Small-boat crossings into the UK fell to a seven-year low this summer, with British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood crediting a new border agreement with France for the drop in figures.
The summer months are some of the busiest in the year for migrants attempting to reach the UK on small boats, due to calmer weather. But the latest data shows that June, July and August recorded the lowest combined total of small-boat crossings for those months since 2019, and the lowest number of illegal migrant arrivals by this route since 2020.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will host French President Emmanuel Macron at No 10 Downing Street for the first time this week, with “tackling small-boat crossings” at the top of the agenda, the UK government said.
There were 102 such Channel crossings from June 1 to August 30 this year, compared to 224 for the same period in 2025, according to Home Office figures.
August crossings fell to their lowest level since records began in 2018, down 46 per cent on last year, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 35 per cent on last year.
July saw the fewest crossings for that month since 2019, down 64 per cent on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 58 per cent on last year. June recorded its lowest level of crossings since 2019, down 50 per cent on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2021, down 47 per cent on last year.
Ms Mahmood signed a deal in April providing £661 million ($895 million) to boost police enforcement on French beaches by 40 per cent. This included action to stop launches, seize boats and engines used by criminal gangs, and arrest suspected people smugglers.
French police teams funded under the payment-by-results UK-France deal prevented 185 small-boat crossings between April 27 and August 2 in the three months after the agreement, according to the Home Office. This equates to 61 per cent of all small-boat events during this period.
Although the number of boat crossings has reduced, there is concern that this has led to a rise on the number of people on each boat. Last month a “mega dinghy” carrying 230 migrants was intercepted.
Last summer, 14,191 migrants arrived to the UK on small boats crossing the Channel, each vessel carrying an average of 63 people, according to The National's analysis of Home Office figures. This summer shows that 7,371 people arrived by small boat, an average of 72 people per crossing.
Ms Mahmood said the work was “beginning to bear fruit”. She added: “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.”
The UK-French action has prevented more than 48,000 crossing attempts since Labour came into power in 2024, the Home Office said. More than 1,100 boats and engines have been seized by the National Crime Agency working with international partners, choking off the supply of small boat equipment.
More than 80,000 people in the UK illegally were removed or returned since the 2024 election.
