More than 200,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats to reach the UK since records began in 2018, according to official figures cited by Britain’s Home Office.
The BBC reported that 70 migrants arrived on Friday aboard a single boat, bringing the total number of crossings over the past nine years to 200,013.
The UK government first declared the growing number of Channel crossings a “major incident” in 2018 as increasing numbers of migrants began travelling from France to the United Kingdom in small boats.
Despite repeated promises by successive British governments to halt irregular migration and dismantle smuggling networks, the number of arrivals has more than doubled over the last three years, the report said.
At least eight migrants have been killed attempting the crossing so far this year, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration and French authorities. Twenty-three deaths were recorded last year.
The BBC said tighter security at ports, restrictions on alternative migration routes and the growing role of organised smuggling gangs have all contributed to the rise in small boat crossings.
British authorities have also cited favourable weather conditions, known as “red days,” and increasingly overcrowded vessels as factors behind the continued arrivals.
According to the report, about 128,000 migrants crossed the Channel under Conservative governments between 2018 and 2024.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to “stop the boats,” while Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed after taking office in 2024 to “smash” the criminal gangs facilitating the crossings.
More than 72,000 migrants have arrived through the route since then, with most later applying for asylum in the UK.
The report said the largest groups arriving by small boat since 2018 came from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Albania, although arrivals from African countries including Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia rose sharply over the past year.
According to Home Office figures, nearly 95 percent of migrants arriving by small boat applied for asylum in the UK. About three in five processed applications were approved, though approval rates varied significantly by nationality.
