Channel sees busiest day of 2026 for small boats

Wednesday was the busiest day of 2026 so far for small boat crossings, according to Home Office figures.

A total of 781 people arrived across 10 separate boats, bringing the cumulative total for the year so far to 18,565.

The total is 42% lower than up to the equivalent date in 2025.

Wednesday's figure was the highest daily total since 803 people arrived on 20 December 2025.

The figures include a dinghy carrying 51 people which departed from Normandy, much further west than small boats typically set off, on Monday morning and spent more than 33 hours at sea.

British rescue boats had been sent to collect those on board after French coastguards said they had refused their help.

Crossings are more common during warmer weather and when there are calmer sea conditions, with the highest monthly totals typically in August and September.

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

About 150 people crossed from France in three small boats on both Monday and Tuesday.

This followed five days with no crossings at all.

Labour Party deputy leader Lucy Powell said earlier that the government had "significantly reduced" the number of people arriving on small boat crossings after "a huge amount of work".

"If we had a switch that we could switch tomorrow to stop all small boats we would switch it," she told BBC Radio Kent.

She said the government was taking steps to reduce the number of people arriving on small boats, including providing extra resources and new legislation.

"I know that people want this to happen faster," she told the BBC. "We are taking those steps, it is working."

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Keir Starmer's pledge to 'smash the gangs' was always a farce and open-borders Burnham has learnt absolutely nothing from his predecessor.

"The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival, and only the Conservatives have a plan to do that."

Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said the government should "tackle the root cause by entering the EU's landmark migration and asylum pact".

Until they did so, he said, people smugglers would "continue to find a way through, lives will be put at risk and taxpayers' money will be wasted".

Additional reporting by PA Media

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