Record 230 people cross the Channel in a single small boat

A small boat carrying 230 people has crossed the English Channel, setting a record for the largest number of people to make the journey in a single vessel.

The boat arrived in the UK in the early hours of Monday, surpassing the previous record set in July, when 165 people made the crossing on a single vessel.

A photograph taken off the coast of northern France showed the inflatable boat packed with passengers, with many forced to dangle their legs in the water as it entered the busy shipping lane.

A Home Office spokesperson said the latest incident demonstrated the “reckless and dangerous tactics employed by criminal gangs… who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels”.

There have been signs that smugglers are putting increasing numbers of people on each boat. In 2018, an average of seven people crossed on each vessel. By last year, that figure had risen to 62.

On Tuesday, 173 migrants had to be rescued from a single boat after it caught fire.

However, the overall number of Channel crossings is on course to be lower this year.

So far, the number of migrants making the crossing is down by 43%, while the number of boats successfully reaching the UK has fallen by 49%.

The Home Office recorded the lowest number of crossings in July since 2020.

Officials believe the fall is partly due to efforts to disrupt the supply of small boats and engines to people-smuggling gangs, with 1,100 seized since Labour came to power.

They also point to a sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance operation now operating over the Channel. Officials claim that “unintercepted” beach landings have ended.

All boats that make it beyond the halfway point in the Channel are met at sea by Border Force, which brings the migrants safely ashore for processing.

However, there remains clear demand for crossings, with the number of people waiting in camps in northern France showing no significant decline. Weather conditions have also not been substantially different this year.

Officials say the figures suggest efforts to disrupt people-smuggling gangs are beginning to have an impact.

‘We must go further’

The English Channel is one of the world’s busiest and most dangerous shipping lanes.

Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most unstable parts of the world and seek to claim asylum after being picked up by UK authorities.

During a recent visit to Dover, the prime minister pledged that his government would be “relentless” in its efforts to reduce the number of small boat arrivals.

Andy Burnham said the number of enforcement officers targeting people-smuggling gangs had been doubled on both sides of the Channel, but argued that “a system that offers safe routes for people” was also needed.

In April, the UK and France struck a £662m (773m euro) deal aimed at tackling the issue.

The three-year agreement included plans to send riot-trained police to French beaches to tackle violence and “hostile crowds”. France is also deploying millions of pounds’ worth of drones and two helicopters as part of efforts to intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.

On X, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “At 2.30am this morning a boat carrying 230 people was taken into Dover.

“This is a record number in a single vessel.

“It’s yet more proof that this illegal invasion is a national security emergency.”

Earlier on Monday, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.

“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”