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,” she said.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to just turn on a switch, turn off a switch overnight. We have to constantly evolve.”
Reform UK’s shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf said Ms Powell’s comments represented an “abject surrender of our borders”.
A government spokesperson said: “Our progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable – with crossings down by 42 per cent and 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”.
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