Published: 07:51 BST, 1 September 2026 | Updated: 09:20 BST, 1 September 2026
Channel crossings over the summer have hit a six-year low, with nearly 7,000 small-boat arrivals between June and August.
The number of small-boat migrant arrivals fell to its seasonal lowest since 2020, with 6,949 crossing the Channel in the three summer months. The number of boats arriving in Britain fell to its lowest since 2019.
While critics have put the decrease down to bad weather, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood attributed the drop to increased international co-operation blocking people smugglers' supply chain for boats, lifebelts and outboard motors.
She also credited a £662million deal with France to place more officers on beaches and take on new interception tactics.
A total of 16,391 migrants have crossed from France to the UK so far this year, down 43 per cent on the same time last year, and an 18 per cent decrease on the same period in 2024.
Ms Mahmood said: 'This Government is committed to restoring order at our border. This work is beginning to bear fruit, with June, July and August recording the lowest number of small-boat crossings in seven years. But we know there is more to do.
'We will be relentless in targeting the criminal gangs behind these crossings, and we will continue to remove the incentives that draw people here on unsafe and illegal routes.'
Small-boat crossings will be one of the main issues discussed when Andy Burnham hosts French President Emmanuel Macron in No 10 for the first time, according to officials.
A group of people believed to be migrants are brought to the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent, on Thursday
The Prime Minister will be eager to continue the one-in, one-out scheme with France, designed to act as a deterrent to crossings.
August crossings – up to August 30 – were down 46 per cent on last year, falling to their lowest level since records began in 2018.
July saw the fewest number of crossings since 2019, down 64 per cent on 2025.
And June recorded its lowest level of crossings since 2019, down 50 per cent on last year.
However, Labour's attempts to tackle the Channel crisis were still branded a 'complete laughing stock' earlier this month after a record 230 migrants arrived on one dinghy.
