Migrants have been pictured arriving in Dover on Saturday after the longest period without small boat crossings in seven years.
The photos appeared to show dozens of migrants wearing life jackets being taken to Dover, Kent, aboard a Border Force boat.
Before the weekend, no migrant had made the journey for four weeks, according to Home Office figures. The last arrivals recorded before Saturday were on November 14, which is the longest uninterrupted stretch since 2018.
December is usually a quieter month for crossings due to adverse weather conditions, and this is believed to have contributed to the calm.
Home Office figures on the number of migrants who arrived in the UK in small boats on Saturday will be published on Sunday.
So far this year, 39,292 people have crossed the English Channel, the highest number for any year except 2022, when there were 45,774 arrivals.
More than 187,000 people have arrived by small boat since numbers were first recorded in 2018.
The UK government has stepped up its efforts to tackle small boat crossings in recent months, but the measures are not expected to have an immediate impact.
A Home Office spokesperson added: “The number of small boat crossings is disgraceful and the British people deserve better.
“This government is taking action. We have expelled almost 50,000 people who were here illegally, and our historic agreement with the French means that those arriving in small boats will now be returned.”
At this year’s Labor Party conference, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would “crush” smuggling gangs and reduce the number of crossings by 2029.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy met ministers from other European nations last week to discuss reforms to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in a bid to make it easier to deport illegal immigrants.
In November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced changes to asylum, including making refugee status in the UK temporary and subject to review every 30 months, and sending refugees home if their country is deemed safe.
A “one in, one out” pilot scheme agreed between the UK and France began in August. Under the plan, for every migrant the UK returns to France, another migrant with a strong case to seek asylum in Britain returns in the opposite direction.
As of November 27, 2025, 153 people had been returned thanks to this agreement.
