More than 200,000 migrants have crossed Channel in small boats since 2018

The home secretary signed a landmark new deal with France to boost enforcement on beaches and put people smugglers behind bars, building on joint work that has stopped over 42,000 illegal crossings since the election and resulted in almost 60,000 removals or deportations.

About 7,600 people who arrived by small boat have been returned from the UK since 2018; about 70% of those returned were from Albania.

By December 2025, more than 108,000 asylum applications had been processed, with about three in five people granted asylum.

Almost all those crossing are under 40, and men and boys accounted for nearly nine in 10 arrivals between 2018 and 2025.

The EU border agency Frontex reported increases in sea arrivals across a number of Mediterranean countries by migrants from Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

In the last year, arrivals from Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia nearly trebled to around 13,000 compared with 2024, while Sudan arrivals rose by about 60% in the same period.

The article notes that about 128,000 crossings were made under Conservative governments between 2018 and 2024.

Labour promised to 'smash' the people-smuggling gangs when Sir Keir Starmer took power in 2024.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to 'stop the boats' in 2022.

In 2022, the largest group of migrants using this route were from Albania.

The annual number of crossings peaked in 2022, with more than 45,000 people crossing the Channel by small boats.

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats was declared a 'major incident' by the government in 2018 following a rise in crossings.